Booking the Hotel
Generally, the fewer the number of guests you are inviting, the wider will be your choice of reception venues.

• Some smaller, more exclusive restaurants with additional function rooms will be happy to quote for your needs. Such venues are often to be found in more interesting locations.
• A central location may be of importance, or you may prefer some special location at a distance, in which case transport will have to be given due consideration.
• Size may be your first consideration, but remember that large hotels are always willing to cater for small groups.
• The cost of the hotel will depend largely on your choice of menu. When receiving quotes, make sure you know whether services charges are included in the price. The total price is what will concern you.

Recent Cost Survey
A recent sample Survey of Hotels illustrates the price variation you may expect to find.
The cheapest to dearest menu options(in that order), were -
- Chicken Dishes (+ ham, chasseur)
- Turkey and Ham
- Beef (Rib, Sirloin)
- Lamb
- Buffet
- Beef Wellington
- Duck
For 80 guests, the cheapest and dearest Chicken dish menu totals were £751 and £1,305. For Turkey and Ham, £1,090 and £1,500 respectively. For Beef it was £1,215 and £1,516. For Duck, £1,966 and £2,853.
The choice of menus may be high on your list, but this will tell you nothing about the quality of the service, its friendliness and efficiency. You will not want yours to be one in a series of production line receptions, another victim of impersonal efficiency...

Attractions & Essentials
Some hotels are more experienced than others and offer any one or more of a long list of special attractions to win your custom, i.e. -
free wedding car
red carpet
reception flowers
free champagne on arrival
cake stand/ decorations
free discos after the band
overnight accommodation for the bride and groom

Not all hotels offer services like these, and it is up to yourself to judge how genuine such attractions are. The important things are that the hotel is clean, the meal tasty and well priced, the service friendly and efficient, and the staff accommodating. A spare changing room for the bride and groom is important. After that, the choice is yours.

The Buffet Reception
The time of day when the wedding takes place will influence your choice of reception. An early morning or a mid-afternoon wedding could be followed by a buffet luncheon, or a lighter afternoon buffet reception serving easy-to-cut fork and finger food and no messy sauces.
- The buffet reception has the advantage of allowing guests to move about more and to circulate, rather than sitting beside the same people throughout.
- A buffet reception usually includes a delicious selection of cold meats, salads, savouries, etc., to each individual's tastes.
- Some Hotels require a minimum of 50-100 people before they accept a Buffet booking.

The Set Menu
If the wedding is in the mid-afternoon, then the formal luncheon is more appropriate, especially where guests may have travelled far or fasted for some hours before.
A typical simple wedding menu would begin with say,
- a grapefruit or a fresh fruit cocktail - minestrone or cream of veg soup - roast stuffed chicken and ham - fresh vegetables, etc. - chocolate mouse or sherry trifle
As you choose a more elaborate menu, the starter would become a fresh fruit cocktail, a melon wedge, or salmon mayonnaise. Soup might be fresh vegetable or consomme. The main meal might be prime sirloin or beef in red wine sauce, and baked alaska for desert.

A-La-Carte Menus
If you prefer to make up your own menu there is a wider variety of soups, starters, main courses and desserts to offer your guests. You will be charged separately for each guest and item, and therefore it could work out to be much more expensive than a set menu. However, the A-La-Carte approach is ideal if you're catering for vegetarians or persons with special dietary requirements.
Many brides send out a questionnaire with their Invitations, suggesting two or more main course options - say Beef or Salmon, plus a Vegetarian option. This allows choice, while giving precise numbers in advance, and so reducing costs.

Wedding Drinks
Most hotels provide the wines and other drinks for the reception.

• The cost of drinks is not included in the price of the meal. There is normally a service charge or `corking charge' of approx. £2 per person for the first drink, i.e., the complimentary drink from the couple to their guests.
• Champagne is the traditional wedding drink, and sometimes maybe the only drink served. Only sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France may go by that name, but since the region cannot meet with the world demand, other sparkling wines are just as appropriate although they are not allowed to use the name Champagne.
• Champagne and sparkling wines are expensive, being among the most heavily taxed drinks you can buy. They are usually reserved for the wedding toasts, with one bottle supplied for every 3-5 guests.
• An alternative welcoming drink is a glass of sherry or an aperitif served to the guests on arrival after which individual guests may order what they wish from the bar.
• Many consider that the first drink should always be complimentary, no matter how restrained your budget.
• With a buffet meal, a medium dry white wine is appropriate, while red wine is also offered with a formal luncheon where meat is served. Soft drinks should also be available throughout.

Self or Home Catering
As an option, the private home is more intimate and warm, but unless it is large, it will usually accommodate fewer than 30 guests.

• If you intend holding your reception at home, you must bear in mind the amount of work that is involved, and the help you will need. Self catering may be troublesome.
• It's unfair to expect the bride's mother to undertake this on such an important day, and usually the help of caterers is engaged. There are many private firms who are experienced in this area and who will provide everything from cutlery, glass and china to hot and cold food, as well as clearing up afterwards.
• Some caterers will offer a greater choice of food than others, but if you have a clear idea yourself of what you would like it should be possible to find a caterer capable of meeting your needs.
• Don't presume that the meals a catering company provide will be cheaper than the hotel. If in doubt, make your enquiries first and compare prices.
• If you are organising the drinks yourself and you are buying a considerable quantity, find an off-licence that is willing to supply you on a sale-or- return basis, so that you can be refunded on what you don't use.
• Have you considered other options, such as -
• hiring a club or sports hall
• hiring a marquee (if the garden is large enough). This is best suited to summer weddings.
• it's all too easy to leave such matters as adequate parking or cloakroom arrangements to the last minute, when such matters should be discussed in advance.

A Summary of Events
1. The arrival of the guests met by the bride and groom's parents.
2. Serving of a welcome drink while the photographs are being organised.
3. The guests take their seats for the reception meal, or gather for a standing buffet.
4. After the meal and before the coffee stage the best man announces the cake cutting ceremony.
5. A drink for the toasts is served usually champagne or a sparkling wine.
6. The best man asks the bride's father to say a few words and the toasts now commence.
7. The bride's father proposes a toast to the bride and groom.
8. The best man asks the bridegroom to speak on behalf of himself and his bride.
9. The groom's speech, followed by a toast to the bridesmaids.
10. The best man replies on behalf of the bridesmaids, delivers his speech and reads out the telegrams and congratulatory messages.
11. The bride and groom commence the dancing.
12. The bride and groom change in preparation for departure.

Seating Plan