What is a ****tail reception and how to go about it?
Well.... after three months off we're back to the planning stages but I have no idea where to start. I have so many questions, and honestly no idea. So, expect many questions from me in these forums...
So, firstly, what exactly is a ****tail reception? How do we go about it? What's the average cost per head? I really need step by step guidance as I have no help from family and I'll be doing it by myself...
Do you think a cocoktail reception is too informal following a church wedding? Does it need a 'theme' per se... Gosh, help!!!!
You need to do what suits you both. A ****tail reception would usually be a standing occassion. Ladies wearing ****tail dress, men in dinner suits, or formal wear. Hot finger food and champagne on offer.
There's some great wedding forums out there, 1 do dot com & wedding central.
I think ****tail receptions are becoming more and more popular - they are a great option and will work fine after a church wedding!
It is a little less formal (not being a sit-down three course doo) but you can still have the formalities of the evening (speeches, etc) basically its up to you!
Cost can vary widely depending on where you go so it pays to do some research.
All the best darl - its very exciting!
Well I was thinkiong a ****tail reception would be good, cost wise. I guess being less formal it suits 'us' and as for the church wedding, well ive wanted to get married at this church since I was five, not backing down on it now
The thing is I just don't really know where to start. The other thing I was thinking was to hire a hall and get caterers but for the effort involved im sure it would just be easier to do it buffet style at the Sheraton like mum did.
I think ****tail reception is just fine after a church wedding
Personally, I'd definitely go with a reception venue. It may end up being a little more per head, but I agree that it'd be heaps less effort for you.
If you think of all of the venues that are in your area that you think you might like to have your reception at, that are local to the church that you are getting married in, then Goodgle them and see if they have a website. Then hopefully they will have some sample ****tail menus on there with pricing so you can see ballpark figures.
We got married nearly 3 years ago and we did consider hiring a hall and organising catering, but it worked out a LOT more expensive.......all the hire of all the crockerly etc.......nightmare!
I arranged my wedding in Adelaide from Darwin (nightmare!) and I had totally NFI, but we got there in the end, so I empathise!
I went to a ****tail reception last year. The wedding was in the church, then the bridal party disappeared for a few hours to get the photos done, then the reception was at the bride's parent's place (they'd won a prize home so it was a s**** house), they had the caterers at the house getting all the finger food organised while the ceremony was going on. Don't know what a lot of the guests did between the ceremony & the reception (coz I'm considered a member of the family I got to go to the house just after the ceremony).
The nibbles were a mix of hot and cold, with the caterers bringing around the food for a few hours. Still did the "traditional" stuff, like the introduction of the bridal party, bride & groom, speaches & cake. It was ****tail dress, which was great to dress up for.
We did the spit roast thing (bridal package) for our wedding at my brother's house. It was pretty good, funny thing is my brother did a trial run with them for his 60th a few months earlier (same venue) and that was better than the food they served for the bridal package.
Well i think everyone has given you pretty good advice so far. Catering is what i do for a job, its a family business and we specialize in weddings so if you would like to no anything particluar just pm me. As we are in the country pricing maybe a little cheaper here than Melbourne but we do alot of ****tail weddings but buffet type weddings are the most popular. ****tail weddings can be a little more expensive as there is a lot of work preparing the food, and usually the alcohol bill is alot more expensive as people seem to drink more at a ****tail wedding not sure why. We do alot of weddings where people want to keep the cost down and they usually choose to have light finger food when guests arrive then have a sit down buffet with the wedding cake (usually mud cake) as dessert served with cream and coulee. You dont need the traditional 3 course meal anymore. With having a buffet rather than a service to the table meal caterers can do it cheaper as they dont need staff for a long period of time, usually only for few hours to clear tables and clean up. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck
How fun Ash! ****tail receptions are fun, the last one I went to was in a winery with a jazz band.
Lulu's right though, I could have done with some more food. :P Still, it's very fun and glamourous.
How formal do you want it? Given my time again, I reckon I might do a picnic...that's just me though. :P
What is a ****tail reception and how to go about it?
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