Total Wedding Price per Head

Saint Sonner

I know this will cause some debate but just for interest sake I have just done the deal with the hotel for my wedding in 5 weeks time so I'm interested to hear what other peoples opinions are. Based on the following package what would you think the price per head average out all costs:

Tea,Coffee & Biscuits on arrival
Prosecco/Beers on arrival for a max 150 people
Starter
Soup
Turkey & Ham OR Roast Beef
Dessert
Tea & Coffee
1 glass of wine per guest plus 2 top ups during meal
Evening Buffet (Tea, Coffee, Cocktail Sausages & Sandwiches)

Answers on a post card! :P

Milly33

MMmm maybe around the €85 mark! That's just guessing now but yeah around there. thinking of our own and tisnt too far off it

Flippyfloppy

I would say 45 a head.

Loughc

€60 per head

Tefral

Saint Sonner wrote: »

I know this will cause some debate but just for interest sake I have just done the deal with the hotel for my wedding in 5 weeks time so I'm interested to hear what other peoples opinions are. Based on the following package what would you think the price per head average out all costs:

Tea,Coffee & Biscuits on arrival
Prosecco/Beers on arrival for a max 150 people
Starter
Soup
Turkey & Ham OR Roast Beef
Dessert
Tea & Coffee
1 glass of wine per guest plus 2 top ups during meal
Evening Buffet (Tea, Coffee, Cocktail Sausages & Sandwiches)

Answers on a post card! :P

€45-50 a head id be leaning towards €45 though

rainbow kirby

That sounds similar to ours only we allowed for a half bottle of wine per person. We paid €55 a head in Limerick.

This is very location-dependent too though, Dublin venues will want significantly more.

solerina

Def under 50 per head !! Just comparing it to what we had for ours

chanelfreak

I'd say around €50 a head max

PLL

Honestly, I work in the industry, that could range from circa €40 in a 3* up to €80 in a 4* judging by the menu it isn't 5*

Like another poster said, it depends on location too.

davo2001

€45 per head.

But... it's star rating and location dependant.

fits

^ what they said.

amor3

Also based on what day your Ceremony is. I'd estimate €45 per head €50 if on Friday or Saturday.

andreac

Mine is something similar and its 60 a head, on a Friday, in the Summer. Mine is a 4 star hotel.

Greenmachine

Between €40-60. Would depend on the venue. Glass of wine at dinner plus 2 refill, I would put as half a bottle per guest, figure about €20 a bottle of prosecco tops.

Faith

Given the food choices, I'd definitely say no more than €50 per head, assuming it's not in Dublin or a prime venue.

Saint Sonner

Time to come clean.

It's a pretty nice 4 star with grounds and golf course. I'm averaging out at just below €70 per head on a Friday. I'm a bit surprised with how low some of the answers are however after pricing some of the other venues again that we considered before booking this venue I'm happy enough with the price.

The menu had some more fancy options but this is the type of combination I like so I went with it - they also threw in a few extras for free.

Weddings really are expensive business but I just want to make sure everyone has a good time.

annoyedgal

Completely depends on the venue and location. Could be from 35 a head to skys the limit!

Milly33

Ah that's not bad.. I was thinking some of the prices given were very low.

A lot of options we found for those prices didn't include late night bites and the wine would have been maybe one glass of wine with a small top up..

Think you nabbed a bargain well done to ya.. It is hard to keep everyone happy so just go with what ye like

PhoenixParker

The three things that would make me think lower figures are your food choices:

tea and biscuits vs canapes at entry
beef & ham and turkey tend to be the cheapest menu options in most venues (this in particular probably led to your low estimates)
cocktail sausages & sandwiches vs fancier finger food for afters food.

The other details point to a more expensive package (five course meal with choice of main, alcohol included).

Things like nice chairs/chair covers, red carpet, rooms included, complimentary wedding tasting, centrepieces & top table decorations, bar extension included, audio-visual equipment make the E70 a more reasonable price.

