I may have my reception site

[larussel03]

Has anyone ever had a reception at Angelica''s in Middleton, MA (they''re famous for these really great popovers and spinach things they walk around with and serve complimentary in the restaurant)??? My mom just told me they do wedding receptions and they have really great food (we used to always go there for special occasions) and it''s a nice restaurant. The only thing that bums me out is we might not be able to afford open bar. And they have a really reasonable one at 20.00 per person, but my parents said they''d like to wait to decide about the bar until before the wedding since some of the fam doesnt drink...I still want to do passed champagne at the cocktail hour for the guests, so that if it ends up being a cash bar (insert frowney face here) at least I gave them something. I know it''s not all about the booze, but hopefully I can afford it, or at least enough to tally the first hour or so.

But anyways I''m so excited! I am seeing the ballroom sat and if it''s nice I''m booking it! I''ve looked at 3 reception halls and 2 country clubs, and Angelicas has the best prices, includes limo, centerpieces, cake with ice cream, champagne toast, invitations and some other stuff, for just ~60 per person with gratuity included. One friend of mine said she had the most fun looking at halls--I think it''s the biggest PITA!!!

All y''all planning weddings know how nice it is to have a place that includes everything in the price!!! It stinks when you go somewhere and find out the extra 18-20% isnt included!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

I looked up their website and everything looks very nice..

If anyone wants to check it out: http://www.angelicas-online.com/

 

[larussel03]

Thanks aphisi!! My mom and I were saying how we actually feel really comfortable there b/c we''ve gone there for special occasion dinners since we were younger. I''ll have to attach some digital pics when we go see it!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

You''re very welcome! I can''t wait to see those pictures.

 

[Caribou]

Sweetpea, a friend of mine suggested this me.

We are having beer and wine at our wedding...it's an afternoon thing on a Sunday so we figure people won't drink as much if it were a typical Saturday wedding. Plus, my family or his are real huge drinkers.... so my friends suggested why not have the beer and wine and then anything beyond that (liquor) the guests will have to pay for. I've found that beer and wine is either bought by the keg or bottle or per person but either way it would be cheaper. We are also just having champagne for us and our MOH and GM. But we aren't big champagne drinkers either. Anywho, maybe some will thinks it's tacky but unless you have a lot of people who are liquor drinkers I think you'll find that people won't much care.

ETA: I meant our families are NOT huge drinkers...I just made us all sound like lushes.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 2/15/2006 10:15:34 AM
Author: Caribou
Sweetpea, a friend of mine suggested this me.


We are having beer and wine at our wedding...it's an afternoon thing on a Sunday so we figure people won't drink as much if it were a typical Saturday wedding. Plus, my family or his are real huge drinkers.... so my friends suggested why not have the beer and wine and then anything beyond that (liquor) the guests will have to pay for. I've found that beer and wine is either bought by the keg or bottle or per person but either way it would be cheaper. We are also just having champagne for us and our MOH and GM. But we aren't big champagne drinkers either. Anywho, maybe some will thinks it's tacky but unless you have a lot of people who are liquor drinkers I think you'll find that people won't much care.

That's how we're doing it at our wedding. I've read all over the place that it's tacky to have a cash bar, liquor or all kinds, but I found that it's becoming more accepted. I worked at a country club for 4 years (about 4-6 weddings a week during the height of the season) and we rarely had open bars. If anything was hosted, it was beer and wine. Liquor can be quite expensive and if you have friends and family that are big drinkers, an open bar can lead to nothing but problems. Also, if people get wind that you're having a hosted bar, they'll most likely only show up for the free food and booze, and you might get some extra unwanted guests as well..

We're having two kegs of Yuengling and about 6 cases of each red, white, and blush wine. The people who are supplying the bar said we will only have to pay for what we use, so I'm not afraid of ordering too much. I'm also having a champagne toast for the guests and a few bottles for the wedding party. It should be a good, safe time, I hope. We do have some idiot friends that don't know when to quit, but everybody's got some.

 

[Caribou]

Date: 2/15/2006 11:23:33 AM
Author: aphisiglovessae

Date: 2/15/2006 10:15:34 AM
Author: Caribou
Sweetpea, a friend of mine suggested this me.


We are having beer and wine at our wedding...it''s an afternoon thing on a Sunday so we figure people won''t drink as much if it were a typical Saturday wedding. Plus, my family or his are real huge drinkers.... so my friends suggested why not have the beer and wine and then anything beyond that (liquor) the guests will have to pay for. I''ve found that beer and wine is either bought by the keg or bottle or per person but either way it would be cheaper. We are also just having champagne for us and our MOH and GM. But we aren''t big champagne drinkers either. Anywho, maybe some will thinks it''s tacky but unless you have a lot of people who are liquor drinkers I think you''ll find that people won''t much care.

