My FI and I have been looking into having a wedding at The Ribault Club in Fort George Island, FL. It's pretty close to Jacksonville and Amelia Island. The Ribault has a full catering kitchen, but I must provide my own vendors (they do have recommended ones). I really want to do a buffet style meal and am not positive of what the cost of such a thing should usually run. We're not positive about how many guests will actually attend, but our max will definitely not be more than 100 people. I would guess about 85 realistically.
They don't have cutlery and plates for rent, so we would be renting them through the catering company if possible. As far as food is concerned, it would be only the dinner being provided. For cocktail hour and dessert we have family that would like to contribute to that instead. When I say cocktail hour I mean a table with couple pitchers of sangria, some wine, beer, and a table of appetizers. I want a pie and ice cream bar for dessert which isn't a stretch to provide ourselves either.
One thing I also am not familiar with is that the venue allows you to bring your own alcohol, but you must have someone licensed to distribute it. Obviously, buying your own wine and beer is a lot cheaper than doing so through a business. I've never heard of hiring someone to simply serve alcohol and not provide it. If such a thing exists, how much does it generally cost? It seems pretty early to be contacting places for quotes when we're getting married in two years. We're just trying to budget right now, and I'm not even sure where to look for a 'licensed' bartender.