Post # 1
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
We put down a deposit and will be doing part of our reception at a local restaurant. We will be using one of their private dining rooms for 2 hours for dinner with parents, siblings and a few close relatives. They told us to put $500 down to guarantee the space and will be applied to our bill. Other than paying for the entire bill of food, drinks and such they said we would have a mandatory 30% tip (extra 10% is for an extra chef to make sure we are served in a timely manner). Well I guess they just hired a new manager for food and beverage and she is wanting us to do a minimum for the evening. Now I understand minimums and such especailly for events but we are having maybe 25 people max, will be out easily in the 2 hours as we have a dessert reception to go to and she wants the minimum to be 6K, thats $240 per person!!. We are refusing to pay that and now need to come up with another idea or location for a reception, we had also planned to do a small 10 minute ceremony there too so now im just upset. FIs job has in the past done company dinners there and they recommended them to us because of the great food, service and the fact that they never had to meet a minimum which was an issue we ran into earlier in the planning. We were expecting to pay with tip about $100 per person and they knew this as we had discussed a special menu and wanted to know about how long it would take to serve the food we wanted for planning purposes
Post # 3
Member
957 posts
Busy bee
When you put down your deposit, was the agreement for no minimum? If so, was it verbal or in writing.? She can’t just change the terms on you after the deposit is down and the agreement is made. If it was verbal, you will have a harder time getting your way, but if you have an email or written contract that mentions the no minimum, you should be golden.
Post # 4
Member
46612 posts
Honey Beekeeper
@waitingforthering2: Did you get anything in writing when you gave them your deposit?
Post # 5
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
@julies1949: there was nothing in it for a minimum, just that its a single bill with the 30% tip. They are now trying to charge a minimum by saying that its stated on their website that reserved spaces are required to meet a minimum. We werent told any of that and we didnt agree to that but they are now refusing to go through with the dinner if we dont pay the minimum.
Post # 6
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
They are basically saying that since they have a new manager old contracts arent valid but they didnt change ownership or anything. They say its a new policy so they contract didnt reflect it at the time but now that its stated in other locations they are allowed to enforce it.
Post # 7
Member
1251 posts
Bumble bee
@waitingforthering2: If it’s not in the contract it can’t be enforced. My venue brought in new contracts 6 months after we signed our initial one and wanted us to sign onto those – they had additional charges in them for set up which were not in our original one. I pointed this out to them and they had to agree I would not be subject to those charges.
Post # 8
Member
2880 posts
Sugar bee
@waitingforthering2: Try to work something out with them, but if you can’t, you can always go to another restaurant – competitive bids can often get sales people to change their tune.
Worst case scenario, you can always Yelp them. 😉
Post # 9
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
@Lollybags: I told them that but they arent being nice to us or excepting that. They want us to since an ammendment to the contract or cancel completely at this point. I think after how they are acting we may just cancel but need to find another option for the ceremony and reception within the budget. Our dessert recpetion at the other location did tell us they will edit theres to meet what we need if the budget or events change but we still need to use them for a minimum of $500 for bakery.
Post # 10
Member
128 posts
Blushing bee
That’s annoying. I ran into a problem with my rehearsal dinner venue. I had reserved the restaurant for a Friday night and we were discussing options for a special menu. A few weeks later there was a new manager and she said they no longer do special events on Friday nights. I complained that I had already reserved the spot months ago, but she wouldn’t budge. I didn’t have a contract though so I didn’t fight it. If I were you, I’d maybe try to fight with them a little bit more.
Post # 11
Member
96 posts
Worker bee
I’m sorry you’re going through this – it must be so frustrating, but I think you should DEFINITELY find another venue. Even if they agree to the no minimum, if they are being this shady NOW, what are they going to be like on your wedding day??
Good luck to you!
Post # 12
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
@bitsybee: We have tried other restaurants but most required a minimum of 4K or more for the space or they dont have a private dining area and the group gets split between a divider. We may just have it at home at this point but caterers arent that good in the area or affordable, most require a 50 person minimum or you have to use their liquor that is priced $5 a beer. id rather just take on the stress and cook myself
Post # 13
Member
2880 posts
Sugar bee
@waitingforthering2: yeah, if I had 25 people, I’d cook at home too. You get more control over the menu and it just feels more intimate.
Is the $4k minimum still out of budget?
Post # 14
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
@bitsybee: Ideally we wanted it below 2.5K for food. If we end up doing it at home we can add more people that are only invited to the dessert reception. Im hesitant due to space if it rains but it seems to be the only option at the moment.
Post # 15
Member
2880 posts
Sugar bee
@waitingforthering2: Sorry I don’t have the full context – are you having two different receptions? Yeah, if it rains, you might have to rent a tent and there goes your budget!
I talked with a restaurant in SF, and their minimum for 40 people was about $6k for brunch which is pretty reasonable. If you can’t switch the meal or day for a more budget-friendly, you at least have a good backup plan!
Post # 16
Member
331 posts
Helper bee
@bitsybee: we are doing a full dinner for siblings, parents and aunts/uncles then we are having a dessert and champange reception for about 40-60 people. We had everything else with vendors on hold for the day we wanted but we’d have to possibly change some around. Im not sure how rentals will affect the budget but I hope making the food myself helps. I didnt want to have to go that route but since we cant locate a space for us looks like we will be doing that if we dont find something soon. We wanted to get married in the next 6 months
Member