That''s how we''re doing it at our wedding. I''ve read all over the place that it''s tacky to have a cash bar, liquor or all kinds, but I found that it''s becoming more accepted. I worked at a country club for 4 years (about 4-6 weddings a week during the height of the season) and we rarely had open bars. If anything was hosted, it was beer and wine. Liquor can be quite expensive and if you have friends and family that are big drinkers, an open bar can lead to nothing but problems. Also, if people get wind that you''re having a hosted bar, they''ll most likely only show up for the free food and booze, and you might get some extra unwanted guests as well..

We''re having two kegs of Yuengling and about 6 cases of each red, white, and blush wine. The people who are supplying the bar said we will only have to pay for what we use, so I''m not afraid of ordering too much. I''m also having a champagne toast for the guests and a few bottles for the wedding party. It should be a good, safe time, I hope. We do have some idiot friends that don''t know when to quit, but everybody''s got some.

First, I have to clarify, I said that my family is a bunch of drinkers.... I really meant they aren''t big drinkers.

That''s another reason why I don''t want liquor...people can get mean when they drink hard stuff. People who want to drink can survive on beer or wine, or both if they choose so.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 2/15/2006 11:53:31 AM
Author: Caribou

Date: 2/15/2006 11:23:33 AM
Author: aphisiglovessae

Date: 2/15/2006 10:15:34 AM
Author: Caribou
Sweetpea, a friend of mine suggested this me.


We are having beer and wine at our wedding...it''s an afternoon thing on a Sunday so we figure people won''t drink as much if it were a typical Saturday wedding. Plus, my family or his are real huge drinkers.... so my friends suggested why not have the beer and wine and then anything beyond that (liquor) the guests will have to pay for. I''ve found that beer and wine is either bought by the keg or bottle or per person but either way it would be cheaper. We are also just having champagne for us and our MOH and GM. But we aren''t big champagne drinkers either. Anywho, maybe some will thinks it''s tacky but unless you have a lot of people who are liquor drinkers I think you''ll find that people won''t much care.

That''s how we''re doing it at our wedding. I''ve read all over the place that it''s tacky to have a cash bar, liquor or all kinds, but I found that it''s becoming more accepted. I worked at a country club for 4 years (about 4-6 weddings a week during the height of the season) and we rarely had open bars. If anything was hosted, it was beer and wine. Liquor can be quite expensive and if you have friends and family that are big drinkers, an open bar can lead to nothing but problems. Also, if people get wind that you''re having a hosted bar, they''ll most likely only show up for the free food and booze, and you might get some extra unwanted guests as well..

We''re having two kegs of Yuengling and about 6 cases of each red, white, and blush wine. The people who are supplying the bar said we will only have to pay for what we use, so I''m not afraid of ordering too much. I''m also having a champagne toast for the guests and a few bottles for the wedding party. It should be a good, safe time, I hope. We do have some idiot friends that don''t know when to quit, but everybody''s got some.

First, I have to clarify, I said that my family is a bunch of drinkers.... I really meant they aren''t big drinkers.

That''s another reason why I don''t want liquor...people can get mean when they drink hard stuff. People who want to drink can survive on beer or wine, or both if they choose so.

I totally agree!

 

[larussel03]

Hi!

Thanks Aphisi and Caribou--your comments really help! The places I''ve looked at said I could do a "tally" for beer and wine only, but that I run the chance of that going over $20 per person, or I could put x amount down, tell the bartender to tally for the beer and wine up to that x amount then everything cash afterwards. Seems like a pain. They seem to do cash bar or tally bar, not a wine and beer bar at the places I''ve liked so far. I am doing unlimited passed champagne for the cocktail hour, so hopefully if I save up enough, I can afford the open bar. I''m just going to focus on finding a place that offers open bar at a per person price b/c I''m afraid of tallys.

We have some family members who dont drink at all, also...so if we have 10 people who dont drink, that''s 200.00 paid for them to...although I''m sure the way the per person works is that it will work out in the end. I do get a little worried about everyone getting wasted off hard stuff. Maybe I will do a beer and wine tally bar and mixed drinks cash.

Lots to think about! Good thing I have alot of time, they said that the menu has to be finalilzed a month before, so I''ve got 21 months! : )

 

[larussel03]

Acutally I did some calculating on beer and wine tally and got scared of it...haha. I just think that knowing my friends and family and his friends and family, we''ll go over what 20/or 21 (whatever it was) pp is with a wine and beer tally. What do you think about having passed champagne for the cocktail hour then open bar for one hour? If I can work it?

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 2/15/2006 12:23:10 PM
Author: *~Sweetpea~*
Hi!

Thanks Aphisi and Caribou--your comments really help! The places I've looked at said I could do a 'tally' for beer and wine only, but that I run the chance of that going over $20 per person, or I could put x amount down, tell the bartender to tally for the beer and wine up to that x amount then everything cash afterwards. Seems like a pain. They seem to do cash bar or tally bar, not a wine and beer bar at the places I've liked so far. I am doing unlimited passed champagne for the cocktail hour, so hopefully if I save up enough, I can afford the open bar. I'm just going to focus on finding a place that offers open bar at a per person price b/c I'm afraid of tallys.