Faith

PhoenixParker wrote: »

The three things that would make me think lower figures are your food choices:

tea and biscuits vs canapes at entry
beef & ham and turkey tend to be the cheapest menu options in most venues (this in particular probably led to your low estimates)
cocktail sausages & sandwiches vs fancier finger food for afters food.

Yep, these are exactly what I based my estimate on. At 70 a head, I'd be expecting canapes and 'fancier' mains - maybe lamb, fish or beef fillet.

It's great that they threw in some extras, but I'd probably push them for more. They'll be saving a lot on your meal, I'd reckon, so I'd ask for canapes or fancier evening food.

Also, did you say you've just booked the hotel for a wedding in 5 weeks?! That gives you WAY more bargaining power as they're not going to sell that date at this stage. Any money coming in is better than none from their perspective. You have the power here!

Saint Sonner

No we booked about 18 months ago and paid a hefty deposit we just went to pick our options and get final price there with 5 weeks to go.

Having an extra meal option increased by €3 per head I think

I pushed them on price and they said they would give me sandwiches on arrival with the tea and biscuits etc and that they would also include chicken goujons in the evening buffet.

Do you think I would be entitled to ring them and ask for better arrival food or evening buffet option?

Tefral

Saint Sonner wrote: »

No we booked about 18 months ago and paid a hefty deposit we just went to pick our options and get final price there with 5 weeks to go.

Having an extra meal option increased by €3 per head I think

I pushed them on price and they said they would give me sandwiches on arrival with the tea and biscuits etc and that they would also include chicken goujons in the evening buffet.

Do you think I would be entitled to ring them and ask for better arrival food or evening buffet option?

Suppose ill tell you what im getting for mine, you can make your own mind up then.

For €58.50 in a 4 star Hotel

 Arrival Reception Tea/Coffee and Homemade Cookies, Prosecco, His & Hers coctails and Canapés

 Five Course wedding banquet to include a choice of:

Choice of Two Starters, One Soup, Beef Sirloin / Sea bass Main, One Dessert and Tea or Coffee and ½ Bottle of Wine per person

 Evening Reception Buffet which includes: Tea and Coffee, Sandwiches , Cocktail Sausages , Mini Pizzas and Potato Wedges

 Bar Extension

kkcatlou

The cost of your wedding "package" has far more to do with your choice of venue than choice of food.

There seems to be three tier costs -

1. basic, big town hotels, with a big function room which do your standard package - canapes, meal, wine, afters food for anything between €40 - 60.

2. Then, which is harder to find, you have your golf clubs, fancier hotels in the country, which do similar packages to the above, with maybe fancier canapes, and prosecco on arrival for between €60-85.

3. And then you are in country house/ castle/ unusual venues, where it is next to impossible to get anything for under €100.

Most weddings seem to fall into either the bottom or top tier. I know a couple looking at the middle tier at the minute, and they are finding it really tough!

So asking about the price of the food is irrelevant really if you don't know the venue type!

Saint Sonner

kkcatlou wrote: »

The cost of your wedding "package" has far more to do with your choice of venue than choice of food.

There seems to be three tier costs -

1. basic, big town hotels, with a big function room which do your standard package - canapes, meal, wine, afters food for anything between €40 - 60.

2. Then, which is harder to find, you have your golf clubs, fancier hotels in the country, which do similar packages to the above, with maybe fancier canapes, and prosecco on arrival for between €60-85.

3. And then you are in country house/ castle/ unusual venues, where it is next to impossible to get anything for under €100.

Most weddings seem to fall into either the bottom or top tier. I know a couple looking at the middle tier at the minute, and they are finding it really tough!

So asking about the price of the food is irrelevant really if you don't know the venue type!

Thanks for that I think I fall into category 2 - They threw in a free fourball along with the deal too!

jjC123

cronin_j wrote: »

Suppose ill tell you what im getting for mine, you can make your own mind up then.

