VENDOR HELLPPPP!!!!

slking08

Hi ladies!
      I live in Dallas, and I'm getting married in Austin at The Allan House in December. I have a moderate budget ($11,500) and am trying to find good "bang for your buck" vendors. For catering, I've been looking at Crave Catering and Dagar's Catering. Crave was almost double the price of Dagar's but the reviews for Crave were GREAT! The problem with Dagar's seems to be inconsistency; owner is a brat, food isn't always seasoned or prepared properly, etc. But you never can tell how accurate those Yelp reviews are. Has anyone used either of these caterers before? and If so can you give me the details so I can get a better idea of these caterers?
      As for flowers, I'm not a big flowers girl. So naturally, I have no idea what a reasonable price is for them. I don't want alot of flowers, just little accents and boutannieres, corsages, etc. I spoke with Verbena Floral bc they were suggested by the ladies at The Allan House. They gave me a rough estimate of about $1000 for what I want... that seems high to me. I'm a big DIYer so i'm debating with getting fresh flowers and making them myself, making fabric flowers, or using a florist. Any ideas? Comments? Suggestions?

I'd appreciate any help I can get! Thanks ladies

rerawalt

For flowers I would check with Rebecca Bonura of Wild Poppy.  I went to 5 flower places and she came out a $1000 less for higher quality flowers and more arrangements than the other 4.  She doesn't charge rental on any item that you can give back (vases, crystals, manzinita branches) so it really keeps the cost down.

slking08

Thanks so much! I'll check them out!

[Deleted User]

Just got to sample some Crave catering at a Crate and Barrel registry party...super yummy!  And creative, and the staff was really friendly.

The FI and I went to a Dagar's tasting back in June and were unimpressed.  A couple items were good, but mostly it was just eh...didn't blow me away like I would have wanted it to.  More importantly though, the service was lacking.  They never got back to us.  I mean I had been in contact with the owner/manager prior to the tasting, we spoke with her there and she said she'd contact us about setting up a meeting.  And we've never heard anything back from them since.

[Deleted User]

As for affordable caterers, I've heard people talk on this board about Poke E Jo's being yummy and inexpensive, and that they do cater other than BBQ.  Also I've had very good experience with our caterer, Sterling Affairs, and they were less expensive than I thought they'd be, and it seems like they'd be good about working within your budget.  If you're on a low budget, I would go for a buffet of Italian food, or fajitas, or asian food...those tend to be priced on the low side.

reddie36

Have you checked with Pink Avocado for catering? They were great to work with and very budget friendly. We tried to get info from Dagar's but they were such a pain to work with just to get a tasting set up that's as far as we got with them. Crave caters our building holiday party every year and they are delish - don't know about $$ but I have heard good things about them from our event planning group.

I was the same way with flowers so I made all the bouts myself with fabric & fake plants (see the planning link in my sig) and then I ordered some stems of flowers for my and my 3 BM's bouquets from Austin Flower Company - total about $65. I had Wild Poppy make the two moms corsages since they wanted fresh flowers and I was already using them to rent thier chuppah. I used manzanita branches and dried orchids for table centerpieces, so those were the only real flowers we had.

My BF just got married over the weekend and ordered all her centerpiece flowers from Sams then we put them all together the night before. As long as you order the right amount that works great - but she ordered only about half of what we needed and we had to run around looking for more at the last minute. The good thing about Austin Flower Co is they can help you decide how much you will need of everything.

Good luck!! DIY is great and $$ saving, but it is a LOT of extra work on the prep and cleanup end.

a-c-d

I have loved working with Donna at Central Market for flowers. They were priced right, very easy to work with and has been very responsive.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Dagar's in the professional world but not ever dealt with them for wedding stuff. I think you have some great recommendations here!

Future Ramsey

We looked at a ton of caterers including Dagars and Crave.  Dagars didn't provide what I would consider 'good' customer service over the telephone, so I knew then and there that we wouldn't be using them.  The person who answered the phone sounded as though it was such an inconvenience for her to schedule a meeting for us. As far as Crave goes, their food is really good tasting, but it felt a little to 'fru fru' for the wedding we're planning.  Knowing our guests, we didn't want to serve anything super fancy that they wouldn't end up eating. We ended up going with Culinary Delights.  They have been super helpful so far and our tasting was so good.  The food was upscale without being too fancy, which is what we were going for.  The best part was that they include 5 servers & all china and flatware in their quote (i.e. no paper plates or arranging rentals through someone else). They are also coordinating our bartending service & providing glassware as well.  I also felt like it was a nice perk to have so many servers for our group that they'll be refilling water & ice tea at the tables instead of making our guests go to the bar or a self-serve station.

For flowers, we ended up going with Donna Foster at Central Market (the north location).  We weren't big into flowers, didn't want to spend a ton, and didn't really know what we wanted.  Donna helped us make decisions about what flowers we liked and how to get our best 'bang for your buck'. She doesn't do email, which is aggravating, but otherwise she's really nice & very helpful.

laurenjessebloom

Try Ecstatic Cuisine for catering  www.ecstaticcuisine.com They can work on your budget and their food is yummy.

slking08

Thanks so much ladies!!! So glad to get all this wonderful info! I appreciate it alot! I think I'll check out a few of the caterers ya'll mentioned and i'll try to get ahold of Donna at Central Market for flowers. I've heard good things about their work! 

Thanks again!!

rerawalt

It's interesting to me that everyone got such low quotes from Donna. I met with her and she was great.  Lots of good ideas and really sweet, but she had the highest of the 4 quotes I got.  I wonder why the difference?

aprilrwilliams

Kathryn (Dagar's) is from New York, not trying to stereotype, but she doesnt have the Texas charm that the other vendors offer. She took over her fathers business and is extremely serious about running a business, customer service not so much. Her husband however is a doll and caterers to everyone. We are using them for our wedding, we had to choose from 3 vendors listed at our venue Nature's Point, and they were 1/2 the cost. We are having the chicken w/ lemon basil and tried their bbq, which both were excellent. Hope this helps!

haldira

Catering - I went with Emily's Catering.  My husband went to culinary school and our family is full of foodies.

We went with stations of Italian (traditional) and BBQ/Southern -- and Emily did an amazing job.  She even decorated her own area -- it was GORGEOUS!

Flowers - I went with Sherry Lloyd.  She was amazing -- I can give you her email address if you're interested.  I can send you photos, as well.

matalee17

I am in the same boat, planning a wedding in Austin remotely from Dallas on a trimmed budget! 

I highly recommend Molly Peck of Vanilla Orchid Catering.  She has been AMAZING to work with - I have sampled the menu she prepared for my wedding (in May), and cannot wait!  Her prices are VERY reasonable - we compared at least 6 different caterers and she was the best.  

For flowers, I am using RoseHip Flora.  Erin has been really great thus far!  I am doing succulents with dashes of flowers, and her specialty is unique arrangements that consist of more than just the standard bouquet.  

 

I hope this helps!