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2
Posted on 12/9/16 at 11:35 am to Count Chocula
And Im not coming if you do a cash bar... cheapest thing ever!
Posted on 12/9/16 at 11:37 am to LNCHBOX
Yeah, she got to me for a second. I have calmed down.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 11:48 am to bmela12
I'm at the tail end of planning a NYE wedding, here's my thoughts for ya:
- Expect 70-80% attendance from those invited. Work commitments, family vacations, etc. will inevitably keep some from attending no matter how much they'd like to be there.
- Think about the most fun wedding receptions you've been to, and then ID why they were so much fun. Was it the 10 piece brass band, the outdoor/indoor setting, the lobster mac & cheese, or other things? Take those pieces and spend your money there. Consider everything else secondary/tertiary and prioritize those accordingly in your budgeting.
- Everything is negotiable, and it truly never hurts to ask. Especially once you get into five figures with a particular vendor, this line becomes really useful, "Hey, I'm spending $30k with you, can you just throw in the grilled veggies for no extra cost?"
- Consider that bringing in alcohol will surely save money, but allowing venue or caterer to control it creates a more seamless process (e.g. running out of Bud Light, venue grabs another case from the back of house).
-Not trying to give you more shite about the guestlist, this is just advice that I've learned and have shared with others so I'm telling you too - in creating the list, I found it easier to create rules for myself. If I hadn't seen someone in person in over a year, they didn't make the list; if there was someone who was on the list only because we had recently been to their wedding, they were cut, etc. Also asked ourselves, "Do I want to pay $200 for this person to come to a party?"
We started with a guest list of around 400, thanks mostly to FIL's list of 160, then pared down to 340 actual invites, and are on pace for 255 actual attendees. Holiday surcharge for New Year's, and we're at about $50k for 255 attendees.
Hope that all helps. Good luck, and with a list of 400, I'm looking forward to receiving an invitation.
ETA: If you don't find a good venue/caterer combo, definitely look into hiring a wedding coordinator. In my research, they often pay for themselves through better/cheaper rates because of their connections with other vendors. And it will save you so much time and effort so you can focus on enjoying the process instead of the detail.
- Expect 70-80% attendance from those invited. Work commitments, family vacations, etc. will inevitably keep some from attending no matter how much they'd like to be there.
- Think about the most fun wedding receptions you've been to, and then ID why they were so much fun. Was it the 10 piece brass band, the outdoor/indoor setting, the lobster mac & cheese, or other things? Take those pieces and spend your money there. Consider everything else secondary/tertiary and prioritize those accordingly in your budgeting.
- Everything is negotiable, and it truly never hurts to ask. Especially once you get into five figures with a particular vendor, this line becomes really useful, "Hey, I'm spending $30k with you, can you just throw in the grilled veggies for no extra cost?"
- Consider that bringing in alcohol will surely save money, but allowing venue or caterer to control it creates a more seamless process (e.g. running out of Bud Light, venue grabs another case from the back of house).
-Not trying to give you more shite about the guestlist, this is just advice that I've learned and have shared with others so I'm telling you too - in creating the list, I found it easier to create rules for myself. If I hadn't seen someone in person in over a year, they didn't make the list; if there was someone who was on the list only because we had recently been to their wedding, they were cut, etc. Also asked ourselves, "Do I want to pay $200 for this person to come to a party?"
We started with a guest list of around 400, thanks mostly to FIL's list of 160, then pared down to 340 actual invites, and are on pace for 255 actual attendees. Holiday surcharge for New Year's, and we're at about $50k for 255 attendees.
Hope that all helps. Good luck, and with a list of 400, I'm looking forward to receiving an invitation.
ETA: If you don't find a good venue/caterer combo, definitely look into hiring a wedding coordinator. In my research, they often pay for themselves through better/cheaper rates because of their connections with other vendors. And it will save you so much time and effort so you can focus on enjoying the process instead of the detail.
This post was edited on 12/9/16 at 11:53 am
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:00 pm to Count Chocula
Thanks, no worries though. Been having it since 2012 and I'm confident I'll be all good and attending those 1,001 dinner parties, barbecues, poolside blowouts, boozy brunches for years to come.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:01 pm to blizzle
Thanks, blizzle. That's some good advice.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:05 pm to blizzle
quote:
If you don't find a good venue/caterer combo, definitely look into hiring a wedding coordinator.
I recommend this regardless of finding the venue/caterer on your own.
They can be really expensive, but what we've done is hire a "month of" wedding planner. Within 30 days of the wedding, she will take over handling everything so we can focus on enjoying it. And it's much more reasonably priced than a full-time coordinator.
