should i change my venue?

cookdt5312014

we loved our venue the fee was 6500.00 on a friday  and 9000.00 on a saturaday we chose to have it on a friday but that just includes the veenue nothing else
they only have four caterers that they work  with the caterer said the minimum is 60,000.00
in food we cant afford that scared to hear what the other three caterers say.Im waiting on three other quotes should i change my venue in addition to bringing everything in.

vanityink

Can you afford the venue+food (without going massively into debt or at all)? If not, change it.

Are you willing to pay that much for the venue+food considering how much else your wedding might cost (dress/cake/DJ/photographer/etc)? If not, change it.

Jen4948

If you can't afford the venue, then change it.

[Deleted User]

My venue cost around that much. We figured out what our budget was for catering and brought that number with us when meeting caterers off their exclusive list. We clicked really well with one caterer and they are working with our budget. It wouldn't hurt to get quotes from the other caterers before moving on.

JaneAustensGhost

$60,000 for food!   That's insane.   I'm basically spending whatever I want without a budget and I didn't even get close to that.  

There is something deeply wrong with that figure, especially as a ratio to the price of the venue.  I'd change venues. 

Sue-n-Kevin

I see from your ticker you are getting married in May 2014. If the venue will allow you to cancel and refund all your money, I would change. That is an insane amount of money for a RENTAL, let alone the cost of the food.

I know costs vary from area to area, but we spent less than your rental fee on an entire wedding planned for 100 people, including EVERYTHING. And the wedding was nice and elegant.

Ask around on your local board for recommendations for a similar site that it more reasonable. Of course, if you have that type of money available to you, then simply wait for the other quotes and then work out what they can supply for your budget.

HobokensFury

I just want to know what the menu looks like for $60,000.  I'm from the NYC area were weddings are grossly expensive and even that is ridiculous over here.

Marrin713

Where in Chicago area are you finding that?  Look around; you can find a nice venue and a caterer with better prices.  How about all-inclusive venue?

Knottie1450123632

im hoping that is a typo that you meant $ 6,000.00 and not $60, 000 for food. what i gather is the venue to rent is $6500 and the food with a typo is $6,000 and not 60,000.  so food alone and venue is over 12,000.  thats twice what im paying for everything.  i personally think thats too much but depends on your budget. 

ljsquintz

The wedding will end up costing you a lot more than just the venue rental + food.  You also need to consider the rentals associated with catering (tables, chairs, linens, plates, china, glassware, kitchen equipment, etc) that may or may not already be included in the $60,000.  Plus, you'll need to hire a DJ, photographer and florist.  All of these things add up very quickly, I work in event management for a venue and have seen it many times.  Not sure what your overall budget is, but just make sure that ALL costs are considered before making your final decision.

TheVirginians

Going on that $6000 assumption, then $9000 for the venue and $6000 for food does not seem excessive for a formal, high-end, evening city event. See what the other caterers offer for food estimates. One place we looked at only allowed three caterers: out of sight, high, and medium choices.

HobokensFury

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:44744575-cb9a-4105-bc2c-5ed68d76dde5">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]Going on that $6000 assumption, then $9000 for the venue and $6000 for food does not seem excessive for a formal, high-end, evening city event. See what the other caterers offer for food estimates. One place we looked at only allowed three caterers: out of sight, high, and medium choices.
Posted by va4ryans[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with this. If the price is in fact 6,000 then the 12,500 for venue and food is on par with big city prices.

lyndausvi

I have to say that while I'm sure some where out there there *may be* a vendor out there that has a $60k minimum, I would be VERY surprised if all 4 of the venues' required caters all would have such minimums.  So if on the off chance the OP did mean $60k, I'm sure she could find something less expensive

If she meant $6k (which makes way more sense), personally I do not think that is a bad amount.  However, I think spending roughly the same amount on just a venue as food is not a smart use of money.  If you are going to spend $12.5k, most of that really should go towards food that people will remember, than a pretty venue that loses it's wow factor after a few minutes.

