AHR difficulties

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

I thought the AHR was going to be so simple. Just food and kites at the beach, very low-key and cheap.

But I can't, for the life of me, find a beach that has enough tables to reserve for a decent price within a reasonable distance of us and our friends. I live in freaking Orange County, and I'm just coming up empty. (I tried my local boards, didn't get much.) I'm starting to think I should just reserve one of the ramadas at our local beach which has just enough tables to display the food, then get a bunch of blankets for everyone to sit on instead.

Would that be terrible? We had been planning on Hawaiian BBQ for the food, but if we went this route, I'd probably have to find something a little more conducive to the format, like sandwiches or something. We could probably bring along some folding chairs if we end up with any older guests, but honestly this is mostly for our friends anyway.

Are there any other logistics I'd have to be aware of with something like this?

deepcovejackie · March 2010

Hm. I admit I have no idea. I'm not doing an AHR, because everyone seems to be coming to our DW.

I think, if you think your crowd would be uncomfortable, either change the food options to fit the venue (beach) or change the venue to fit the food options you want (Hawaiian BBQ). Personally, if I was invited to a Hawaiian BBQ on the beach with a blanket to sit on, I'd be peached. I would have no worries about it at all. You said the crowd would mostly be your friends mostly, then do what you want. Sounds like a great idea.

gottahavashorti · March 2010

I have no idea what a ramada is, but a beach blanket BBQ sounds fun as long as it's not windy enough to get sand in the food. A windy beach would be an issue even if ther were tables though.

Sue-n-Kevin · March 2010

Without knowing how far the ramadas are from parking, etc, it's hard to make additional recommendations. Whatever you want for the big day has to be transported to the ramada area. You may need some rolling dollies or wagons to get them there.

A 6 ft long folding banquet table is about $30 on sale, sometimes cheaper. I'd invest in a couple, or ask around and see if anyone has any. Also, since it seems it's very casual, see if people can bring folding chairs. You can set up the table with plastic covers, and the chairs, for anyone that needs to sit. Otherwise, you can use blankets.

What about beverages and keeping things cold or hot? You would need chafing dishes with sterno cans to keep your food warm. You will need coolers to keep the food that is supposed to be cold, cold, plus for beverages. You can buy screen covers for food containers at the dollar store.

It might put you at ease to talk to a restaurant or caterer in the area to see if you can buy some things in aluminum trays that you can set out if you don't want to pay for them to deliver the food. Fruit platters are good, don't require a lot of refrigeration (as long as you don't have dips), maybe have a "make your own salad bar" with more hearty options like chicken or specialty items the guests can add to their salads. If the venue has grills, or you were bringing grills, the food can be cooked all at once and eaten so it stays warm

Good luck.

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

If we start doing major setup, the cost goes up exponentially. Right now I'd be paying about $50 to rent the two covered tables, if I want to bring in equipment and staff it goes up to a little under $1k.

If we went with the Hawaiian BBQ (Jackie, you think it would work without tables?), we'd have chafing dishes for it. We're also considering sandwiches and pizza, which I'm not worried about keeping hot or cold. We're already planning on coolers for the drinks.

I'm pretty confident in my food options, I'm mainly worried that not having tables won't go over well.

AHR difficulties

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