Chymes

goodgollie

Thanks for responding about the reception halls.  She would love to have it at Meijer Gardens but isn't it on the higher side of the price range for food there?  She's going to have such a big wedding that she has to be careful about the price per person.

gvsubride05

butting in...they have their catering menu listed online, along with links to the other caterings that cater there. I would guess anywhere from $20-$30 pp plus 18-20% service charge. Plus the bar bill would add up real quick.

Any of the more popular catering companies in town like Applause, Catering Company, the Gillmore Collection, are going to be in that price range. And, most of the venues like Meijer Gardens, WMU, etc. uses them.

 If she really wants to do it on a budget, most likely she is going to have to find a venue that allows you to bring in your own caterer, than she could go with a place like Adaline's or some of the more budget-friendly catering. And those places are very hard to find - usually they are VFW halls and such.

I know the new Kroc Center lets you bring in your own catering, but my bets on them being a dry facility, since they are a salvation army facility.

I'm curious - what is her budget pp?

Chymes

We used Applause Catering for our reception at the Gardens and were really happy with them. Keep in mind this was close to 8 years ago - but at that time the Gardens had a list of caterers they would work with and we were free to choose whichever one we wanted from the list, based on price, menu, etc. If I remember correctly, our entrees (we offered London Broil and chicken) were in the $15/pp range. We had about 115 guests and only used half of the Gardens' great room...also, we had a dry wedding. So, put all of those things together and it was affordable for us. But I suppose if you needed to use the whole room and an open bar was a must, it might not be. Then again...I was surprised that we could afford the Gardens at all...so she might want to just look into it to find out for herself.

goodgollie

So is there an expensive room rate along with the price per person through the caterer?  Because the prices for the caterer seem reasonable.  I know she's looking at the Grand Volute in Lowell and she seemed okay with $18K which includes the meal for 250 guests, wine/beer, the DJ and the cake.  So subtract the cake and DJ, and that is her budget.    She really likes the FMG, but hasn't looked into it because she thought it was out of her price range.  The message boards on the GR Knot boards are SO slow, so that's why I told her I'd ask here for her.  Thanks for your help girls!

gvsubride05

Actually her budget is very reasonable. 

The room rental for the Grand room for a Fri or Sat evening is $2,700. If she could cut her list down to 230, then she could rent 1/2 for $1,500

For a two-person entree buffet with tax and service charge, you are looking at about $25 pp. 

The bar bill will be a couple of grand. I think it could be in her price range.

 

Chymes

I think she could do it, too, especially after looking at GVSU's numbers. It's more than what I paid, but that is to be expected.

Like I said, I looked at the Gardens on a whim, and was pleasantly surprised. Here's hoping that she can be, too!

goodgollie

Thank you so much girls! I will pass on the info.