The Brazilian Room

mariakt81 · December 2010

I just looked at the website for the Brazilian Room. I like it. I was wondering if anyone had their wedding there, and you can give me your thoughts. Thank you!

Cgidds · December 2010

I am looking into this place too. I love it BUT I am worried about the caterers or select catered list. I am on an EXTREME Budget. My reception is budgeted at about 4k (Including venue, rentals, and catering). Has anyone tried the caterers for this venue? And if so, are the prices affordable? I would appreciate any help!

SilentRed · December 2010

I haven't had a wedding there (still engaged) so I can't speak to the caterers. But a dear friend of mine had their wedding there and it was WONDERFUL. Best venue ever. I would have my wedding there in a heartbeat if I wasn't set on my home town. I don't know what they spent on the food, but it was really good with many vegan/veg options (a plus in our group). I'll try to find out which caterer they used. Also it was really well cordinated and the buffett was beautiful. It was the best wedding I've been to in a public venue.

vb0000 · December 2010

We were originally booked our wedding at the BR because it is beautiful and everyone said it was an "affordable venue". But as it turns it it wasn't so much affordable for us since we were only having 60 guests. The cater we were going to use, Ann Walker, was very good and very affordable for the actual food, but you have to remember that any caterer you choose will be factoring in all the following costs to your quote:

linens

alcohol (this can be done by you but do you want to be schleping cases of wine?)

BARTENDER (non-negotiable, BR mandates that the caterer supplies the bartender)

All serving staff

travel fees

....and there may be a few other things I don't remember right now.

After I got the final quote from the caterer with all these things added up, and then added that to the venue fee, it came out to 120 per person for 60 guests!!!! The per person cost would have gone down if we were having more guests, so it seems that if you're having over 100 guests this venue fee is cost effective, if not then beware all the "hidden" costs that will add up over time.

You may want to look into restaurants that have an all inclusive fee for all of these things, they tend to charge less overall. One restaurant we looked at, Postino in Lafayette, even included the cake in their package!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

2BLCK · December 2010

I used to work for one of the caterers on their preferred list, Wild Thyme. I've seen about 50 different weddings at the Brazillian room. It's a beautiful spot, but I agree with the previous comment. If you have less than 80 guests, its not the most cost effective opotion.

Wild Thyme does a great job, and I just got a quote for $10K for 150 people. That was service staff and everything included.....still over my budget.

I decided not to get married there because I didn't want to work off a preferred venue list, no hard alcohol is allowed, and it is very difficult to find. We were very worried about providing alcohol and then having people drive away from there. Provide a map for your guests.....and maybe a shuttle! I've seen a lot of weddings start late there sicne no one can find the place.

Juleaf8 · January 2011

A few months ago we booked the Brazil Room for our wedding this September. While we did have a few concerns regarding the location (as mentioned by the previous poster above-- difficult to find) after looking at a ton of venues in the East Bay, we just kept coming back to it. We love it, and think it's absolutely beautiful. Hopefully our day will be spectacular there.

A few of the selling points for us:
   **Location, location, location- We really wanted a site that took advantage of the amazing scenery California has , and also had a building for the reception at the same site. The Brazil Room itself is beautiful with the wood floors and open windows.
   **Both the ceremony and reception at the same location-- definitely makes it easier on the guests.
    **We also liked the option of BYOB (even though there's no hard alcohol allowed). We really want to provide our guests with an open bar, and after hearing the amount friends and family have paid for open bars, we thought a venue that allowed us to bring our own alcohol would help us tremendously.

    The only 2 cons I can really think of:
    **Difficult to get to in the hills
    **Having to use one of their preferred caterer (although our experience with our caterer has been very good, so far)

    We have never attended a wedding there, but we hope our guests will enjoy the day with us. We plan on having approximately 100 guests. Will keep you updated. Let me know if you have other questions. Good luck!

shuaibmalik · December 2011

The Brazilian Room in Tilden Park is the most beautiful location in the Bay Area for a wedding. Just make sure you know the rules to follow and you will be fine. We arrived early for our reception and the place was all locked up so we could not get into change into our wedding attire. Luckily our catering company (Servers You Right Catering) showed up early. They had the keys and let us in a few minutes before our reservation started. Also when your reservation ends the music must end 1 hour before. Do not expect the Brazilian Room staff to let you go over that time. We should have been more prepared as we did not get to do our last dance.

The Brazilian Room gives you a list of preferred vendors so it made choosing our wedding vendors really easy. Almost every Tuesday night they have an open house where the catering companies bring food for you to taste. I recently read in Real Simple Wedding Magazine that this is the best way to try food for catering companies. The article said its best to taste food that is made for a bunch of people and at a party or an event like these open houses. So we tried to go every time and see all of the catering. Only a handful of them had good food in my opinion. After going to a bunch of open house nights we narrowed it down to 3 caterers. In the end we choose Serves You Right Catering. Not only was their table beautiful with these simple candles and flowers the food was some of the best food I have had in a long time! The staff was all dressed very nice and they were all professional and pleasant to talk to. After talking with the chef we pretty much were ready to book right on the spot.

Other vendors we went with from the list were Masses pastry and Orchid flowers. We had friends take pictures and officiate. All of the vendors we choose were very close to the Brazilian Room. We were told it was important to do this as these people have a ton of things to bring to the site. If they forget something they do not have far to go to get it. Also they all have worked the room many times and were helpful when it came to ideas.

We had 146 people and everyone fit just fine I the room and we had a giant dance floor without having to move tables! I stressed about this for weeks. Two of the other catering companies told me this could not be done. In short if you want to have a beautiful wedding with a gorgeous park like setting check out the Brazilian Room!

joeybeany2 · June 2012

We have reserved a full day at the BR for a wedding, but as the costs start piling up, we're actually considering having it elsewhere.

Since we don't live in the county, we have to pay the 20% surcharge, which really bumped up the cost of things.

The approved caterers are helpful, but they run from the very expensive, to down right horrible. So far Back to Earth seems like the best affordable option - I was given a quote for $20/person, BEFORE the 18% taxes, gratuity is added. Still not horrible though...

Long story short, there is a way to have a "budget friendly" wedding at the BR room, but it does NOT include renting it for a full day; renting if you live out of the county and must pay the increased rate; and if you are planning on hiring a pricey caterer.

An option that most people do not consider is supplementing the catering with food of their own. Most caterers are open to this idea, and the BR room still considers this option "catered." Get creative and provide your own snacks, ect. It really cuts down on the budget.

Best of luck, brides to be! The BR will steal your heart and send your creative juices into over drive, but don't forget to crunch the numbers first. The alluring site rental fee is just the tippy tip of the wedding budget iceberg.

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