My fiance and I are in the process of planning our 2014 in Newport, RI. We are having a tough time cutting costs and the catering quotes we've gotten from local vendors are so much.
Panera offers catering in this area...I just wanted to get other people's takes on what they would think if they went to a wedding in a nice ballroom overlooking the Newport ocean and Panera was the caterer? We would do it up fancy so they were on platters and what not. We would also go "all out" with a ton of good sandwiches, salads, bread bowls, etc. A huge feast because we'd be saving over $5,000 from the lowest of the caterer quotes.
It is also special because Panera is our favorite place to go. So it would be a cost reduction and meaningful at the same time. We just don't want to do it if guests would be ticked and view it as tacky.
As a side note, we would also have an open beer & wine bar and have a few other unique touches to add to our wedding day (cool favors, photo booth, carousel outside of ballroom, etc.).
Thank you VERY VERY much for your time and help!