Organising a wedding reception at home
Discussion
I'd be surprised if anywhere can do things like a marquee much (any) cheaper than you can go to the marquee company direct for - unless they have their own. Most places will, at the very least, charge the cost price of the marquee plus erection. The majority would add a premium for the effort of organising it for you.
You can hire "professional" BBQs for about £60 (HSS and the like) - probably a bit more for a gas one. You can go to a temp agency for bar staff, if you like. That wouldn't be that expensive.
You sound like you have most of the rest catered for (music, photography and car). The rest of it will be food and booze. I can't see you paying more than somewhere that'll charge you "extra" for serving etc. Also, you can hire plates and so on and opt for a cleaning charge too - so you can save on having to do that. Perhaps consider a hog-roast?
Local brewery's can supply everything you need - cask ales with stillage and taps etc. You can hire the glasses. As has been mentioned, Majestic do sale or return. Not sure that glass hire is free but it's not that expensive - again, you can hand them back dirty if you like (may incur a charge). Failing that, get cheap plastic disposable ones! Licensing might be an issue - but that's assuming you get caught and aren't planning on doing it every weekend.
Obviously, as a landlord, I don't recommend any of the above and actively recommend supporting your local pubs etc.
But, y'know, if you want to save money then I'd be surprised that, with a bit of organisation and Googling on your own behalf, you couldn't get it a lot cheaper than going to a venue that does it to make a profit.
My recommendation would be to make life as easy as possible (i.e. plate cleaning service, sale or return, glass hire etc) but do plenty of research. It will take a fair chunk of your time, but that's what really part of what you pay for when a venue does it all for you.
Feel free to PM me if I can help with advice etc. I've done it before (but on the willfully-profiteering side)
Congratulations anyway!
You can hire "professional" BBQs for about £60 (HSS and the like) - probably a bit more for a gas one. You can go to a temp agency for bar staff, if you like. That wouldn't be that expensive.
You sound like you have most of the rest catered for (music, photography and car). The rest of it will be food and booze. I can't see you paying more than somewhere that'll charge you "extra" for serving etc. Also, you can hire plates and so on and opt for a cleaning charge too - so you can save on having to do that. Perhaps consider a hog-roast?
Local brewery's can supply everything you need - cask ales with stillage and taps etc. You can hire the glasses. As has been mentioned, Majestic do sale or return. Not sure that glass hire is free but it's not that expensive - again, you can hand them back dirty if you like (may incur a charge). Failing that, get cheap plastic disposable ones! Licensing might be an issue - but that's assuming you get caught and aren't planning on doing it every weekend.
Obviously, as a landlord, I don't recommend any of the above and actively recommend supporting your local pubs etc.
But, y'know, if you want to save money then I'd be surprised that, with a bit of organisation and Googling on your own behalf, you couldn't get it a lot cheaper than going to a venue that does it to make a profit.
My recommendation would be to make life as easy as possible (i.e. plate cleaning service, sale or return, glass hire etc) but do plenty of research. It will take a fair chunk of your time, but that's what really part of what you pay for when a venue does it all for you.
Feel free to PM me if I can help with advice etc. I've done it before (but on the willfully-profiteering side
)Congratulations anyway!
Landlord said:
Obviously, as a landlord, I don't recommend any of the above and actively recommend supporting your local pubs etc.
That is the other option. Although budget is a concern, the main reason is to avoid one of the usual souless 'function room' affairs. A nice little oak-beamed pub somewhere would do that well too and may be less hassle...MrFrodo said:
Landlord said:
Obviously, as a landlord, I don't recommend any of the above and actively recommend supporting your local pubs etc.
That is the other option. Although budget is a concern, the main reason is to avoid one of the usual souless 'function room' affairs. A nice little oak-beamed pub somewhere would do that well too and may be less hassle...
Though I seem to recall you're a LONG way from South Buckinghamshire!
We hired a village hall for about £100, look here and then were free to do what ever we wanted, particularly buy the booze from supermarket so it was £5 a bottle instead of the same stuff for £20 from a caterer.
I haven't investigated this but Waitrose do a catering order thing. Maybe ask friends to help, we delegated one small job to each of 10 people so no-one had too much to do. Also see if friends have student/teenage kids who you wouldn't be inviting who would do waiter/ress for £10/20.
Check if the hall has a licence for playing music, you shouldn't play CDs / ipod in public without one, you can buy a one off licence from PPL.
We had a great time at ours partly because lots of people were involved.
I haven't investigated this but Waitrose do a catering order thing. Maybe ask friends to help, we delegated one small job to each of 10 people so no-one had too much to do. Also see if friends have student/teenage kids who you wouldn't be inviting who would do waiter/ress for £10/20.
Check if the hall has a licence for playing music, you shouldn't play CDs / ipod in public without one, you can buy a one off licence from PPL.
