Suggestions for cheap but good caterers in the bay area?

knottieeafa1bb2d69fa208

Hi ladies - I'm trying to determine if we should get a venue that does the food included or if we find a site and bring catering in. It's hard to compare prices so I need to get a range of catering quotes. I feel I've found some high end options but am looking for one that can do all the food and rentals/service (no tables or alcohol required) for around 18000. Any suggestions?

aleanette

Look at Freedom Hall & Gardens in Santa Clara.  They have an all-inclusive package for $10k which includes food, alcohol, etc!

knottieeafa1bb2d69fa208

Wow - that's a good deal.. Do you know how many people they can hold? My only concern is it's a little far out of the city (which is where we live)

[Deleted User]

The maximum they can hold is up 220 so around 125 will be nice. My friend got married there this past April and said it was wonderful. The staff took care of everything and she didn't have to worry about anything. I'm looking at Freedom Hall as a possible venue for my nuptials.

knottieeafa1bb2d69fa208

Thanks for the extra info. We're going to  be atleast 200 so I think it won't work. The size of our guest list is so frustrating!

[Deleted User]

It wouldn't hurt to check it out: www.freedomhall.com

ElisabethJoanne

Can't remember how I found this, but they're cheaper than anything I've read about for the Bay Area (haven't really started looking for caterers yet, though):
http://www.servesyourightcatering.com/

The Embassy Suites SFO has wedding packages that start at $50/person with 0 alcohol, for, like, brunch. I've seen sandwich lunch bills for the Marriott for about $35/person (a work meeting for 15 people), just to give you some ideas.

In general, my future husband and I are finding cite fees are cheaper for publicly-owned facilities and cite+caterer is the cheaper option. A few of the publicly owned cites have very short approved caterers lists, though, and all of those caterers begin at $50/person, not including alcohol or tax or gratuity.

To get site ideas, we looked at HereComesTheGuide, which is both a book and a website. We also just wandered around and found a few lovely places. (My future husband is an architecture buff which means we both wander around looking at lovely places for fun, even apart from wedding planning, and that he had a "vision" for the reception venue almost as soon as we met.) Yelp has some reviews. We found a book at a used bookstore in Alameda titled something like "Best Places to Get Married in the Bay Area."

em0688

Try www.SimpyCateredforyou.com. My friend had them cater her wedding and they were very reasonable and the food was OUTSTANDING!!!

knottieeafa1bb2d69fa208

Thanks I just emailed them!