For our wedding in October 2007 my husband and I enjoyed a delicious and stylish 5 Star wedding dinner without automatically being billed for those 5 Star prices. This is how we did it...
Photo by tracyhunter
1. First things first - communication is key.
Before you decide to book your venue for that all important wedding dinner, make sure that you can first of all build a good rapport with your banqueting or event manager who will be overseeing your big day at the venue.
You will be amazed at how far venue staff will extend a helping hand to help you curb your expenses if you are straight up with them about your requirements and budget from the outset. Clearly explain what your budget is and how you would like to do things for less without scrimping on quality.
In these recessionary times, hotels for example, should only be too happy to help trim off any unnecessary excesses. If not, shop around elsewhere. There are many good deals to be had now that the Celtic Tiger has gone into hibernation.
2. We saved hundreds of Euro for our hotel wedding dinner by opting for the following:
We swapped the conventional 'Wedding Dinner Menu' for the hotel's 'Business Banqueting Menu'. This may be called the 'Corporate' or 'Business' menu at your hotel. The food is exactly the same quality, the cutlery is the same fancy silver and the crystal glasses are also exactly the same. The only things missing with the Business Banqueting Menu option were the excessive ribbons and flowers on the tables.
3. We decorated the tables ourselves with our own flower arrangements, plants or balloons.
Don't be afraid to personalise your own tables at the hotel. Why not buy some beautiful Marks & Spencer lilies or orchids in pots for your table centrepieces? You can also add your own trinkets or ribbons already bought from craft or gift shops.
4. You can save on your wedding drinks bill too...
Normally the hotel's own house wine is a perfectly viable option. Ask the banqueting manager for his or her advice on this. Also ask to taste it first just in case!
For the wedding toast you can save a small fortune by opting to top up the wine for the toast instead of offering a different drink for the toast.
5. We offered tea and coffee as the drink of choice for our wedding guests' arrival prior to the dinner.
This helped us to shave a great deal of our wedding bill at the hotel.
6. Don't be afraid to ask for a special deal for your wedding party at your venue.
If you don't ask you don't get! We were lucky enough to secure a great rate for a room in the hotel for the 'afters' event.
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