We have some family members who dont drink at all, also...so if we have 10 people who dont drink, that's 200.00 paid for them to...although I'm sure the way the per person works is that it will work out in the end. I do get a little worried about everyone getting wasted off hard stuff. Maybe I will do a beer and wine tally bar and mixed drinks cash.

Lots to think about! Good thing I have alot of time, they said that the menu has to be finalilzed a month before, so I've got 21 months! : )

There's two sides to tally bars. One is that the bartender will keep an awesomely accurate tally and you get those few heavy drinkers that will drink up almost your whole limit before the party's even started. The other is that the bartender gets a little overwhelmed and has a hard time keeping up an accurate tally. It depends on if they are keeping a handwritten tally or using a computer. Back at the country club, our bars were portable for the most part and a computer was not available to use. So we had to keep hand written tallies. When you're serving a hundred people as fast as you can (especially with the hard stuff) it can be a little overwhelming for the less experienced bartenders (not every place has hard core experts like me...ha ha...just kidding...I'm not a pro, but I have over 6 years bartending experience so it's easier for me to handle large crowds) and their accuracy can be off, sometimes by quite a bit! So you end up getting more for your buck, but you really won't know until it happens.

Here's an idea: how about drink tickets?? We've done that many times in the past and it seemed to work really well with keeping up with a tally. You have so many tickets representing so many drinks and you give each guest a certain amount of tickets. They must surrender their ticket if they want a drink and the bartender keeps the tickets. If a person doesn't have a ticket, they have to pay cash for the drink. If there are people who don't want their tickets, they can always give them away to other guests. I even saw these cute drink tickets at Michaels that would look so much nicer than those ugly colored raffle tickets. Just a thought...

 

[larussel03]

Drink tickets did cross my mind--my fi''s company party was absolutely beautiful and they handed out drink tickets--everyone got two.

I think I''m going to go with an idea like that or if I can afford it the open bar. We''ll see when the time comes. I''d rather have my guests have at least a couple drinks on us since they pay to travel, for gifts etc.

You''ve made me feel alot better, thanks!!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 2/15/2006 2:16:54 PM
Author: *~Sweetpea~*
Drink tickets did cross my mind--my fi''s company party was absolutely beautiful and they handed out drink tickets--everyone got two.

I think I''m going to go with an idea like that or if I can afford it the open bar. We''ll see when the time comes. I''d rather have my guests have at least a couple drinks on us since they pay to travel, for gifts etc.

You''ve made me feel alot better, thanks!!

Hey, that''s what I''m here for!

 

[larussel03]

I wanted to take and post pics tomorrow of our potential site for everyone to see, but unfortunately our appointment has been postponed (till next Sat tentatively). One of my mother''s best friends (who is like an aunt to me) is dying. She has colon cancer and it really looked like it was in remission then suddenly a few days ago we learned that she''s only got a few days. Cancer is so terrible, I cant even beleive it. My mom wanted to keep the appointment so I wouldnt be dissapointed, but I told her we can put it off as long as she needs b/c she needs to spend her free time with her friend. I just feel so sad, I''ve never had anyone close to me die. I can always find another venue if my mom needs time, I definately am not wanting to look at reception sites knowing this. Worst case scenario, we wait too long and I have to move my date. I need my mother with me to find the place and my mother needs to be with her friend now. I just wish that this werent happening to her friend.

 

[heart prongs]

Sweetpea...I''ve never been to a wedding at Angelica''s...but I live near there. In Beverly...If you need any recs for vendors, be sure to let me know. I miss wedding planning sometimes and I love helping out my fellow brides!!! Where are you from, if you don''t mind me asking?

klr

prongs

 

[larussel03]

Date: 2/17/2006 8:33:50 PM
Author: heart prongs
Sweetpea...I''ve never been to a wedding at Angelica''s...but I live near there. In Beverly...If you need any recs for vendors, be sure to let me know. I miss wedding planning sometimes and I love helping out my fellow brides!!! Where are you from, if you don''t mind me asking?

klr

prongs

I''m from Lynnfield orignally so I''ve been looking for reception sites around the north shore. I''m not opposed to south shore (FI is from Foxboro) but I''d really like someplace I''ve seen or heard about before. Where did you have your wedding??

 

[heart prongs]

We got married at the Ocean View Inn and Resort on Bass Rocks in Gloucester...What was really great about it -- besides the spectacular view -- was that we could do absolutely everything there. I stayed there the night before, got ready in a beautiful suite, had our ceremony on the deck, reception inside, and our after party in a 5 bedroom suite. I also loved that it was an old Tudor mansion and it had a ton of charm. I have a review of the day and a few pictures on theknot.com and my knot name is mrsrobinsontobe

Good luck...there are a lot of really nice places on the North Shore...

klr

prongs

 

[Kismet]

We had our reception at Stonehurst. It''s not on the north shore, but it''s not horribly far. I personally liked that it was just a site rental because we could choose vendors that we liked rather than just take what they had. Our open bar was cheap because we bought our alcohol at the liquor store rather than paying restaurant prices.