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Charlottesville--Catering Budget

sassybananasassybanana member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Virginia
So, finally after 7 months of trying to pick a venue and thinking that I almost found *the one*, after moving the entire thing to Richmond-and then back to Charlottesville..I fell in love with King Family Vineyard. The part I didn't fall in love with--$6500 for Saturday room rental. (Which I feel is fair for what you get, just seemingly over my budget). They advertise $3000-$5000 for Friday and Sundays..big gap in price, so I'm not sure exactly how they decide..

I was wondering if there were any other knotties out there that had priced out a wedding there--including linens and place settings for about 120 guests? I'm trying to figure out if I should splurge for the Saturday rental and maybe cut back the food cost or book the venue on a Friday instead..? Or just get an overall feeling if I will be able to manage.
I'm trying to keep my budget in the $15,000-$20,000 range..
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Re: Charlottesville--Catering Budget

  • Avion22Avion22 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm getting married at KFV as well.  Yes, it is expensive...but honestly, it's about the same as every other vineyard we looked at.  

    I haven't started pricing anything yet, but am going to start looking into that when I'm back in Cville in a few weeks.   I'm hoping to save money on a small guest list and inexpensive/non-fussy food. 

    I'll let you know what I find out:-)
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  • Avion22Avion22 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Just noticed that it looks like your wedding date is in November?  If so, I think KVF has off-season rates that are a bit lower.   Also, if you or your fiance are in the military they will offer a discount on facility rental and wine.
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  • nikkinarginikkinargi member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you haven't booked KFV check out http://www.hermitagehillfarm.com
    beautiful facility with horses instead of grapes
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  • welches79welches79 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you have your heart set on a vineyard, try Afton or Barren Ridge. Both are much more reasonably priced than Kings Family.
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  • CvilleClaireCvilleClaire member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Off-season, I think you could have a wedding for under $20K at King Family.  It'll be tight, but you can do it!

    Look into my venue, Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards.  Their fees may be higher now that the venue is complete (I signed on during construction), but their fantastic catering is on site, the rentals aren't needed unless you have very specific colors in mind, and the staff is wonderful.  This is where we saved...we paid a lot for the venue, but we don't have to rent anything at all.

    Overall, I think Pippin Hill is even prettier than King Family.  We love King Family and spend plenty of time there, but Pippin is our new favorite.  :)

    My pictures of Pippin:
    Outside: http://www.smallchichome.com/2011/06/pippin-hill-farm-vineyards-part-1.html

    Inside:
    http://www.smallchichome.com/2011/06/pippin-hill-farm-vineyards-part-2.html

    The bridal loft:
    http://www.smallchichome.com/2011/06/pippin-hill-farm-vineyards-part-3.html
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  • sassybananasassybanana member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hey ladies,
    Thanks for the input.
    Welches-I did look at Barren Ridge, and I liked it, it was a very close contender. However, I thought the outside space was limited-as well as the parking. The room was nice upstairs, but again a little too tight. Also, I was not impressed at all with their wine.

    Claire-I think your venue is spectacular! I saw pictures of it going up and it is amazing! I was initially turned off by the catering amount and the price of liquor and beer. A huge part of our lives is drinking good beer together! So we needed a flexible alcohol policy.

    Avion-KFV has off season rates starting December-March..I would totally push it back if the off-season started November. I even considered having it on a Friday or Sunday, but I have 70% of the guest list coming in from out of town. If it was mostly local people I would say go for it, but it seems pretty inconvienent for most of my guests.
    I'm just figuring what I can cross off the list of importance--
    Wedding planner-$2000, perhaps? Is it necessary??
    The next largest expense that I would love to work with budget wise is catering-maybe  bringing down the cost per person?
    I've figured anywhere from $50-100 pp..depending or not if you consider the cost of the place settings.
    I love to cook, my FMIL is a chef and I work in the restaurant business so I know plenty of cooks but none with a catering outfit. My FMIL offered to do the catering, which is touching, but I think too much.
    What I would truly like to do is provide some of the food (dessert/salads/some apps) but let the caterer handle the meat and prep of the hot sides.
    I also have a garden that could provide ingredients, but that is not a typical request to make to a caterer (or they might try to charge you more ;)  ), I suppose..
    I'm just not really sure if I would be able to make these requests to a caterer...?
    But I could phrase it "do you want my business or not?"
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  • Avion22Avion22 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm back in Cville, and meeting with some caterers this week.  I'm looking at Beggars Banquet, Rock Barn, and Harvest Moon.   Of the three, Beggars Banquet looks the least expensive (their sample wedding menu is priced at $27 per person, not including rentals), but Rock Barn says that they are more than willing to work within a budget. 

