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Nevada-Las Vegas
caolson82
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Need reception venue help please!
Hello all!
I'm just starting this whole planning thing really and I'm just trying to take care of one thing at a time, but the most worrisome part for me seems to be the reception venue... We're having a small wedding, with 15-30 guests, and my FI's only request was that we have a wedding cake at the reception. It's really going to be more of an informal dinner gathering than a traditional reception, but there's still a lot to think about and I'm hoping for some help!
So my questions are:
1- Which moderately priced restaurants (not steak and lobster, but not Denny's) will book for smaller parties and very little (or no) F&B minimums? And also allow for that price to include and/or allow a cake? We really don't have much to spend, but want to provide a good, simple meal (nothing like a banquet or feast), so I'm looking for a minimum under or around $1k if possible... We really loved the Hash House A Go Go when we visited, so somewhere like that (in both pricing per plate and food quality/creativity/diversity) would be nice, ideally.
2- I've never participated in organizing a wedding of any kind before, so forgive me for my ignorance, but do restaurants ever do reservations for small parties where people just order off the menu, or do you have to arrange a menu beforehand? Like, if it wasn't a wedding party and just a group of people hanging out to eat, would they still have minimums and such?
3- Would it be more appropriate (or easier/less tacky) to bring in some bottles of wine and limit our guests to that (for alcohol), or tell them (somehow) that we'll cover a drink or two each? I know that's a tricky etiquette thing, and is certainly not set in stone, but was curious about your thoughts on the matter, or what you all are doing/did to manage the bill with regards to alcohol. We don't expect a lot of drinking in general but want it available, and some drink heavier or faster than others... :-/
I'm so overwhelmed by this process, so I'd appreciate any and all guidance you all could offer! 
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Re: Need reception venue help please!
For the reservations bit, I think it depends on the size of your group. 10 people, off the menu, and you can all fit at one table. 20 people, you might have to plan the menu so that the kitchen has the supplies for your group and you'll need multiple tables. Some places will do a minimum, others don't - it depends on the location. Strip locations are more likely to have a minimum than off-Strip.
Consider the Bootlegger Bistro (Italian). It's on the Strip but south of Mandalay Bay. Their private room starts to get in the $40 range though. If you're up for sushi and/or teppanyaki, consider Osaka on Sahara (tatami rooms!) or Benihana at LVH. That could be a lot of fun. A little further out but great atmosphere is Capo's (one of my favorites, oh so yummy). Very speakeasy.
Rhythm Kitchen (Cajun, creole, Lousiana-style food) keeps groups smaller than 35 in the main dining room and lets you order from the menu with no minimum. You might also want to try McMullan's, especially the Irish Nachos. Yum. They have a lot of room and can easily fit your group, but call ahead - they get really busy.
We also looked at Roy's Hawaiian fusion just off strip whose private room minimum was right at 1k, and had several price point menus that I could feed everyone (24) for the minimum and they allow outside cake. They were also flexible about ditching the app or dessert to bring a menu price down, they just won't ditch both app and salad since it can take some time to get that many meals prepped to come out the same time, which makes sense to me.