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Where are you looking? I think that women that successfully have budget weddings look outside the box. Check local, privately owned restaurants that you can rent out. Check city/county owned properties (e.g. parks/barns/community centers). Check local churches, who might have an auditorium.
Also look into delis/restaurant that can do a buffet setup at your venue. I've found they are often cheaper than dedicated wedding caterers.
If you're in a city, look more traditional (banquet halls, church basements, etc). If you are in the burbs or rural, look less traditional! I agree with PP to look for restaruants in your area. Maybe look for someone to do a pasta bar. Make your own cake or cupcakes. Have a potluck?
I'll say it... yeah, you're kind of crazy to think you can do a budget wedding in the North East. Seriously, I'm trying to do a $15k wedding for 100 people in New Jersey. It is practically IMPOSSIBLE unless I go with some really crappy venue/caterer or like Sunday afternoon (Friday/Saturday evening is like the only stipulation I have and I can't even get that!)
I too am jealous of people who do weddings for under $3k. Fortunately (and unfortunately for us) their area is fine with doing the reception in a church basement or school gym. While there's nothing wrong with that, if you're used to that, the East Coast has ridiculous standards that make us feel like if we invited people to a wedding that had everyone chip in food or desserts only or [insert awesome cost cutting manuver here], it would be tacky. Woah, that was a rant but it's true!
wellllll it is Southern Connecticut after all. :-/
Maybe look at catering that isn't necessarily "wedding catering" ? What kind of wedding do you want to have?
@Jamiezilla: Thank you for justifying me feeling like that. I mean you go on Style Me Pretty or something similar and there are weddings that are gorgeous and they say "And they did it under $7,000!" Ugh. I am just frustrated.
I also have looked into resturants, I can't even think about designated wedding caterers because what they charge is more than double my budget! We have thought about a potluck, but more than half of the guests wouldn't be able to bring something (because they are coming from out of town), so that won't work.
I have looked into delis, but I have to wait until I am in the area to meet with them because many are small operations that don't do meetings over the phone or through email. (I am planning a CT wedding from Seattle.) I guess I will just have to keep looking. It will eventually work out. I hope.
Is it possible to move your wedding to either earlier in the day (brunch or lunch reception) or to a non-meal time of day (appetizers & cocktails)? I am having a lunch reception and the catering bill is about 2/3 what it would have been for dinner.
One place to check out is Stew Leonards in Norwalk (or Danbury), they have a really good catering department. I've been to parties that have used them and they do a nice job.
Maybe look into BBQ catering if that's something you're open to? I was feeling equally despondent about catering costs in Chicago, but we contacted a well regarded restaurant and their quote for 80 guests was under $1000, including all the staffing costs.
I disagree with Jamiezilla that it's impossible to have a budget wedding in the NE. We had a wedding for 40 people for $5,000, and that included $1000 going into paying for guests' lodging. It is probably true though that you'll have to find a venue that's a little of the beaten path though. Where in Southern CT are you looking exactly?
I have 70-75 guests and a budget of 10k as well. My reception is in a hotel (it's a really unique converted cotton mill) and for everything (food, alcohol, service, rentals, etc) it is going to come in just a little over 5k. Look at places that are used to hosting events, they are usually streamlined and more affordable.
It is difficult/impossible in Southern CT to pull it off without having a wedding at a non-traditional venue. That said, If you are willing to consider BBQ, that will save you a ton of money. It really depends on where in Southern CT you are looking.
I found a venue that is non-traditional. I didn't want anything traditional anyway. My venue is in Norwalk, and my family lives in Orange. Maybe I will look more into resuturants. I am VERY open to the idea of barbeque, but would prefer not to have cheeseburgers and hot dogs. I am more interested in bbq chicken or sausages. That would be cool. Does anyone know any little resturants in the area that would do catering?
I think it depends how much of that money you are allocating for catering. I doubt it's the whole $10k.
@ohmybears48: A pot luck? for a wedding?
