What do you do when this happens??

elcobb

So, to make a long story short(ish), we've been planning with our caterers for going on 6 months now, but we're still in the estimates/tasting stage. The caterers we are using do most of their business during the holiday season and couldn't do much for us until recently anyway.

My situation is that we have what we [thought] we wanted as far as food, but the estimates we've been given are thousands of dollars higher than what we said our budget was.  While it includes all the rentals (linens, dishes, etc.--BUT tables are included with our venue) I REALLY don't think we have a ridiculous amount of food, so I can't imagine why it's so high.  We are doing very heavy hors d'ourvres.

We're getting married at the end of May and the caterers want to finalize everything soon... do you think they'd want to punch me if we changed our menu?   I purposefully chose a non-all-inclusive venue so we could save a little bit of money, so I am NOT okay with going over budget. 

Am I being crazy here? What would you do if this happened to you?

pirategal03

Change your menu.  a) they haven't bought the food yet, or started cooking, so it's not a big thing to change it 2) you said yourself you're not okay going over budget, so change it so you're not iii) There should be something in the contract that says how long you have to change your mind.  With our caterer I could change the menu up until like a week before and they didn't care.

Beth0882

Do you have a contract with the caterers? And if you do, did you sign the contract without getting ANY estimates from them in the first place?  I would think they would have given you some idea of the cost of their services even before you finalized a menu, so it is odd that you are surprised by their costs now, unless they have drastically increased their prices. 

If you have not agreed in writing to a menu already, or to a minimum price, you have every right to change your menu and I am sure the caterer is used to it!  Don't get pressured into spending more money  -- you will regret it later.

tarheelbabs

Hors d'oeurves can be pricey, too, because they're more labor intensive than putting together entrees.  Lots of little stuff to assemble.  If you can change your plan, that sounds like a great idea.

alliegator8

I agree with the PP. If you haven't signed anything, there is no commitment.  Did you give the caterer an idea of your budget? I know that was the first question our caterer asked us.  And she worked very hard to get what we wanted while staying around that budget.

The biggest thing is that you feel comfortable.  If their quote is a lot higher then what you want to spend, change something.  You don't want to be in a position that you will regret later.

elcobb

Thanks y'all! To clarify:

No, we have yet to sign a contract OR pay a deposit (sketchy, I know, but this establishment has a great reputation so as long as they allow it, I'm not too concerned about them bailing on us) but I know they want to schedule a tasting soon, and I'd be fine and dandy with signing a contract/paying at that point.  We've been meeting with them periodically since September or so, but they just do an intense holiday business so not much got accomplished between Thanksgiving and Valentine's!

We gave them a budget but I think the rentals we needed pushed it over the top.  We decided tonight that we just needed to bite the bullet and ask to change some of our very heavy dishes to some lighter fare.  At a 3 PM reception, people don't need much anyway. 

I'll let you guys know how it goes!

hopelauren

This is YOUR wedding! IF you haven't signed any contracts do what is best for you, they'll understand.

pirategal03

I think it's fair to say that you need to change some things to allign more with the original budget you gave them, yadda yadda, and then give a few options of things you're willing to cut, and see if they have options for less-expensive alternatives.