    I think I kind of feel the same way that you do.  I don't think that good food necessarily needs to be expensive. I mean, I don't need filet mignon.   Tasty chicken and pasta could be even better :-) 
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  • LAURENFOLEYLAURENFOLEY
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    20 South is really flexible. They're a little high (around prices with Harvest Moon), but they're letting us do family style dining for no extra charge *which I LOVE*
    My FI is a chef, so the food was really important to him. My parents are paying, so the $$ was really important to me. 20 South has been FANTASTIC in helping us plan our menu to satisfy both!

    EDIT -- I'm also getting married at King Family -- Oct 29. 
    Expensive, but so stunningly gorgeous I think it's worth it. I figure one of the biggest things I'll remember about my wedding day is where it was. KFV is completely worth remembering :)
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  • sassybananasassybanana member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Avion-I was interested in speaking with the Rock Barn-not much info on their website.. I thought his credentials were pretty good. I'm interested who you end up deciding to go with.


    Lauren-I am planning on doing  a family style dinner as well-are you doing individual salads/soup or also all together? What kind of sides are you doing, and my other question about family style is how to know what the right portion is for a whole table if you are doing multiple meat entrees? I guess I pretty much want to know your menu ;)
    I love KFV too, and I feel like some of the other venues that I looked at were just too cramped, KFV really feels intimate without being too small. Also, the views...unparalled to many other places in my opinion.


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  • CvilleClaireCvilleClaire member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_virginia_charlottesville-catering-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:236Discussion:b503ae38-258e-42c2-854a-761688994145Post:75ee7542-2559-45c5-8b54-26f819e6189a">Re: Charlottesville--Catering Budget</a>:
    [QUOTE]A huge part of our lives is drinking good beer together! So we needed a flexible alcohol policy. [/QUOTE]
    My FI is works in the beer industry...specific in the craft brew industry.  When we first talked to Pippin, we told them that we would like to bring in some special things that they wouldn't even have access to.  They seemed agreeable.

    W've been down for tastings a few times since they opened and we were so, so surprised by how fantastic their wines were. Back when Pollack opened, we went there and suffered through the tasting (they're much better now that they have some time behind them).

    I'm really interested in hearing more about venues for a friend who is on a tight budget.  Did any of you look at Inns or B&Bs?  What costs did you find with those?
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  • sassybananasassybanana member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I do have to make it out there for a tasting soon, then.
    I was hoping to provide all of the alcohol and mixers. I probably even know a few bartenders that would probably work the shift. I'm not as concerned about the wine with KFV because I think it is fine.  I just think at $8 a high ball cocktail, Pippin Hill is a bit steep. We would like to bring in some great aged kegs, possibly even do a brew together to serve would be fun too. I actually think it is an old tradition that the bride brew a batch of beer for the wedding. I'll have to double  check on that ;)

    As far as your friend on a budget-how much for the venue? I thought White Hall was really fairly priced but you would want to keep the guest list at about 100.
    Also, Barren Ridge was fair priced too.
    Open Space in town just started doing wedding receptions-but it may be max 80 guests.
    I thought a very interesting and different venue is Glass House Winery..It's a little off the beaten path but it is an oasis! A green house, actually, of tropical fruits and plants. It would be a strange set up as far as dinner. Unless you were doing a heavy appetizer/cocktail style party it would be kind of weird. I think they may be flexible on price because they just opened up.

    What I mostly found as far as venues, many places were great but you still have to rent a tent. The cost of the tent and weather woes was my biggest annyoance.
    On the way to Richmond there is a vineyard-Grayhaven. They have the tent to rent and a caterers kitchen that you can use throughout the week of your wedding. Also, they will make you some very interesting sangrias to serve. This was at $1700 including the tent and some indoor bathrooms.
    In Richmond, the Main Street Train Station is a great price at $1500 with some furniture (cocktail hour tables and chairs)  included. It is a beautiful building but it is an open and operating train station! Conveinently there is a fleIxible caterer just next door.
    The Local in Belmont does weddings and has an outdoor patio. You can also arrange for them to do the catering, keeping it easy!

    I hope this helps, if you are looking for something else, let me know, I have a few more places in mind!

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  • CvilleClaireCvilleClaire member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm not quite sure...I just know that the most popular vineyards aren't going to work for her budget.  She was originally going to have a brunch reception at Boar's Head, but I think she has started to think about other options. 

    Thanks so much!  I'll pass all of this along to her!
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  • KAB05009KAB05009 member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Anyone narrow down their Charlottesville caterer options since the last post?

    There are so many too choose from! I'm on a relatively small budget and don't know which caters may be best to contact! I have initially contacted at least a half a dozen, but that still hasn't narrowed anything down!

    I put in a call into The Rock Barn today and am waiting to hear what they have to say!

    What are you other girls expecting to pay for your caterer (including linen/flatware/barware/etc,etc! rentals)? Any suggestions?
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