I definitely think it can be done. I'm in Western NY and my budget is $5000 for 75 guests. I'll probably end up breaking my budget, but only by about $1500 and that's because I really wanted a photobooth and a few other items. I'm diy-ing most of my decor and my invites, and my wedding is on an unconvential day, so that saved me a ton as well. I'm having a local Italian restaurant cater our wedding (they do it frequently) and it was cheaper than a lot of the places around here.
Good luck!!
@MissCT: Try's Jeff's Cusine in South Norwalk, "All Smoked Up," out of Danbury, or Planet BBQ (not sure where they are out of)
@delirium.megans: Thank you so much for your suggestions. I just tried googling and it didn't come up with much... This will be a wonderful place to start.
@bride2bejc: That was the reaction I was afraid of... lol.
@louisianablue: It is not the whole 10k, if it was, I don't think I would be stressing as much. I just said the budget of the whole wedding to give you an idea of what I was spending. I wasn't really sure if I felt comfortable enough to share the actual budget. I am a bit shy about it... Unrational I know.
@truefrommetoyou: I hope it can be done! I will have to check out local restuarants. Thanks!
@bride2bejc: Yeah. I've been to a couple. And it's actually quite nice if you are having a non-traditional, laid back, family style wedding. In my experience, however, you dont get any gifts. It's more of a housewarming type thing. But both weddings were full of joy and love, and I thoroughly enjoyed making a dish and sharing it with the family and friends of the brides and grooms.
Again on the BBQ topic, I don't think it has to be like burgers and hot dogs at all! We're having smoked brisket and pulled pork, and including two staff members to carve the brisket and pull the pork at the buffet. I think that this way, it still feels like a more formal occassion while staying budget-friendly. (I use "more formal" very loosely, as we're having a picnic afternoon wedding. But I think that this could still fit into a more formal theme.)
I had my wedding in the North east and it was just over 8K for 175 people. You just have to try non-obvious options. If you search for wedding caterers then yes you will be bombared with very high prices. but there are other caterers who dont specialize in weddings who can provide plenty of food for a buffet for much less.
What "style" wedding do yo want?
A lot of the under or budget weddings involve, using open public spaces and vintage/used/nature decorating. Thrift stores, wild flowers. Family made food or creative local options. Bargain hunting . Mismatching. Having a limited amount of alchohol ( beer and wine) or none at all.etc etc. Also consider ipod over D.J. and pick one splurge. If its photography do that, if its your dress do that. if its food, do that.
If you want a typical sit down DJ'ed, open bar, hotel style ball room dinner with mutlple courses, expect to pay fort that as well. If your wililng to look outside the box a little, you may be pleasently surprised.
Do you have a photographer yet? That was my biggest budget challenge :)
@MissCT: I know how you feel! We had a 10,000 wedding for about that many people and spent a lot on our photography so our catering budget was pretty small. One of the ways we cut back on catering was to have it catered by a newer catering company offered by a restaurant that's local. They offered a lot of freebies in their package too, which was awesome. Another thing we did was to offer a chicken entree (chicken cordon bleu), and a veggie option instead of two meats (like a chicken or steak). Everyone really liked the veggie lasgana and it saved us at least 3-4 dollars pp. We also didn't do a cocktail hour...just went straight into dinner and served 50 dollars worth (3 gallons) of Rita's water ice we picked up that day. That cut down on our costs A LOT.
This last thing is probably taboo but we also had a cash bar to save money. I wasn't willing to pay for liquor over quality wedding photography so sadly we had to do the cash bar.
@gcwest: Yeah, luckily I was refered to a photographer from Weddingbee and they willingly worked within our budget. It was super awesome!
I've heard Olive Garden does soup, salad, and breadstick catering. Maybe contact the local Olive Garden for their pricing?
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I feel so completely defeated. I have been looking for catering for a while now and I can't seem to find anyone within my budget. I am getting married in Southern Connecticut, and I am on a very strict budget. I am just kinda fed up because nothing seems to fit into my budget, but somehow people have weddings for hundreds for $3,000. (That is obviously an exaggeration, but I am frustrated.) I just feel like I work so hard to stay within my budget but nothing ever does, and I can't seem to find things that do fit. My wedding is on a $10,000 budget, with 70 people. So I don't feel like it should be this hard. Am I crazy? Or does this seem harder than it should be?