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Potentially Rude Question... :)

gingerngingern
First Comment
in New York-Hudson Valley

So...I have a question...

Our reception venue charges a site fee and the catering has to be with an approved caterer and the fees are in no way related...is it normal to do it like that, site fee plus catering??

I mean, are you all gettng charged a site fee and paying for catering in one "bill" if it is in house, or is the set up kind of like mine, with the charges being separate? OR are there any other arrangements out there...??

And if you don't mind, please share what your site fee is and/or what you are paying per head for catering and what it includes.

Thanks, girls! All along I thought we were getting a good deal, but now I am not so sure...happy planning!

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Re: Potentially Rude Question... :)

  • kristinanddankristinanddan member
    First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    We had our reception at a catering hall so we did not have site fees or an outside caterer, but I'm pretty sure the site fee is the only way the site is making money, since they aren't profiting from the catering.
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  • princess91309princess91309
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I used a catering hall too, so we were just charged per person/plate.  Normally if there is not an on premise caterer you will get charged a site fee then charged for catering thru whomever.
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  • rblucyrblucy
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As pp said, I believe the two fees are common if you're renting a site and need a caterer. I do not know what the "common" charges would be. Ours was a catering hall so it's just one fee. 
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  • lawyer707lawyer707 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    the only fee we had to pay was for the ceremony and since it was inside I believe it was 350. I know that pp we were under 130 with tax, service, extras, etc...
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  • ziesalziesal
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are using a site with their own caterer and paying a site fee in addition to the per person cost for catering. 
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  • holli71holli71
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I got married at a venue that did not have a site fee. However, my brother recently got married in NC and he had to pay a site fee - I believe he said it was $2500 -  as well as a per person fee for the food. He used the in house caterer. His per person fee was a bit more inexpensive than I paid but in the end he came close to paying the same as me because of the site fee. AND he had to pay a separate bar bill.
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  • emeraldlover1emeraldlover1 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It jsut depends.  We paid a rediculous site fee.  It was soooo not worth it in retrospect.  May I ask where you are getting married?
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  • psichickpsichick
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    we looked into sites that had fees and then catering halls with everything. went with the everything route, it's just easier. and it wasn't really that much cheaper to do it in pieces anyway. some sites have horrible fees, one place told us 10k for the site rental!!!
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  • Siobhan615Siobhan615
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We have a ridiculously high site fee as well. However it all depends on the location. We are getting married at the zoo so our site fee covers keeping the zoo open, employees who are working, security etc. And we have a catering cost as well, who is also the only caterer they use. It really all depends, but it is not unheard of. HTH!
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  • Mrs.AllyHMrs.AllyH member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    It's not common in the NY area because Catering Halls are more common (Where the company that owns the facility also caters the event, they tend to add the "rental fee" into the per person prices)

    It is very common in other parts of the country where Catering Halls are rare. In this case, the location at which you're getting married doesn't get any money from the food & beverage fees that you're paying because you're paying them to another company. They also have to make sure to have someone on site for setup, they typically have the tables, chairs, etc. It also covers the electric, property taxes they're paying, the liquor license so that your guests can drink, very expensive insurance policies- a lot really goes into it.So if it's not a catering hall I would imagine that you would pay anywhere up to $5,000 for just the location. 

    Down here in Atlanta, we see rental hall places from 1500-6000. The lower it is, the more that we would have to do on our own (like purchasing a liquor license, getting the right insurance, renting tables, chairs, linens) 

    What is your fee? and what does it include?
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