cookdt5312014

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:5e530c80-f8fb-4ae3-9846-71521d5dc80f">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]im hoping that is a typo that you meant $ 6,000.00 and not $60, 000 for food. what i gather is the venue to rent is $6500 and the food with a typo is $6,000 and not 60,000.  so food alone and venue is over 12,000.  thats twice what im paying for everything.  i personally think thats too much but depends on your budget. 
Posted by southerncutie[/QUOTE]
no  she said 60,000 was a minimum to work with her so they are definitely off the list.
we didnt  go into anything else. i will wait on the other three quotes if they are in that range i will definitely move on.

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:b35dab6c-9012-42da-bcb9-644c37fb9c93">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: should i change my venue? : no  she said 60,000 was a minimum to work with her so they are definitely off the list. we didnt  go into anything else. <strong>i will wait on the other three quotes if they are in that range i will definitely move on.</strong>
Posted by cookdt5312014[/QUOTE]

<div>I think that is the best plan.</div><div>
</div><div>DH worked for a high end caterer once.  I'm sure the minimum was pretty high, so I know that exist.  Hopefully the others will be a little more reasonable.</div><div>
</div><div>My dream venue came with a $22K price tag.  That did NOT include food, bar and such.    We had to cross it off our list<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-frown.gif" border="0" alt="Frown" title="Frown" />.  </div><div>
</div>

misssunshine17

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:9a99a17b-7fe3-40d8-bfdf-2330fd10ebf3">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: should i change my venue? : I think that is the best plan. DH worked for a high end caterer once.  I'm sure the minimum was pretty high, so I know that exist.  Hopefully the others will be a little more reasonable. <strong>My dream venue came with a $22K price tag.  That did NOT include food, bar and such.    We had to cross it off our list .  </strong>
Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

<div>Out of curiosity, what did that include? Even the best venue in Maine wouldn't cost that. </div>

melb2013

I have nothing to add except to say that seeing the numbers tossed around this thread, I'm feeling less guilty and horrified about the amount of money we're spending.

[Deleted User]

We were at a high-end luxury hotel and our F&B minimum was nowhere near close to that amount.

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:c5ffc90a-41b3-4f3c-afc2-21c10df02451">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: should i change my venue? : Out of curiosity, what did that include? Even the best venue in Maine wouldn't cost that. 
Posted by misssunshine17[/QUOTE]

<div>It's an estate on the Jersey Shore.  For $25K you get all the entire estate, tables, chairs, etc.  Plus accommendations for up to 24.   For "only"  $19K you can use of the estate for a 5 hour reception.</div><div>
</div><div>Those types of venues can be found all over the country, it's just outside of most people's radars.</div><div>
</div>

cookdt5312014

second quote came in at 30,000 so waiting on two more quotes!

ljsquintz

OP is there a coordinator at the venue? If so, she/he should be able to steer you towards the most reasonably priced caterer that they work with.

KDM323

I know the venue you are talking about - it is a private "island", right?

That's just absurdly overpriced - even for here in NJ.  Save the money for a down payment on a new house.

cookdt5312014

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:538a1fbf-0f36-4148-890d-5f1b4dd7eac7">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]I know the venue you are talking about - it is a private "island", right? That's just absurdly overpriced - even for here in NJ.  Save the money for a down payment on a new house.
Posted by drexelkathy[/QUOTE]
no its in chicago!

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:290e2503-92f2-4bcf-bce5-e5ea828976e3">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: should i change my venue? : no its in chicago!
Posted by cookdt5312014[/QUOTE]

<div>she was referring to my post.</div>

TheVirginians

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_should-i-change-my-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:19929131-8b89-4d5e-8e72-5c3a0313b188Post:488003e2-1ced-4be6-9707-b911ffc41c50">Re: should i change my venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]second quote came in at 30,000 so waiting on two more quotes!
Posted by cookdt5312014[/QUOTE]


Please let us know about the other two.

cookdt5312014

decided to change m venue!