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Rehearsal Dinner RANT :(

jforeman5jforeman5
100 Comments
in Colorado-Denver
I am getting so frustrated with wedding planning! It seems like the minute you mention to a vendor that you are getting married, they jack up their prices 50%I was looking for a restaurant that serves pizza for our rehearsal dinner, and thought Pasquini's would be cool because it's kind of a Denver staple. I looked at their catering menu online and figured out that it would cost about $300 for our party, which is awesome since FIs parents are paying. So I emailed the catering manager and she told me that for our party there would be a $25 per person minimum, so $650 for our whole dinner...for PIZZA! WTF? That is twice as much (per person) as we are spending on our reception :(Does anybody have any reccommendations? TIA sorry for the long and whiney post, just needed to vent :)
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Re: Rehearsal Dinner RANT :(

  • *lulu71109**lulu71109*
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi, My parents own a restraunt/bar and its called lulus in watkins. Its a fun country bar and they serve good food. I know we have done a few rehearsal dinners and htey are willing to work with a budget. Just fyi though they dont serve pizza. Good Luck! You can look up their website at www.lulusinn.com
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  • BreckBride09BreckBride09 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I feel your pain...we're doing a rehearsal dinner for all OOT guests and our venue wants to charge us $150 for a half-keg of COORS LIGHT!!!
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  • cadenaamcadenaam member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I've looked into quite a few places in the Golden/Morrison/Evergreen area.  Are you looking to stay in Denver?  Are you hoping to stick with pizza?  Or just stay within a certain dollar amount?
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  • chelbell326chelbell326 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'm sorry you are getting frustrated! we are doing a very relaxed rehearsal dinner (italian food -family style) at the VRBO house that FI's family is renting for the weekend of our wedding. Then we are going to have game night in the big rec room. Definately not "typical rehearsal dinner" but I figured we are having a very nice sit down meal for our reception...so we can do much more causal for our rehearsal dinner. Could you do a BBQ in a park somewhere for your rehearsal? That should be cheaper than renting a room at a restaurant! :-)
    no identifiable siggy pictures anymore, thanks a lot stupid nest!
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  • jforeman5jforeman5
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Lulu: thanks for the recommendation, but that is too far out of Denver for us to travel.Amy: I would like to stay as close to central Denver as possible. Our church is downtown, and our guests are staying in Glendale. I have absolutely no preference on what we eat, I just want to keep it around $300. Wow! I didn't realize you are only 1.5 months away from your wedding, you must be so pumped!Chel: I don't think we should do it outside because It's in Oct. and it might be a little too chilly at night. Your rehearsal dinner sounds like so much fun BTW!
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  • coolcourt85coolcourt85 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Is there a BJ's brewhouse in the denver area? We looked into it and thought it was a great deal--they give you pizza, salad and soda, for a resonable price-sorry i can;t remember what the cost was. but their pizza is really good. we ended up going with a brewery in boulder that is giving us a private room and we order off the menu and there is nothing over $10, so we thought it was a good deal! :) I would suggest looking into some place like that if you want to keep the costs down.
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  • oconnorcaitlinoconnorcaitlin member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I might have a solution for you. Brit09 just posted this:Restaurant.com is having a 72 hour sale on their gift certificates! Enter NAPKIN for 80% off!I went to the website and Pasquini's has $100 gift certificates for $40, less the 80% discount- your cost is $8.Good luck!
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  • skiingstarkskiingstark member
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    You could try Dave and Busters. I think it could be a lot of fun and it is very affordable.
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  • VAtoCOVAtoCO member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'm sorry that it is so frustrating and I think we all feel the pain of the wedding price jack-up!  ARGH!Did the catering manager seem open to negotiation at all?  Maybe she'd split the difference?Have you considered Old Chicago?  I don't know what their prices/policies are but there is one on 14th and Market.  Maybe you could just say that you want to make a reservation for a large party and see what they say...instead of going into it with "I'm having an RD".Maybe also check out North in Cherry Creek?
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  • VAtoCOVAtoCO member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Oh, and, Good Luck!
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  • KariMichaelKariMichael member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Don't tell the places its a wedding rehearsal, tell them its a family gathering or an anniversary party. If you leave the word wedding out of it, they don't up charge you. and honestly, it is a family gathering... you're not misleading them entirely. theres family, gifts, food and cake... Have Fi call back and reserve the place you want under the assumption its a family party/ birthday party/ anniversary... see if there is a difference in price.
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  • cadenaamcadenaam member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would try Kari's suggestion first, but I will try and see if I can find any other backup options for you and get back to you!  :)  I'm excited, just a little over a month for me and my FI!!
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  • tmh338tmh338
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I recommend Kari's idea. The restaurant won't be able to remember who they talked to over the phone, so you could just call back in a few days (or so) and reword your reservation.  :)
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  • chelbell326chelbell326 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ditto Kari's suggestion.  When I started calling around for caterers for our RD, I was telling people that it was for a family reunion (which I had no qualms about b/c everyone at our RD will be family! LOL  I definately think that kept them from jackin' up the price if they had known it was an RD!
    no identifiable siggy pictures anymore, thanks a lot stupid nest!
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