Restaurant Wedding Reception

The first things that pop into my mind to ask is if the area you rent will be private, or can it be 'crashed' by regular patrons.

Also, can you pick your own music (if that is something you want)

If you still want to do some of the traditional things (first dance, bouquet toss), is there room for that?

That's what I can think of right now.

We are having our reception at a restaurant too so here is what I had asked.

Ask if they have private or semi private area and capacity. Whichever you prefer.

What are the food/Beverage minimums?

Can you have decorations and will they help with set up?

Can you bring in a cake from a outside vendor? and is there a cake fee?

Is there a deposit required?

Is there a pre selected menu provided? or can it be customized?

What is the cancellation policy?

I think that covers all questions I asked.

Can your guests order from the entire menu? Or can you limit it to 2-3 entrees?

What about drinks?

Im having a destination wedding with the dinner after the ceremony, so I asked many questions.

1) do you have a room set aside for us, what is the cost to reserve the room, and how many can you hold?

2) what is the menu for a large party?

3) is there a deposit and when is it due? When do we pay the balance?

4) is the menu ala carte or do you have a specific party menu?

5) can you schedule a walk through AND taste testing

something else they may need to know, are you planning on music, gifts, a cake and table, do you want appetizers passed or on a self serve table....

there's alot of questions that go on with something like this, but when you ask one, trust me you will think of a million more! Make sure you get names of everyone you talk to, find out their hours so you aren't playing phone tag, and above all, if your women's intuition doesn't feel comfortable with the person you talk to or the atmosphere of the place, walk away. First impressions are important!

GOOD LUCK

Restaraunts are okay as so many have the desire and capacity to handle events. Another idea is many smaller hotels have function rooms that cater to small parties as well. The prices can be very reasonable and it offers more privacy.

We are also having ours at a restaurant (ceremony, too). We didn't have a lot of questions because their event package was very thorough. I asked about children's meals, any potential extra costs, set up for the ceremony, what types of things were provided (linens, etc), what sort of rental items could we bring in versus what they had available like dance floor. etc.

Hi, welcome to WW!

We had our ceremony and reception at a restaurant. Basically, the question is if you want a private room, what kinds of restrictions they may have. For example, we had private space, private bathrooms, and a separate entrance. We had a dance floor and a DJ. Or did you just want to have dinner after ceremony?

I'm thinking of only having only appetizers, dinner, cutting of cake and toast.

Thank you for all the advice. I did get a lot of information from some of the packages but there are some questions that I didn't ask. I will have 5 children and didn't ask for a children's menu. Or if there is a cake fee and if they will help cut and serve the cake.

Most often, at least in my experience, if they provide the cake then they won't charge you for serving it. But if you bring the cake from the outside, then they will. But of course, it's worth checking with them.

You actually have a pretty good plan. These types of receptions are more cost effective because you don't need to rent linens, chairs, etc. Did you ask about drink packages, or did you want everyone to just order what they want? Are they letting you choose anything from the menu, or are you selecting in advance?

They emailed me a package which included a lunch and dinner menu with 3 different price ranges and 3 differnt entrees to choose from. Linens are not inclued for some reason. I would have to provide my own cake.

The lady I spoke with suggested the most cost effective way to go with drinks was to only serve wine (red and white) and some beer. They would serve the wine for the guest. She one bottle serves about 4 people so we could go over how many we would need.

Do you have any other places that you want to look at? It's pretty odd that they don't include linens, at least the plain white ones.

We also had our rehearsal dinner at a restaurant, and linens were included. They even put some flowers on the tables.

Well, I've only looked in Ventura County because that's close to where the ceremony well be. I've just started looking and I don't know many restaurants which would be nice.

So now that you've had the wedding, is there anything you wish you would have asked or done differently about a restaurant reception?

Thanks!