should I make menu cards to make choosing easier?

JaniV123

We are hosting our reception at a very nice restaurant. It will be a very formal sit down dinner with several options for our guests. I want to make the night as easy and smooth as possible for us, the guests and the restaurant. Should I provide a numbered (place) menu so that each person can check out the soup, salad, and entree they desire and hand it in to the servers? we want to save on stationary but I think this is something relatively simple we could make ourselves and with the help of FMIL, who is very crafty. 

Our menu: 

Cream of root vegetable or black bean soup

House Salad

Choice of: 

sea bass in meunier sauce

pork loin in morel mushroom sauce

filled chicken breast "a la Antonio" in tropical sauce

accompanied with vegetables and potatoes

we also have a kids menu

thoughts?

southernbelle0915

If it's a fancy restaurant, I think it's awkward to have people check boxes and hand slips of paper to the server. Kind of reminds me of take out or sushi. Just provide a menu and have people order like normal.

I think you'll save on confusion if you just have this printed menu at each place with the options. I'd have it broken out into options for each course. You could easily use wedding program templates sold at Michael's/other craft stores for this and just print them on your home computer. Work with the restaurant to have them fold the napkins and insert the menu so it looks cohesive/custom:

Maggie0829

I agree with southernbelle, having your guests check boxes on a piece of paper and then hand it to a server does not sound very formal to me.  I would just make up some nice menu cards (or even see if the restaurant can do it for you or if they have a template you can use) and place them at each place setting.  Then have your guests order what they would like by telling the server like people typically would at a restaurant.

JaniV123

thanks! I didn't think about it that way. And doing the menu to put inside the napkin is something we had already contemplated. I may be going to start looking at invites on Thursday so if I see anything I like I will ask about costs for menus, if it is affordable then I can order them if not work on something similar after I get the samples.

MesmrEwe

I would talk to your venue and see what they recommend - it's even possible that they would do this for you!  I know some of the nicer restaurants around here will do this without even asking. 

OhHeyLiana

defintitely ask your venue. They may request you have a count for each prior to the event in which case you will probably want to include the option on their RSVP cards.

JaniV123

@OhHeyLiana I asked and he said they do it the same day on site. I asked him precisely that and that was his reply. Thanks though!