afternoon tea reception question

Hi

firstly if you've asked for afternoon tea then you will not get quiches or sausage rolls. afternoon tea is sandwiches, cakes and scones. £I'm vegetarian and think the veggie options they have offered you are boring and unimaginative. £25 a head is expensive - think about how much you pay for afternoon tea when you go to a nice hotel etc. I go away to a country house hotel once or twice a year. It's not a cheap place and their afternoon tea is £25 for two. Champagne at £18 per head - how much are they allowing per head? If that's one glass it astronomical if it's more then maybe not. That said you requested prosecco and they've ignored that so you need to discuss this anyway. Have you paid a deposit? What made you choose this venue? I'm surprised it's taken two months to quote and then they've ignored the key elements you requested. Perhaps getting some idea of what other suppliers charge will help but if you're tied to their caterer's and you've already paid a deposit you are not in the strongest negotiating position.

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

That sounds like a lot of money - I think it costs the same as afternoon tea at the Ritz!

Unless you specified that you wanted them to consider other things to sandwiches, then I don't think that you should be disappointed that they haven't suggested anything else. An afternoon tea only includes sandwiches, so they wouldn't have thought to suggest anything else.

If you want additional items, then I think you should definitely ask for them, and maybe turn it round to the caterers and say something like ' we would like x, y, and z, but we are only prepared to pay £30 all in'.

Have a look here - this might help:

https://afternoontea.co.uk/information/the-afternoon-tea-menu/

I think the prices you've been quoted are high though - especially for teh champagne. No more than £10 a glass - unless it's something special.

We're not tied to the venue caterers, but not sure how much faff would be involved in using an outside company in terms of bringing in plates/serving etc, so was hoping to stick with them just for ease. but no deposits have been paid until we decide on a food package, as the deposit is 25% of venue hire + catering. I did mention quiches at the meeting we had with them, and when I've gone to afternoon tea in tea rooms quiche has generally been included in the selection. celticcurl, I agree that the veggie options are uninspired - and I guess that's my problem with the whole menu, that it just seems uninspiring. I think you're right though that I shouldn't be disappointed, I should just suck it up, suggest a few tweaks, and see how they respond. If they respond well and seem willing to work with us, then maybe it will be OK, if not, I might be making a trip to Richmond Tea Rooms to ask for their prices!!

Oh, and about the 2 month thing - yeah, I actually had to chase up the wedding coordinator at the venue on Monday b/c I hadn't heard , and it took til 9pm Friday for her to email back. And in her email, she said that she's now going to be away til end July, so not sure how long this will all take to get sorted. quite frustrating! But we are their first wedding booking ever, so I guess there are bound to be some teething problems for them.

thanks pammy67, that's helpful!

I nearly choked on my bacon butty when I saw those prices! I wonder if including salmon options is pushing up the price a lot?

I went to Buckingham Palace for a garden party a year ago. The afternoon tea sandwiches that I recall were ham & mustard, cheese & ?, egg & cress, cucumber, possibly beef. I think there were 4-5 options all cut into little fingers with no crusts. They were so perfect we could have played Jenga with them!

The desserts were all minature: scones, cake slices, chocolate mousse things.

Afternoon tea doesn't have to be fancy salmon options. Instead of champagne you could have a Pimms cocktail?

I'm having afternoon tea, it's my favourite.

I requested the following:

•A selection of finger sandwiches
(Eg.smoked salmon & cream cheese, cheese & cucumber, egg & cress, beef & horseradish)

•Freshly Baked scones with clotted cream & preserves

•Mini Chocolate Eclairs
•Mini Strawberry Pavlova
•Slice of Batenburg
•Slice/mini carrot cake

To be served with tea and coffee.

£10.95 per person!

We will also be buying bottles of proseco to be served too, I actually prefer it to champagne!

Our venue did offer an alternative afternoon tea which included: Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese blinis, Roasted Vegetable Tartlet with Goats Cheese, Goujons of Plaice with sauce Tartar, Homemade Sausage Rolls, but that wasn't for me, I wanted the traditional afternoon tea, more like that which I've been served at Betty's, Fortnum & Mason and big hotels.

I know not everyone rates afternoon tea, but I find it to be enjoyable and satisfying, and it's our day, so people can like it or lump it!! Also, where I've had afternoon tea before, I find they will top you up with sandwiches or cakes for no extra cost, so we will ensure there can be extra food bought out to guests if necessary.

