DFW wedding on a budget venue help please???

Just no. NO NO NO NO NO.

Don't make me tell you the story of my own self catered wedding (we were both chefs) because everyone here has heard it four times.

Or the time that I got a panicked call from a chef's mom. Her son was planning to cater his brother's wedding in their backyard. About 160 guests. She didn't think it would happen and hired us on the sly. And she was right. When we got there to set up on the day; said chef was in a hammock, passed out.

A restaurant chef is not a catering chef. You don't make your family cook and serve on your wedding day.

If you can't afford to have a caterer for 200 guests, have 30.

The end.

Dallas is crazy affordable going by the rest of the country's standards.. and even then, this isnt gonna happen.

You need to cut your guest count drastically.

There are places that could accommodate 200. but you're looking at venue fees *starting* at 2500 at a bare minimum and just going up from there depending on the time and day of the week.

There is ONE place i can think of that could accommodate you (Crystal Banquet in Plano), but they dont allow ANY alcohol on the premises and their meals start at $13/pp.. and taste like they cost about $5. So...not really a route I'd suggest taking.

And NONE of these places, even if they allow BYO catering, are going to allow your family members to cook and serve food - they will want to see proper licensing and permits from the caterer. Cut your guest list, choose a smaller, more intimate venue within that budget that allows BYO catering, and get catering from a local restaurant like lockhart BBQ or maggiano's.

You can do a wedding under 1000 because I am. You'll have to go without a lot and have a guest list of about 30. But a wedding is a wedding.

I live in DFW. What I am about to say is coming from me calling and emailing a lot of venues in DFW. Poetry Springs is out of the budget because the price they are giving you is based off of getting the place for the whole day. So some places I think will work for you are:

DeSoto Civic Center- It is a community center but a very nice looking one and price is very good.

Rowlett Community Centre- Another nice center but if I am correct you can only reserve 9 months in advance.

Cedar Hill Community Center- Another nice place. I think you can only reserve 12 months out.

The places I mentioned above are community centers that do not look like your usual centers. They are very nice and not outdated like a lot of community centers I have seen. I do have other places as well for you, but my only thing is I don't know what your catering preferences are or budget is on that. I know these places i just mentioned will let you have any caterer you want and are DIY. Like a lot of people have said on here in the past which i didnt think about at first, it may be cheap to rent a DIY venue, but can be expensive to get all the stuff you need to create the wedding you want.Please don't self cater because that is a lot of people to prepare food for and I think it would be too stressful and you have to worry about making sure people don't get food poison. Wishing you the best with your wedding.