For €58.50 in a 4 star Hotel

 Arrival Reception Tea/Coffee and Homemade Cookies, Prosecco, His & Hers coctails and Canapés

 Five Course wedding banquet to include a choice of:

Choice of Two Starters, One Soup, Beef Sirloin / Sea bass Main, One Dessert and Tea or Coffee and ½ Bottle of Wine per person

 Evening Reception Buffet which includes: Tea and Coffee, Sandwiches , Cocktail Sausages , Mini Pizzas and Potato Wedges

 Bar Extension

Thats seriously good value for a 4*! I used to work weddings in a 4* venue and your deal would cost 85/90 euros a head on a Saturday in peak season. (max capacity of 160 though, the more people the cheaper per head)

amor3

PhoenixParker wrote: »

The three things that would make me think lower figures are your food choices:

tea and biscuits vs canapes at entry
beef & ham and turkey tend to be the cheapest menu options in most venues (this in particular probably led to your low estimates)
cocktail sausages & sandwiches vs fancier finger food for afters food.

The other details point to a more expensive package (five course meal with choice of main, alcohol included).

Things like nice chairs/chair covers, red carpet, rooms included, complimentary wedding tasting, centrepieces & top table decorations, bar extension included, audio-visual equipment make the E70 a more reasonable price.

Yep! My reasoning for my guess on price per head.

Gatica

you also have to factor in the day/date. If you're talking about Oct/Nov midweek, obviously this will always be cheaper than Saturday in August or NY eve.
I think it's difficult to estimate the pp cost for a venue without knowing the venue. A country house is going to cost more than a hotel chain, etc... 3 star vs 4 or 5 star, etc... and all the little extras already mentioned, such as complimentary bridal party rooms, red carpet, bar extension and chair covers.

Milly33

Youd be surprised well basing it from Cork now, that there actually isn't much difference between a country house wedding and a hotel wedding.

Gatica

in terms of cost?
In our case that's what we found, but then the boutique/country style venues were usually quite nice. The bigger and open-to-the-public-on-your-wedding-day hotel kind of places had lower prices, but you weren't expected to book out the hotel either..

pooch90

€70 a head seems quite expensive for that menu unless the food is out of this world in an amazing setting.
Not much you can do at this stage as you have committed.
Is it a venue in Cavan by any chance??

Milly33

Gatica wrote: »

in terms of cost?
In our case that's what we found, but then the boutique/country style venues were usually quite nice. The bigger and open-to-the-public-on-your-wedding-day hotel kind of places had lower prices, but you weren't expected to book out the hotel either..

Yep, we had two places not that were the same price as renting a place for the weekend. Not all of the places ask you to rent all rooms.

We were very surprised by one in Cork that cost the same as another. they charged for the parents rooms, they would only give the bridal room that was it, charged for bar extension everything was extra

Saint Sonner

pooch90 wrote: »

€70 a head seems quite expensive for that menu unless the food is out of this world in an amazing setting.
Not much you can do at this stage as you have committed.
Is it a venue in Cavan by any chance??

No its not in Cavan.

I have to say the food is amazing in my opinion but maybe i'm biased. Its counrty house hotel with a golf course with very good grounds for wedding pics etc.

I priced around the similar venues we looked at since finalising our package and I am now content that I got good enough value as they all worked out more some just slightly and others considerably more.

davo2001

Saint Sonner wrote: »

No its not in Cavan.

I have to say the food is amazing in my opinion but maybe i'm biased. Its counrty house hotel with a golf course with very good grounds for wedding pics etc.

I priced around the similar venues we looked at since finalising our package and I am now content that I got good enough value as they all worked out more some just slightly and others considerably more.

OP it doesn't really matter what anyone here says, once your happy with the deal then that's all that matters.

schemingbohemia

davo2001 wrote: »

OP it doesn't really matter what anyone here says, once your happy with the deal then that's all that matters.

But why post then?

amor3

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But why post then?

Exactly, op asked for opinions..

Saint Sonner

Well I wasn't totally content when first posting but since some of the feedback and other research - I'm now content. Thanks for all the input on here. No doubt I'll have more wedding questions before the big day.

Milly33

enjoy the rest of the planning