We had an outside catering company and paid £15.00 per head, nothing extra on top of this, and it included:

• A range of 'nice' sandwiches (including salmon etc) and nice veggie ones like brie, walnut and cranberry
• Warm homemade sausage rolls (and veggie ones)
• Warm mini quiches (various fillings but all veggie friendly)
• Scones with cream and jam
• A whole chocolate cake per table (we chose this option for fun but could have had a mini cake selection instead)
• Tea and coffee

They supplied uniformed waiting staff and all crockery / cutlery. They set up and cleaned up AND they poured the drinks that we supplied for no extra cost. We brought the drinks to the venue the day before and left instructions and they served our welcome drinks, poured wine with the savoury part of the meal (we had the tea / coffee with the sweet part) and then came round with the Prosecco for toasts - all at no extra charge, just purely £15.00 per head.

Maybe we were lucky but I think there could be a better deal for you if you explore options.

Our cateres do a high tea for 16.95 a head, and we get posh sandwiches like beef and horseradish, salmon, etc. And nibbles like maple venison sausages, and things like baked blueberry cheesecakes etc.

I think you should get quotes from other suppliers so you can compare

Yeah, get some quotes from outside caterers before you commit to this venue and/or their menu.

Everyone else's examples of food and costs are much better than you've been given.

Also, if the champagne quote wasn't for a half bottle each, that is ridiculous. That's far too much for a glass - with 5 in a bottle, and no doubt 'house champagne' they are ripping you off. I'd probably expect to pay £6 per glass of prosecco or £9 per glass of champers, max.

With sandwiches at afternoon teas, I actually believe simple is better, as more people will like them. You don't need gammon and salmon. You need ham/mustard and tuna mayo. Honestly, those of us who like fancy sandwiches will still tuck into the simple ones. But those of us who are a bit picky won't be keen on trying anything that's outside the comfort zone (think brie and cranberry vs cheese and onion, by way of an example). If you want more modern (fancy) sandwiches, great, but also make sure there's a plain old ham sandwich and a cheese sandwich for Uncle Bob who hasn't a clue what hummus is.

I think those prices are incredibly expensive unless you're having afternoon tea at The Ritz! Those prices are almost as much as our 3 course sit down meal with canapes & arrival drinks, half a bottle of wine per person and champagne for the toast :/ I went to have a look at a venue the other day and the caterers they use charge £6.95 + VAT per head with I think is pretty reasonable http://www.impressionscaterers.co.uk/AfternoonHighTea.html

I hope this is useful information for you

This made me chuckle, as I am planning on directing my (actual) Uncle Bob to McD's after the ceremony (theres one on the way between the church and the reception venue). The man is almost 60, and has never eaten a vegetable in his life! Seriously only eats grilled or roasted meat, potatoes, or fast food. At least with someone as picky as him, I don't have to feel bad about not catering to his tastes! FMIL is far trickier though, as a veggie who won't eat anything with a whiff of onions or spices...

EDITED to say: he will still be coming to the whole reception, there's an hour and a half between the ceremony and wedding breakfast, and the venues are 5 minutes walk apart. I'd just much rather give him a tenner and know he's fed and happy than have him keel over from hunger before the dancing starts!

Thanks for the info on pricing guys - I did think their pricing was ridiculously high. My friend told me to email them back, with just the words, "Are you serious?", lol.

I will look into outside caterers, and then go back to the venue and say I've found something elsewhere for X menu and X price, and see what they come back with. I do know we can bring our own alcohol in (although their caterers will charge corkage to serve it).

PS If you're considering buying in the champers and paying corkage look into buying magnums. Bigger bottles can work out cheaper when corkage is taken into account!

I've been quoted £13 a head and that includes tea, coffee, Buck's Fizz, upgraded sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jans, fresh strawberries and cream, cakes and vol au vents/quiches

If we want we can also get a smaller version for £10per head

Hi

We're having afternoon tea. Our menu is

4 different types of sandwiches

Quiche

Scones with fresh strawberries, jam and cream

3 different types of cakes

Tea and coffee.

1 glass of champagne to toast with.

Ours is £22.50 per head. Price seems to be totally varied for afternoon tea.

We went out yesterday for afternoon tea at Betty's for part of my hen do. It cost £18.50 so not cheap but it was absolutely worth it. It was a traditional afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches, a sultana scone with jam and clotted cream, plus a selection of mini cakes - all on our own cake stand with of course a big pot of tea for everyone. It was lovely! Quiches and sausage rolls wouldn't be traditional, but if that's what you want with it then why not! I'm sure that they'd be able to do you a new quote.