what would you rather have/attend?

[bee*]

Date: 12/20/2007 1:56:34 PM
Author: Gypsy
Oh honey. The Laffayette is very nice!!!


I love that it''s such an elegant blank slate.


The grand something add on for 14 a person is very reasonable too and includes an open hour for a nice number of hours, plus the food prices are really reasonable.


Overall, I think it''s a great compromise. I hope you have a great impression of it in person!

ditto. I think the second place looks gorgeous!

 

[zoebartlett]

Oops, I just realized that I asked if you could post pics and then I forgot to comment about them. Sorry! I really like, no, love the Lafayette! It''s great that you can create what you want to since it''s pretty much a blank slate. It''s very pretty!

 

[tberube]

From the opinions I''ve been getting lately from people all around me (and on here), nobody cares about the venue - just food, alcohol and dancing. But then again I love beautiful places.

I think you should ask yourself "what would MY guests like?" Because everyone''s guest list is different. For example, 99% of my guests could care less about an open bar and about 75% prefer buffets to sit down dinners, which is the opposite opinion of most people on here.

 

[tberube]

Date: 12/18/2007 8:03:42 PM
Author: mimzy
thanks for your input girls.


Gypsy, I would definitely be very clear on the invite about what they should expect.


I was of course looking for a compromise, but there are none to be found and there is no way to cut the guest list (believe me, we''ve tried). We only have $45 a person to spend on food and drink (not including tax and tip, i guess that''d make it 60), so even some of the mediocre places are out of our budget. the only place that i''ve found that might work is 1 1/2 hours away from everyone and in not the greatest of areas. i''m still looking though.

Mimzy, where the heck do you live?! I know prices are high in Boston (where I am), so we went off premises a little to get our happy price. Also remember, if you go to a hotel, a lot of the time their price per head includes other things besides food, like wine with dinner, champagne toasts, bartenders fees, taxes and tips...sometimes even centerpieces and cakes. That''s what our venue did - so we spent a little more per head but it wasn''t just for the food. So pay attention to that too.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

For what it''s worth, I much prefer the cocktail style reception. I find that it creates much more energy and I find that people like to talk and mingle instead of being seated next to somebody with whom they might not relate for the whole evening.

 

[mimzy]

Date: 12/20/2007 5:46:55 PM
Author: tberube

Date: 12/18/2007 8:03:42 PM

Mimzy, where the heck do you live?! I know prices are high in Boston (where I am), so we went off premises a little to get our happy price. Also remember, if you go to a hotel, a lot of the time their price per head includes other things besides food, like wine with dinner, champagne toasts, bartenders fees, taxes and tips...sometimes even centerpieces and cakes. That''s what our venue did - so we spent a little more per head but it wasn''t just for the food. So pay attention to that too.

tberube - i live about 20 mins south of detroit. our budget is essentially 19k, which includes the honeymoon too, and our guest list is over 200 with no ways to cut it. we are doing a lot of things ourselves like the flowers and invitations, and we just can''t afford much more than that. most hotels around here are about $80-100 a head, and even if they did include extras we wouldn''t be able to afford it - saving $350 on a cake doesn''t really make up for $4k price discrepency! (and nobody around here quotes prices with tax and tip included!)

i think we''ve found our place though. we got a beautiful ballroom with a GREAT buffet, a few cold appeatizers, premium bar, linens, a few decorations,a late nite snack for the guests, an ice sculpture (which i dont'' really care about), a dessert table and a special ''midnite snack'' for us all for $41 pp (plus champagne for all our guests and some other freebies if we book it in january, which we might because it also knocks down the price to $36 a person!)

i can''t imagine what it would cost us if we lived in new york, california, chicago or boston.

 

[Rhea]

We ran into this with our wedding and finally opted for a buffet meal (I dislike plated meals because I want to pick and choose what I eat). We chose this because 1-we had a lot of out of town guests, 2-we had a lot of older guests, and 3-late dinners are common for us. If we had gotten married at 8pm there wouldn''t have been enough time for guests to get their dinner before hand so starting at 9pm was the absolute earliest we were willing to consider getting married so people had time to feed themselves, but by then we were afraid that the older people would want to go home.

If you''re doing a late afternoon then there''s no issues with this and I''d vote for the venue (and you''d also save by having a shorter reception and little or no dancing!).

I think eating late is a social thing as well though so with your group it may be possible. We attend about 3 black tie things a year and they never start before 7:30pm with dinner at 8:30pm and dancing afterwards. I wouldn''t dream of inviting my friends to something that started before 9pm (a socially acceptable dinner time for us) and not feed them. The later we eat, the fancier the occasion so for a wedding it would just be assumed it was the party of the year.

 

[gwendolyn]

That second place looks great! You can add a bit of yourselves to other aspects of the venue if it''s important to you guys, m''dear. It''ll be fabulous!

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 12/20/2007 3:03:29 PM
Author: mimzy
thanks gypsy, that means a lot. i am adjusting to it, and i''m trying to do it quickly because i really want the fun part to start!

You''re welcome hon, I hope that this wedding turns out to be better than all your dreams, in the end.