Dinner after ceremony

Not tacky at all! Do whatever feels most comfortable to you. I would try calling around even family owned restaurants and see if they have a special pricing for big party. Might be able to find something for less than $20 a person which would fit your budget

That's perfectly fine! Having your guests pay for themselves is tacky. Hosting your guests at a place where you can afford to do so is never tacky!

I don’t think it’s tacky. When I worked at a Ruby Tuesday in college we had an after wedding lunch there and they had one entire side of the restaurant. It was about 50 people. Do what you can afford.

I definitely don’t think that’s tacky at all! My coworker plans to do that because it’s within her budget to only do a restaurant dinner like that for 20 or so people. Agreeing with Mrs. Fall Bride, it’s tacky if they pay. Do what is comfortable for you.

I think as long as your providing them some food it’s not tacky at all! Heck I’d be happy to “pick my own plate” at either of those restaurants!

Not tacky at all but make sure to reserve space somewhere. If you show up with 20 people at Applebee's you aren't going to be sitting together. LOTS of restaurants have rooms that you could reserve so you can all be together.

This is not tacky at all! See if the restaurant has a separate room for events so you have some privacy.

Thank you everyone! I feel so much better about this. I was convincing myself that it had to be some place super fancy!

Nope! It's tacky not to feed people.

But TBH even at OG or similar place I am not sure 500.00 is enough? That's 25.00 PP before tip, like 20.00 after tip. Many of the dinners look to be around 15-18 dollars.

After tip, you are left with just around 400.00 (most places will add 18% gratuity for parties over 7 or 8. )

View Quoted Comment Yeah I was looking at that also. Our finally guest count is 15 and that includes 4 kids, so their meals would be $5-8. My lowest budget is $500, highest is $700.

If it's only 11 adults and 4 kids, I think you can make it happen. Obviously each guest will get their own entree, but maybe for appetizers you can order just a few for the whole table to share, instead of an individual app for each person.

View Quoted Comment That's a good idea! I was also thinking of pre selecting some menu options and asking that they choose one of those.

View Quoted Comment

I think you are probably good then!

We are doing our rehearsal dinner at Macaroni Grill they will give you a private room and you can preselect a few dishes to make things easier! It's a great deal and a lovely option for a group dinner 😊

Not at all!! You're being smart and staying within your budget and getting everyone fed!

Not tacky at all - do what works best financially for you and FH! I freaking love Applebees and Olive Garden personally, lol.

I would also ask, where it's a special occasion, if they would let you bring in a wedding cake? It would be a cheaper way to give everyone dessert than if people order off the menu. I've seen lots of restaurants that allow this with big parties.

View Quoted Comment We actually weren't even planning on having dessert.. but some mentioned a dessert and drink type of thing and that sounds good

View Quoted Comment But yes, most places I've been looking at do allow outside cake with a cake cutting fee of course

It's not tacky! They are there to enjoy this day with you. Some olive gardens even have a private room.