Does it have to be a 3 Course Meal?

Personally, I'd kiss the melon bye bye! I like melon, but I've never understood it as a starter!?

What about having some sort of pre-meal snack / canapes to whet people's appetite, then the sit down main meal, then the bags of sweet after. Technically, this would only be one 'formal' course...and EVERYONE loves sweeties!! ?

You can have WHATEVER you like. People who are there are basically getting free grub so have no grounds to complain about anything. Do it your way!

It doesn't HAVE to be anything. If the money saved could be spent on something you'd rather have, then the decision is already made!

As to which course you'd cut, are you having a cake? You mention sweets for those who demand a sweet end to their meal. I'd go for starter and main, personally.

We opted for a 2 course meal - main and pudding! We are also having a sweet buffet, chocolate fountain and candy floss machine in the evening as well as pizza so saw no point to having a starter!

I went to my friends wedding and had a once course meal - some people dont even have a 'meal' so to speak and just lay on a spread! I don't think it will look cheap at all or like you have cut corners! Budget is crucial! If £560 quid can be spent elsewhere... (our saved money went on our extras) Try not to worry about it !

x

I'd much rather have the main and desert than melon for starter. Then sweets after!

If melon is the only choice for starter I'd definitely be inclined to scrap it.

We are having a main and a dessert. I feel strongly that starters are small and expensive and not always that appreciated! Having a cookie bar and hog roast for later on xxx

Thanks everyone, I defiantly feel better about it now!

The canapes are more expensive than the starters so cant really replace it with them, as they are just as small. I defiantly feel that starter is the one to loose as I think that people might sit around at the end of the main waiting for their dessert where as if the main meal just comes out then they have forgotten it by the time they have finished.

We are also having a hog roast in the evening, so combined with the cake, cupcakes and sweets I don't think anyone will still be hungry.

So on the basis that we're keeping the dessert, I thought the cheesecake because its quite light but if were not having a starter do you think I should go for the Sticky Toffee Pudding as its slightly bigger?

I agree that this seems very expensive on the face of it. I suppose if it were intentionally simple with prime ingredients and prepared by Jamie Oliver, it might be reasonable!

I don't like the idea of sweets for dessert. Are you having wedding cake? That might be a better option to serve.

Can you substitute canapés (or bowls of posh crisps, nibbles, crudités) earlier on in the day and get rid of the starter?

I dont think so, their quite strict the sorts of food they allow, I would imagine they would go green if i asked for crisps lol

We are having a cake & cupcakes so yes I think this is a good dessert. However we was gonna wait for the evening guests to arrive before cutting the cake so not sure how this would work???

The other thing I wasn't a fan off was the childs meals is only £10 less but instead all they get is chicken Goujons and wedges with ice cream for dessert. This to me sounds like a £30 happy meal!!! They also wanted me to pay for a full price meal for our suppliers (photographer etc) don't caterers usually have a staff meal, something more simple and less expensive?

Has anyone else had meetings with the catering company, its almost impossible to get clear answers from ours on email so was wondering whether it would be worth meeting up and discussing it?

That is expensive for a kids meal, our kids meal is £10.50 for a main (of their choice) and ice cream as dessert or they can have what the adults are having but in a child's portion for £20!

Dessert wise i would stick with cheesecake, i think more people like cheesecake than sticky toffee!

Have you tried to negotiate any of these prices with them? I know you are tied to using them but there's no harm in asking for a breakdown of the meal prices, for both adults and children. Remember that a portion of the meal price will be for "standing costs" - setting up the table, use of crockery etc, serving staff, so it won't be representative of only the food. However, £30 is way too much for that children's meal.

I think you have wiggle room here. Ask for the breakdowns. Then get a quote for the same meals (and extras) from another catering company, to see whether they are truly reasonable prices on offer. I think if you meet them face to face, and you're a strong-headed confident person, you can probably knock their prices down a little (or at least get some extras thrown in).

I would be severly falling out with my venue (no offence)

I have a few in my wedding party who have serious dietry restrictions and which what they are asking you to do would drive me mad.

