Should I have a Viennese hour?

casschwag11

I have the option to add a Viennese hour to my reception for $10pp. At 200 guests and tax it will be over $2,000 but i'm trying to decide if its worth it. I think the desserts are aweseom(see menu below) but don't want to take away from the band and fun dancing part of the night. Has anyone had one? What time did it occur? Would you do it again? If you were a guest would you like this option? Any feedback or comments you could provide on this would be helpful! Our Pastry Shop Will Prepare an Array of Italian Pastries, Assorted Cookies and Cakes Stations Chocolate Fondue “Fountain” with Fresh Fruit for Dipping International Flaming Coffee Station Gelato Bar – Six Different Flavors Imported from Italy Our Famous Homemade Zeppoli Station Prepared Before Your Guests Coffee, Tea, Brewed Decaffeinated Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino

DandT1206

I loved mine.  The dessert was outside the reception room, but everyone came back in, ate, and got back on the dance floor.  Did you factor in paying the band for the additional hour?

Lola Minnie

I am.  Especially since it's my hall's namesake lol

Lola Minnie

Maybe you can attempt to negotiate a little - like what if I drop this cocktail station can you throw in the venetian hour?

$10 is a little high, can you offer $7 if we guarantee 200 ppl... etc

ev4149

I guess it depends on how you would like to budget that $2000.  We are having one, but food is the #1 priority.  Besides, I really wanted a chocolate fountain.  As stated above, we are paying the band extra to have them stay, so it does increase the cost of some other things.   To do the Viennese, I am cutting in some other places (like flowers, for example), so it can definitely be done. 

ecg129

Personally I'm not having one but to be honest, I actually think $10 is a good deal for tis! Our was offered at like $25 extra so it was a no go.

casschwag11

It's not the money that's getting me as much as the time. Our place would do it from 10pm-11pm and then the reception ends at 11:30. It's not an extra hour added to the end. We are paying a lot for the band and still want people to dance and have fun. I think the Viennese sounds awesome but don't want it to take away from the dancing. Since I haven't been to any weddings with this I wanted to see. Most of our guests are not from NJ so i'm sure they will be stunned by all the food.

Kvarrone

We had one, but we also had an extra hour for the reception. CH started at 6pm, reception at 7pm and went until 12.

kasabby

I like them but I don't think they are necessary. They are always a great added bonus when I go to a wedding but I am never upset when there isn't one.

uppereastgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_should-viennese-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e19b22d7-540d-4ad5-aa7b-2dc3cf4c97d4Post:3ee2630d-ea97-41c2-9f1d-75eb357adf78">Re: Should I have a Viennese hour?</a>:
[QUOTE]I am.  Especially since it's my hall's namesake lol
Posted by Lola Minnie[/QUOTE]

<div>It is actually a Viennese (from Vienna, Austria) hour, not a Venetian (from Venice, Italy) hour.  :)</div><div>
</div><div>We had one, but I could take it or leave it.  People will have probably eaten a ton by then and won't really need to gorge themselves again.  I wouldn't have paid extra for one.</div>

Lolyalyssa

I love it!  It's such a NJ Italian wedding thing but it can be really fun for OOT people to see. 

I say absolutely do it for that price.  You don't have to extend the whole reception, just have them re-open the room for the cocktail hour and have the last hour be deserts and people can dance and get deserts at the same time.  I think it also gives the older people who might not dance something to do while the younger people are dancing. 

I personally don't like it when I go to a wedding and the only desert is cake.  I'm OK when its cake and a desert platter on the table but I really LOVE a Viennese.

melissa82

Definitely! $10pp is a good price IMO. I can't remember exactly how much ours was, but definitely more than $10pp. It doesn't really take away from dancing...people just go, get their food, eat it and get back on the dance floor. But I can't really recall going to a wedding in NJ that didn't have a Viennese, so I don't know how it "normally" works.

jaimelody

I don't think that's a bad price. And dessert is always my FAVORITE part. I say yes!

Heather822

Try to get them to throw it in for free.....
It can be done!
IMO, I wouldn't pay for it otherwise.
I am always so full after cocktail hour I can barely finish dinner.

kewltif

At my venue it was a lot more than that so I did not do it.  I also felt that I didn't want the party to stop for dessert.  It's up to you.  I think it's nice but I also think pretty wasteful since most people are totally stuffed by then.

ksen820

I am getting one (mostly because my mother loves them and is paying lol) but we negotiated to remove some items from the cocktail hour (which has waaay to much food IMO anyway) so we were able to get it included in our package price.

I think it adds a nice touch to the end because not everyone is going to like the red velvet cake I picked out, and some people may not like the food, but everyone loves dessert

leah2b

If you are not that concerned about the cost, it sounds like you want to do it.  I don't think it will take away from the party too much. Personally, I am not a sweet person , so I personally wouldn't go for it. 

If you are concerned about the party aspect, could you maybe negotiate paying for the Viennese but extending the party by half an hour for free?  The only problem this poses is additional cost for your DJ/band.

Lola Minnie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_should-viennese-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:e19b22d7-540d-4ad5-aa7b-2dc3cf4c97d4Post:98546acd-ca5f-4aac-8926-2075e0ad2105">Re: Should I have a Viennese hour?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Should I have a Viennese hour? : It is actually a Viennese (from Vienna, Austria) hour, not a Venetian (from Venice, Italy) hour.  :) Posted by uppereastgirl[/QUOTE]

Dude seriously? I didn't want to attempt to spell viennese so I just write out venetian and was illustrating that it is my reception's namesake. Geez.