We had a great time at ours partly because lots of people were involved.
john2443 said:
Check if the hall has a licence for playing music, you shouldn't play CDs / ipod in public without one, you can buy a one off licence from PPL.
Not a problem anymore; http://www.efdss.org/news/newsId/317I was Best Man at two of my mates' weddings; one where the reception was held in a country manor, the other was in another friends' house and garden, (fair sized house but no marquee). The guest list was roughly the same as we were all mates, so the only difference (apart from family members) was the location and we all said the reception held in the house was the best of the two.
We had a marquee in the garden for around 70 people.
The marquee costs and venue hire was much the same but we had our local pub/restaurant do the catering onsite and they decorated the marquee for us and generally ran things as far as the catering/hospitality was concerned (Foxham Inn in Foxham Wilts which I can thoroughly recommend).
We then bought all the wine ourselves.
This was much cheaper than paying for catering at any venue but far more importantly we could be very specific about what we wanted food and wine wise and ensure the quality was what we wanted.
So many of the venues had no restaurant so the first time we sampled their food was going to be on the day. Some seemed quite puzzled when we said that wasn't going to happen - no way was I serving my family and friends an unknown meal.
We then booked a hog roast for the evening which was a great idea and worked well.
Most importantly we had a great day at home with everyone who mattered and all the photos show the house and garden at its best.
Thoroughly recommend it.
The marquee costs and venue hire was much the same but we had our local pub/restaurant do the catering onsite and they decorated the marquee for us and generally ran things as far as the catering/hospitality was concerned (Foxham Inn in Foxham Wilts which I can thoroughly recommend).
We then bought all the wine ourselves.
This was much cheaper than paying for catering at any venue but far more importantly we could be very specific about what we wanted food and wine wise and ensure the quality was what we wanted.
So many of the venues had no restaurant so the first time we sampled their food was going to be on the day. Some seemed quite puzzled when we said that wasn't going to happen - no way was I serving my family and friends an unknown meal.
We then booked a hog roast for the evening which was a great idea and worked well.
Most importantly we had a great day at home with everyone who mattered and all the photos show the house and garden at its best.
Thoroughly recommend it.
I'm swaying towards the pub option, not least because there's an option that's still sort of 'at home'. Slightly disturbed by the prices people were charging up here I thought I'd ring the local pub in the village I grew up in to see how it compared. This is a 14th century thatched pub that regularly wins accolades for its food, directly opposite a picture postcard church - surely booked up or out of budget...
Actually turned out to be available all month and quoting the cheapest food/drink rates we've had from anywhere. They have standing capacity for twice as many people as we plan on bringing and a decent number of rooms on-site for guests. They don't advertise weddings parties as such, but seemed more than happy to do so.
I grew up within sight of that place and I even used to work there, so it's almost like having it at home. I can't help feeling that would provide the same rustic feel and the same picturesque environment as holding it on the farm without so much hassle (and it might even be cheaper).
Actually turned out to be available all month and quoting the cheapest food/drink rates we've had from anywhere. They have standing capacity for twice as many people as we plan on bringing and a decent number of rooms on-site for guests. They don't advertise weddings parties as such, but seemed more than happy to do so.
I grew up within sight of that place and I even used to work there, so it's almost like having it at home. I can't help feeling that would provide the same rustic feel and the same picturesque environment as holding it on the farm without so much hassle (and it might even be cheaper).
Wacky Racer said:
I wonder how many people splash out £10,000k plus on a fancy wedding and honeymoon in foreign shores and end up divorced three or four years later.
Plenty here on Pistonheads I'll wager...
Ten grand wont get you a fancy wedding, let alone a honeymoon too. We were going to do the wedding at home with Marquee etc. My friend did this the year before and just to get the 'venue' i.e. Marquee, tables, toilets, genny etc cost him best part of £9k, double what we ended up paying for a venue hire.Plenty here on Pistonheads I'll wager...
Mind you, one of the best weddings I went to was in a hay barn where we were sat around on bails with a hog roast outside.
It is the venue and food that cost the money, if you can do them cheaply you are quids in. Alternatively, don't invite anyone........
We had a registry office wedding and then a sit down meal at a local pub. After this, the evening do was in my parents garden (which was also quite local). We had marquees and a couple of portaloos but i can't remember the costs. I don't think they were too pricey in the grand scheme of things and the guys that set them up were pretty spot on.
We put on a small coach from the registry office to the pub and then a bigger coach from there back to my mums house. Our mums, aunts and there friends had all done a bit of finger buffet food. We got a hot water urn for teas and coffees.
My dad and I did a run over to France on the tunnel and spent about £500 on beer and wine which was free for guests (the left over booze lasted for another 6 months or so).We didn't offer spirits and we set up a bar so that people weren't able to take the preverbial, which was manned by various members of the grooms party throughout the evening (me or my brother most of the time).
The bar was also next to the food so it saved me having to go round making sure I spoke to guests as most of them came to me while getting their food or drinks.