I agree with Becklarr 30 is extortionate!! I'm paying 7.50 for a single course and they will get wedding cake for dessert.

Definately look at cutting out the melon as not a lot of people choose it when they eat in a restaurant.

Maybe offer both as dessert so people can choose what they would like instead of being a bit restricted because some of my wedding party cannot eat cake so I am offering an alternative to they dont feel so left out.

Hope this helps ?

Agree with everything Footlong said.

We are only doing 2 courses for our wedding, though we are going with a starter and a main, then having a desserts table, cupcakes and sweets as a 'dessert'.

Though if I was only offered melon for a starter I would definitely ditch that, melon is one of those that people either love or hate IMO!

Following your advice I just looked online and WOW am I being done over or what... There is a catering company that does a 3 course meal (and the guest can choose each course from a choice) with tea and coffee and linen for £32.95 per head and £9.50 for kids...

With ours we have to choose the courses so have to find something that hopefully everyone likes, and on top of this we have to pay £3.95 per head for tea and coffee.... Now Im worried that we are being taken for a ride.

Although I will try to haggle Im not sure they will budge as they know I HAVE to use them.

Ahhh I thought planning a wedding was supposed to be fun

Edit: Melon isnt the only option, the other option is soup, but i think thats messy and when its hot (which I am hoping it will be ) I wouldnt want a hot starter...

No it doesnt have to be anything, it is whatever you and your fiance would like. Its your day. Your money and personally i dont think anyone would grumble as long

as they get a free meal, whatever that consists of.

Personally i agree with the other and scrap the melon! So if you were paying for 2 courses i would get the main and dessert however I think the penny sweets are a nice idea for dessert and go with your theme.

We are having afternoon tea at the church with sandwhiches, cakes and scones around 12, a bbq and puddings at 4pm and then evening buffet. No 3 course meal in sight

as long as your guests bellys are full i dont think it matters how it comes!

That's simply astonishing, almost unjustifiable.

We selected our venue for the food, as we were determined to splash out - it is mentioned (if not starred!) in the Michelin Guide, it won Best Cheshire Restaurant etc etc. Basically, it's a "foodie" place. We spent £100+ per head.

Coffee was £2.75 per head. With truffles. 2/3 of the price of yours.

2 course sounds fine to me. I'd prefer a glass of pop/wine/champers to a couple of slices of melon.

As it's your wedding and your loved ones are there I dont think they'll be looking and complaining either way!

xxx

Thank you everyone you have convinced me, going to drop the starter... give them dessert and they can take the sweets home as a favour kind off with there photobooth picture.

As for the tea and coffee I think I'll skip that and if people want it they can order one at the bar!

As for haggling, thankfully my sisters best friend is a wedding planner so might ask her to do it on my behalf lol

Ooo I have just noticed my ticker isnt working properly, does anyone know what I've done wrong??

Absolutely not! Your wedding has to be what YOU want it to be! We're having a cold fork buffet for our wedding breakfast with finger food for the evening reception. Our caterer isn't flexible on what she does but we can add anything we like, so we're going to add some chocolate truffons so people have a choice of 3 desserts. If I were you, I would scrap the starter. It would be much better to have a main and a dessert than serve your guests sweets for dessert. You'll give all your guests a sugar rush in time for the speeches otherwise! lol.

Good luck, and don't sweat it to much, trust me!

MrsStobe13 xx

You're paying so have it your way. I stewed over these same questions over and over again and in the end decided that if the poeiple I invited to my wedding went home and all they had to say was "the tight buggers didn't have a starter/pud.chair covers" then they weren't people I should care about.

We had a one course carvery, two meats and served to the table followed by a dessert buffet (half the price of the dessert being served to the table) and it was fine

A few ideas for negotiating price:

Does the catering company use venue equipment for cooking? In which case, you shouldn't be paying anything towards their own kitchen running costs/upkeep. Does the venue lay the tables? In which case, you shouldn't be paying for serving staff much outside of dinner times. Does the venue provide crockery etc? In which case, you shouldn't be liable for insurance or charges on the company's stuff.