And probably more importantly, she will be there at the wedding answering any and all questions and putting out any and all fires that pop up. Should take a great deal of stress off us (who am I kidding, off the bride) so that we can just be happy and not deal with people's BS problems.
Example: we have a no kids policy for our wedding, and it's a policy we have clearly stated with our guests. She has been instructed that if she sees people walking up to the building with kids in tow, it's her responsibility to turn them away.
This post was edited on 12/9/16 at 12:06 pm
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:10 pm to hungryone
God dammit you are one salty broad.
Sounds like someone had a shotgun wedding and still hasn't gotten over it.
Sounds like someone had a shotgun wedding and still hasn't gotten over it.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:12 pm to AbitaFan08
quote:
we have a no kids policy for our wedding
We did the same! I'm really looking forward to it.
We went with a venue that covers food, bar, linens, and a few other items, so we opted for just a day-of coordinator. Less stressed bride = less stressed me.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:23 pm to bmela12
We had White Oak put up a big tent outside as our "dance floor" next to the band. We had almost all food inside, bar outside, and one food station outside. The personal assistant that brings you drinks all night was great too. (shout out to Ms. Penny)
This post was edited on 12/9/16 at 12:25 pm
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:28 pm to blizzle
quote:
We did the same! I'm really looking forward to it.
Yeah, we got some backlash from a few people. Not directly, naturally. They made passive aggressive comments to others and heard it through the grapevine. My logic is, it's our night and we are paying a ton of money for you to eat and drink for free, so if you have a problem with finding a sitter then you're probably not someone I'm close enough to to notice whether or not you're in attendance.
ETA: I'm not blaming the OP for this because the original question was about catering, but this has become probably the least Food or Drink related thread I've seen on the FDB.
This post was edited on 12/9/16 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:39 pm to AbitaFan08
a chick that went my high school was the wedding coordinator at brothers wedding. Between her and the photographer, who also went to my school, almost all the stress of the day was alleviated. I have been other weddings that didn't have this and it didn't run nearly as smooth.
A good photographer may not seem like it's worth the money but goddamn they help out a lot. He had the schedule down to the second. We were done with the photos with no headache.
A good photographer may not seem like it's worth the money but goddamn they help out a lot. He had the schedule down to the second. We were done with the photos with no headache.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 12:47 pm to Dire Wolf
Awesome advice and comments....except for that salty broad haha
Posted on 12/9/16 at 1:35 pm to AbitaFan08
quote:
Example: we have a no kids policy for our wedding, and it's a policy we have clearly stated with our guests. She has been instructed that if she sees people walking up to the building with kids in tow, it's her responsibility to turn them away.
Goooood luck on that one. Someone has some redneck cousins who don't understand how things work. In our case it was me, and I had my mother deal with her people.
In hindsight we didn't need a $5k planner. Our wedding was simple as shite: Latrobe's handled everything except flowers. For some people it's necessary (coordinating transportation, second lines etc).
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:03 pm to AbitaFan08
I wouldn't feel bad at all. We're doing no kids policy too.
^ Our logic as well.
quote:
My logic is, it's our night and we are paying a ton of money for you to eat and drink for free, so if you have a problem with finding a sitter then you're probably not someone I'm close enough to to notice whether or not you're in attendance.
^ Our logic as well.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:11 pm to jordan21210
We're doing no kids as well.
We're also thinking about a "no cell phone" policy too. You spend all of that money on a photographer for them to compete with cell phone flashes and people standing in the isle to get their next Facebook post.
Thoughts?
We're also thinking about a "no cell phone" policy too. You spend all of that money on a photographer for them to compete with cell phone flashes and people standing in the isle to get their next Facebook post.
Thoughts?
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:13 pm to AbitaFan08
quote:
My logic is, it's our night and we are paying a ton of money for you to eat and drink for free, so if you have a problem with finding a sitter then you're probably not someone I'm close enough to to notice whether or not you're in attendance.
That logic goes out the window when you have a big family with a lot of kids that all usually either use family of the same sitters. Even more so for family from out of town that has to travel.
We had kids at our wedding and besides the cute pictures of them from the reception, you'd never have known they were there. If your venue charges you full price for them, I understand excluding them. Otherwise, it's not worth the hassle it causes other people IMO.
You'll be amazed how much you don't notice on the actual day.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:13 pm to bmela12
quote:
people standing in the isle to get their next Facebook post.
Is this really a thing?
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:13 pm to bmela12
quote:
We're also thinking about a "no cell phone" policy too. You spend all of that money on a photographer for them to compete with cell phone flashes and people standing in the isle to get their next Facebook post.
Thoughts?
That's ridiculous IMO.
Posted on 12/9/16 at 2:14 pm to LSUGrad00
quote:
Is this really a thing?
Been to many weddings in the social media age, and I've never seen that happen once.
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