You make a good point that inefficiency due to inexperience likely increased the workload. Although a lot of the stress only came after the guests arrived, as

You make a good point that inefficiency due to inexperience likely increased the workload. Although a lot of the stress only came after the guests arrived, as suddenly everything had to be timed correctly and the guests seemed to be doing everything they could to screw up my predetermined plans. I don't think they really were, it just felt that way. When main course orders came in and I had more orders than people, I had to ask my server what was up. Somebody ordered the beef but with a side of the pasta, and I had to suddenly figure out how to plate that to look good as I'd only worked on plating the dishes the way I had planned on. Stuff like that kept happening through the whole meal. To your point again, experience would have helped, but thinking on your feet is clearly a big part of the deal.