It was great and, although I am biased, it felt a lot more personal than many hotel weddings that I have been to.
We put on a small coach from the registry office to the pub and then a bigger coach from there back to my mums house. Our mums, aunts and there friends had all done a bit of finger buffet food. We got a hot water urn for teas and coffees.
My dad and I did a run over to France on the tunnel and spent about £500 on beer and wine which was free for guests (the left over booze lasted for another 6 months or so).We didn't offer spirits and we set up a bar so that people weren't able to take the preverbial, which was manned by various members of the grooms party throughout the evening (me or my brother most of the time).
The bar was also next to the food so it saved me having to go round making sure I spoke to guests as most of them came to me while getting their food or drinks.
It was great and, although I am biased, it felt a lot more personal than many hotel weddings that I have been to.
MrFrodo said:
I'm swaying towards the pub option, not least because there's an option that's still sort of 'at home'. Slightly disturbed by the prices people were charging up here I thought I'd ring the local pub in the village I grew up in to see how it compared. This is a 14th century thatched pub that regularly wins accolades for its food, directly opposite a picture postcard church - surely booked up or out of budget...
Actually turned out to be available all month and quoting the cheapest food/drink rates we've had from anywhere. They have standing capacity for twice as many people as we plan on bringing and a decent number of rooms on-site for guests. They don't advertise weddings parties as such, but seemed more than happy to do so.
I grew up within sight of that place and I even used to work there, so it's almost like having it at home. I can't help feeling that would provide the same rustic feel and the same picturesque environment as holding it on the farm without so much hassle (and it might even be cheaper).
Sounds ideal.Actually turned out to be available all month and quoting the cheapest food/drink rates we've had from anywhere. They have standing capacity for twice as many people as we plan on bringing and a decent number of rooms on-site for guests. They don't advertise weddings parties as such, but seemed more than happy to do so.
I grew up within sight of that place and I even used to work there, so it's almost like having it at home. I can't help feeling that would provide the same rustic feel and the same picturesque environment as holding it on the farm without so much hassle (and it might even be cheaper).
Is your fiance ok with having it where you grew up rather than where you live now or where her parents live?
Sometimes the bride likes to have it in her "hometown".
My brother in law did a similar thing for his wedding. Married in Brighton (Royal Pavillion) and then old London bus to a lovely pub a few miles outside Brighton. Had the whole place to ourselves. Then coach back.
Jonnas said:
It is the venue and food that cost the money, if you can do them cheaply you are quids in. Alternatively, don't invite anyone........
I'd definitely agree with that as a general rule. Most places seem to charge a four-figure fee for hiring the venue following by a pretty hefty package per person for food and drink.However, certain venues - usually bars or pubs - will give you the room for free if you're buying the food and drink there. That's the first bit sorted.
And using somewhere that doesn't advertise specifically as a wedding venue seems to help your money go a lot further for the second part.
The place we're thinking of is a very well regarded gastro pub. They gave a rough estimate of £25 a head for a three course meal (not including drinks, admittedly) and as little as £5 a head for an evening finger buffet depending on the menu. Wine was mentioned at £8 a bottle. Call it £15 a bottle for the toasts.
I know this doesn't cover everything, but as a rough guide for 30 day time guests and 80 evening guests, that's:
£25x30=£750 wedding breakfast
£15x(30/4)=£112.50 toasts at one glass per daytime guest
£8x(80/2)=£320 wine at half a bottle per evening guest
£5x80=£400 for a basic finger buffet in the evening
That's £1,582.50 for the basic catering. Okay, that's a baseline figure, but you could afford to double that and still be quids in relative to a lot of the souless generic wedding venues around here.
GreatGranny said:
Is your fiancee ok with having it where you grew up rather than where you live now or where her parents live?
Sometimes the bride likes to have it in her "hometown".
Good point. That is indeed the tradition (and her family live miles away to compound issues if we hold it in Devon). However, she's already said she doesn't want to hold it in her home town for personal reasons. Sometimes the bride likes to have it in her "hometown".
Our current home is almost exactly half way between the two, but it's basically just somewhere to live with no real emotional significance to either of us (beyond the friends who live there, but they'd be willing to travel). That really just leaves my home town, which we already escape to whenever the opportunity presents itself.
It's also tradition for the bride's parents to pay for everything. That's not going to happen either. More's the pity.
Edited by MrFrodo on Wednesday 10th October 12:15
BBQ, gunk tank full of bottled beer, cheap marquee from ebay, disco, firework display if you want to splash out.
Job done!
I organised a party for 80 for my daughters birth (instead of a Christening).
Paid less then 3k (with a £1000 of that on a professional firework display).
I had the party on a cricket pitch with bouncy castles for the kids. It was a fantastic night!
Job done!
I organised a party for 80 for my daughters birth (instead of a Christening).
Paid less then 3k (with a £1000 of that on a professional firework display).
I had the party on a cricket pitch with bouncy castles for the kids. It was a fantastic night!
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