OP - I wasn't inferring that $10 was too high, just saying to negotiate you could say something along those lines if $ was your concern but it doesn't seem that way.

chrissy31805

i think if you can get it for a good price than do it. $10 sounds like a good deal. the only reason i'm not doing it is because i feel alot of food is wasted at the viennese hour. trust me the desserts are my favorite part of the meal but i'm not getting one and saving my money on other things i would like.... i know my venue will just do a chocolate fountain or a dessert medley - cookies, pastries, and fruit - on the table for $7 pp

uppereastgirl

In Response to <a href="http://northjersey.weddings.com/main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_should-viennese-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e19b22d7-540d-4ad5-aa7b-2dc3cf4c97d4Post:01b5042c-e926-4c05-8b6f-212037a8abc8">Re: Should I have a Viennese hour?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Should I have a Viennese hour? : Dude seriously? I didn't want to attempt to spell viennese so I just write out venetian and was illustrating that it is my reception's namesake. Geez. 
Posted by Lola Minnie[/QUOTE]

<div>Huh?  I promise I didn't mean to be snotty.  I corrected you because I thought that you'd want to know the right word for when you are making menus and such.  But I don't think I understand what you're saying here -- you're getting married at the Venetian, right?  But you don't want to spell out Viennese so you call it Venetian hour instead and that makes it the hall's namesake?  But then couldn't I just call it a Victoria hour and call it my own namesake? (but I wasn't named after it, and it wasn't named after me?)  I'm again not trying to be snotty, and I never remember how many s's and n's are in Viennese so I think it is fair to not want to spell it out -- I think I just don't understand what you're saying.</div>

DMLJ

Sorry lola, but it is a big pet peeve of mine as well when people use Venitian and Viennese interchangably.

We got ours thrown in for free (thanks to some knotties who I found out got it for free--- ask and you shall receive at the manor at least!).  See if you can negotiate down a bit.  If it is not in the budget it is not necessary but nice if you can swing it.

dianenjnj

casschwag11

i agree with you...don't think it's worth the extra...although people enjoyed it...they also left the reception room whilst the band was playing to indulge...and many just left after...sure they are gaffones...so don't know how it will work for you...but if i had it to do over i wouldn't.

stapletond

I could take or leave the Viennese hour at weddings.  We opted not to have one, mostly because we feel like our venue provides more than enough food during the cocktail hour and dinner.  We also are serving a wedding cake AND a plated dessert.  It just seems like WAAAY to much in my opinion. 

If you love desserts, then go for it.  I'm more of a savory food person anyway.

goaliegirl

We ended up having one because our venue threw it in for Free!   Honestly, we would not have had it if we had to pay an extra $10 per person.   Although, I have to say all the desserts were amazing and everyone loved them, so it really is worth it if you have the money.

DS0305

I've seen it labeled as Venetian and Viennese.  It depends on the venue - but I've definitely been to some where it was called Venetian.

kpeteley

I had a Vien*** hour and it was fantastic.  My guests raved about it, and I do think it was worth it, however I barely had anything!  So that suxed, but I am still glad we did.

uppereastgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_should-viennese-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e19b22d7-540d-4ad5-aa7b-2dc3cf4c97d4Post:b5015577-7c40-4944-b520-8110f15fc54c">Re: Should I have a Viennese hour?</a>:
[QUOTE]I've seen it labeled as Venetian and Viennese.  It depends on the venue - but I've definitely been to some where it was called Venetian.
Posted by DS0305[/QUOTE]

<div>The people who called it a Venetian hour were wrong.  I've seen tons of typos on menus made by brides/grooms and by venues. That people use them interchangeably does not mean that those people were right.  The Venetian calls it a Viennese on its website.  People and things from Austria and people and things from Italy are different.  They are not interchangeable words.  Promise.</div>

DS0305

So if a venue decides to call it a Venetian table, they're wrong?  I would think they can call it what they want.

Anyways, I've even seen it as a Parisian table.  I don't think any one way is wrong.  It's just that most places call it Viennese.

Reilly626

Ours was included! Very excited!

uppereastgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_should-viennese-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e19b22d7-540d-4ad5-aa7b-2dc3cf4c97d4Post:1eb6f661-ee35-4f68-834b-9c3e1e6a244f">Re: Should I have a Viennese hour?</a>:
[QUOTE]So if a venue decides to call it a Venetian table, they're wrong?  I would think they can call it what they want. Anyways, I've even seen it as a Parisian table.  I don't think any one way is wrong.  It's just that most places call it Viennese.
Posted by DS0305[/QUOTE]

<div>Sure, I could call it a Victoria hour or a telephone or a Mickey Mouse.  Doesn't mean that's the word for it.</div><div>
</div><div><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Viennese+table">http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Viennese+table</a> (based on Random House dictionary)</div><div>
</div><div><a href="http://ask.reference.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=10616&l=dir&q=venetian+table&search=search">http://ask.reference.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=10616&l=dir&q=venetian+table&search=search</a> (dictionary.com search yields no definition)</div><div>
</div><div>So many venues have so many typos on their websites and menus -- the people who write this stuff aren't exactly professional editors. </div>

dianenjnj

oh jezz, upper east, get over yourself!!

you're a lowyer...with too much time on her hands...and i do mean LOWyer