Hi Brides. In my next several blogs I will be taking you through the process of planning your wedding. I want to help those brides that are lost in the planning process and give them some guidance. I hope these blogs will help! My previous blog was Wedding Venues – What to know and ask when picking the perfect venue. I hope you used it when choosing your venue. If you still haven’t gotten that far with your planning please go back and read it first.
After you have the venue and date set then what I recommend is making a list of what is most important to least important about your wedding. Normally, the catering will be the 2nd highest expense so I recommend you tackle that part of your wedding next. Then go down the list you’ve made (ex. photography, DJ, videography, photo booth, etc.). I decided to bring back a post I wrote last summer about different options of catering you can have for the reception. There are several ways to serve your food based on your budget, being practical, being creative and the style you want to have. Here is an article by The Knot on Questions to ask your caterer. One question that I always ask that isn’t listed is will they be at the reception the entire evening to bus tables and clean up. This is very important because you don’t want to have to do this yourself. Some caterers charge an additional fee to do this but it is WELL WORTH IT! If you need help with choosing your catering option I would love to help you! Please contact Trudy. Enjoy the blog!
I always have couple’s wondering what food they should serve and how it should be served at their wedding reception. There are so many options. For the couple that has an extravagant budget I always recommend a cocktail hour with open bar, signature drinks (hers and his) and passed horsd’oeuvres. Then a sit down meal because the guests can spend time talking with each other at their table and can relax as they are served (no getting up). Depending on the budget, there can be 3-5 courses served. Guests love this!
Well, what about the couples that are on a tighter budget? After the cost of the venue, catering is typically the 2nd highest amount a couple will spend on their wedding. There are lots of choices and ways of saving money with your catering.
1. A midafternoon or after dinner cocktails and dessert reception is perfectly fine to do and a great way of saving a lot of money! This choice is fun, elegant and an affordable alternative to the traditional sit down dinner. Offer stations of desserts and fun themed foods. How about a pasta bar or a Tuscan table filled with breads and array of cheese, crackers and olives. A Mexican themed station with fajitas, chips, queso and guacamole can never go wrong either in San Antonio, Texas! For other tables have an array of desserts tailored to the theme of your wedding. The guests will enjoy visiting each table!
2. Buffets are a very popular choice for couples. They are usually less expensive than a sit down dinner because less wait staff is needed and if you double up on the lines then getting through the lines can be quicker. The trick is filling the buffet with two-thirds budget dishes and one-third pricier meat dishes to keep the costs down. Chicken is a lower cost meat choice and you can choose a recipe with sauces and/or crusts that turn the dish into a fabulous choice. Fresh salads and breads are low cost choices too. Most caterers will have wait staff serving the guests so proportions are served equally and food amounts are accurate. You would hate to run out of certain items by guests serving themselves! Having a person assigned to release tables is also recommended so the flow runs smoothly and the guests can wait at their table until it is their turn to get in line. A wedding coordinator is the perfect person to do this.
3. Dinner/food stations are a trendy option for some couples. This is a fun way for guests to try foods they normally don’t eat. So, be creative in selecting the type of foods – it will look like you spent a lot more than you did! Having 3-4 food stations positioned throughout the venue will give a flow for the guests to move around. Food stations work well for the larger wedding where there are many guests. You would let your guests get up as they like and go through the stations they want at their leisure. You can keep the food stations open longer than a buffet and guests can graze at it during the evening.
4. Hand-passed meals at the table are very affordable. Did you know that guests tend to eat less with passed meals then a buffet? Maybe they don’t want to feel greedy by taking all the food from the other guests. If you decide to just do a cocktails reception you can make the event look elegant with several hand-passed horsd’oeuvres options nicely presented on silver trays by the wait staff. For a casual wedding, an even cheaper option is going to a discount warehouse and purchasing cheese and fruit trays and just leaving on the tables. Be careful, though, because this will not go over well at a more formal event.
My favorite part of the planning process with my couples is the taste testing that most caterers offer. Be sure to take part in this so you get the food you want. If you have any questions or need help with caterer options please contact Trudy Scott at 210-595-9263 or Trudy@RoyaltyEventsPlanning.com. I offer wedding coordination fit for a princess! RoyaltyEventsPlanning.com
Congratulations on your wedding! You just got engaged and you’re ready to start planning your wedding! This is the most exciting time of your life! What do you do first? The biggest expense of your wedding could easily be the venue at traditional locations. Those locations could be in a hotel ballroom, a building just for events, country clubs, historical buildings, museums, bed and breakfasts and restaurants. If you’re on a tight budget you could even have it at a church hall or at someone’s home. Lets dig deeper into all the details of choosing the perfect venue for you.
I love being a wedding coordinator in San Antonio! There are so many options when it comes to venue selection. We have the gorgeous Riverwalk with lots of hotel & historical locations. There are lots of Texas Hill Country options in the surrounding areas (ex. Boerne, Helotes, Castroville, La Vernia, Spring Branch, Comfort, etc.). There are beautiful museum options in the heart of San Antonio and also event rental venues all throughout the city. San Antonio definitely offers an option for every style – modern, romantic, traditional, rustic, Mexican, Victorian, etc.
Here’s another unique idea: I had a couple purchase personalized ribbon that had their name and wedding date on it with small bells attached at the top to a stick for waving. What I loved about this was that it made noise and it was very eye appealing for a great look (for the pictures).
Couples love limos or vintage vehicles for their get away car. I had one couple that borrowed a 1920’s car from a friend and boy was it a hit!! A horse and carriage is fun too. That is what I did for my own wedding. I have been in 6 weddings myself and I’ll never forget the getaway car one of my friend’s had…I don’t even know what it was called….I guess it was a truck that they turned the back into a covered country hay ride type experience. It was a lot of fun (we rode in it with the couple to the reception).
Make sure you get every business transaction in writing. This is very crucial! I had a bride, in the past, that hired a mariachi band for her ceremony and cocktail hour. I asked her for the contract so I could review it and she hadn’t signed one. They said they were good for it. WRONG! I insisted she get something in writing from them. They put together a vague one page sheet and guess what….they couldn’t do the ceremony at the last minute. It ended up working out after she said she wouldn’t use them at all if they didn’t come to the ceremony. However, their contract didn’t outline each and every location of service. She asked for a more detailed contract and could never get one from them. Be sure all specifics are laid out in the contract in writing! If they don’t offer you a contract then walk away!
Read the fine print. Inquire about additional fees they might be trying to sneak in. If you do not agree with them then ask that they be taken off. Most vendors will want your business and be open to this. Also be sure that all the details of their service and what was agreed upon is stated in the contract. I had a bride attend a bridal show and sign a lengthy & well drawn out contract that day so she would receive the show special, a free keg. The day of the wedding there was no keg and I asked where it was. They were not aware of the keg because they had failed to mention the show special on the contract and had forgotten it. They ended up running to the store and bought canned beer instead.