Random general questions to get me started

agatara

Hi all! I recently got engaged, and my guy and I are not planning on getting married until next year. We're still only in the early planning phase, but I'm looking at and gathering ideas for various things. I have a few general questions and would appreciate any advice.

-- What is a seated buffet dinner? Is it a buffet but with plenty of tables (larger tables) for taking your meal back to eat?

-- How far in advance should you book a venue?

-- How much should a wedding cake serve (as in, all guests, some, 1/2, ...)? What if you also have a groom's cake? We want both and likely wouldn't have other desserts.

We're looking at around 200 people for (likely) next summer, so these questions pertain to that fact:
-- I've read that for larger weddings, you want a receiving line. I think that's what it is called. For an outdoor wedding... in Georgia... in the summer... even in the evening, is this ridiculous? Even if the reception is inside it'd still keep guests in a line for a long time and I feel like it'd be awful to do to the guests.

-- With this many people, I kind of want assigned tables/table sections (family being guaranteed seats together and close to us) but not assigned seats. Does anyone have input?

-- Family would be both flying in from out of state and driving up to Atlanta from all over Georgia. Is Saturday night best, or could a Friday evening work?


Thanks so much in advance to any advice!!

pokepoke27

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_georgia-atlanta_random-general-questions-to-get-me-started?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:58Discussion:143689b9-59e7-466a-a04c-4c36332303afPost:25cffe18-9c11-4da9-b7af-ac7f5f648dfb">Random general questions to get me started</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi all! I recently got engaged, and my guy and I are not planning on getting married until next year. We're still only in the early planning phase, but I'm looking at and gathering ideas for various things. I have a few general questions and would appreciate any advice.<div>
</div><div> -- What is a seated buffet dinner? Is it a buffet but with plenty of tables (larger tables) for taking your meal back to eat?</div><div>
</div><div><strong>If you are serving a meal you need to provide enough seats for EVERYONE to sit down to eat their meal. The tables don't necessarily have to be "large" - you could have a lot of small tables - as long as everyone has a place to sit and table space to eat. </strong></div><div>
</div><div>-- How far in advance should you book a venue? </div><div>
</div><div><strong>I would say probably no more than a year in advance for most place. But that really just depends on the venue. Some places will have more openings than others. For a "non-wedding" venue (such as mine) you can book it much closer to the time than with somewhere like the Biltmore.</strong></div><div>
</div><div>-- How much should a wedding cake serve (as in, all guests, some, 1/2, ...)? What if you also have a groom's cake? We want both and likely wouldn't have other desserts. </div><div>
</div><div><strong>Traditionally the wedding cake is a vanilla type cake and the grooms cake is a chocolate type cake. The polite thing to do would be to make sure that there is enough cake for every single guest. </strong></div><div>
</div><div>We're looking at around 200 people for (likely) next summer, so these questions pertain to that fact:</div><div>
</div><div> -- I've read that for larger weddings, you want a receiving line. I think that's what it is called. For an outdoor wedding... in Georgia... in the summer... even in the evening, is this ridiculous? Even if the reception is inside it'd still keep guests in a line for a long time and I feel like it'd be awful to do to the guests. </div><div>
</div><div><strong>You don't have to have a receiving line. I am not doing one - instead I am going to have FI and I visit each table during dinner. </strong></div><div>
</div><div>-- With this many people, I kind of want assigned tables/table sections (family being guaranteed seats together and close to us) but not assigned seats. Does anyone have input? </div><div>
</div><div><strong>This is fine. You do not need to assign seats. You will need to write every guests name on an escort card (as opposed to a place card, which is what you would use to assign seats). You should make your escort cards easy to find - arrange them alphabetically rather than by table number. Also, you can have favors that double as escort cards (if you do favors at all - they are not required).</strong></div><div>
</div><div>-- Family would be both flying in from out of state and driving up to Atlanta from all over Georgia. Is Saturday night best, or could a Friday evening work? </div><div>
</div><div><strong>A Saturday night would definitely be best. A Friday evening WILL work, of course, but people will have to take full/half days off of work to travel to your wedding. Even the in state guests will need to do this to make sure they are ready and can drive up there in plenty of time. Plus, going into Atlanta they are bound to run into some kind of rush hour traffic. Also, with a Friday wedding all of your OOT guests will need to choose between travelling over night Thursday or taking Thursday off of work in addition to Friday. Also, Friday weddings are not always cheaper than Saturdays - it just depends on the vendor. </strong></div><div><strong>
</strong></div><div><strong>However, if Friday works better for you, don't let that stop you. It's up to your guests to decide if they want to take time off of work to attend your wedding. It may mean slightly more declines than for a Saturday wedding - but if you're okay with that then go ahead. The most important people will do whatever it takes to be there.</strong></div><div>
</div><div>Thanks so much in advance to any advice!!</div><div>Posted by agatara[/QUOTE]

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pokepoke27

RedSoloCup - YOu are completely right about not every guest eating a slice of cake - but it is always better to have too much than not enough. And on the plus side, if there are extras some people can get seconds : )

agatara

These responses were so awesome! Thank you both so much! I'm taking notes, and this site is definitely getting me off on the right foot. :-)

Also, yes -- extra wedding cake is good for everyone. I don't even plan on stopping with a single slice for myself...