So, you’re getting married and you want to have a party! Of course, you want to ask everybody that you know, to help celebrate this special day but how big is your budget when it comes to food and drink? The total cost for the ‘wedding reception’  will depend on where you hold the party, who does the catering and how many people you invite.

There’s much to think about –so it will pay you to give some thought to the many options available before you make a final decision. Here’s some help with your decision of what to do –

Most of the large formal wedding reception places will have a caterer / chef in residence. Often you’ll find there is a choice in menus to accommodate various budgets. But food is not the only thing to consider – liquid refreshments are also a large part of the catering account.

If you’re able to, and you decide to organise the catering company yourself, you will need to get several quotes from several companies. Ask your friends for recommendations, and if it’s possible, visit the caterers whilst they are working a function. See what they do, and how they do it whilst they are working. Don’t be afraid to ask many questions about the type of food and how it is prepared. A good catering company will also have photos of previous functions and customer testimonials for you to look at.

And don’t forget to ask these sorts of things:

• How much does each course cost?
• How many staff do you have? Waiters etc
• Who is to provide the table arrangements / decorations?
• Who is to provide the napkins etc
• How do you expect to be paid?
• Can you cater for special diets eg: vegetarians etc?
• Will you clean up after yourself?
• Can we have a choice of menu?
• Do you need a deposit? If so, how much?
• How long before the day, do you need to have numbers confirmed?
• Do you cater for outside parties?
• Do you have the correct liquor licences?
• Do you provide the bar staff?
• Can you organise the drinks? Champagne?

When it comes to the drinks / alcohol account, once again, it pays to discuss this before the wedding day. Many couples divide the catering bill into two – food and beverages. This can be a reasonable way of sharing the costs between families. There’s no easy answer to the drinks bill – there will always be complaints that some people drank more than was budgeted for.

It can be quite embarrassing if the ‘bar tab’ runs out before the reception is over. If you’re paying for all the drinks yourself then it’s a much more cost effective plan to stick to some basic drinks, (beer, wine, soft drink) and let the guests know that if they desire anything else, they will have to pay for it themselves.

With some planning and a little forethought you can make your wedding day party one to remember – and it needn’t cost a fortune to do so!

©   Carmel McCartin – Budget Bitch

And don’t forget – (The views expressed in this blog are the personal opinions of the author. Don’t rely on them to make financial decisions; you have to make up your own mind. If you don’t like the content – then either stop reading or send me an email)