Any hotel, restaurant, or banquet facility that offers an all-inclusive package plan is doing its best to attract your business by providing all the aspects of a perfect wedding reception for today's busy working woman.
Prices vary greatly as package plans may include any or all of the following:
* Use of a private banquet room for no less than five hours
* Specially coordinated linens
* Elegant silver service for the head table
* Services of a maitre d' or reception room hostess
* Selection of a full-course meal
* An array of hors d'oeuvres for your cocktail hour
* Bartender service
* Open bar for your cocktail hour
* Choice of Chablis, rose, Burgundy, or champagne wedding toast
* Guest table and head table centerpieces
* Corsages, boutonnieres, and bridal bouquets
* Deluxe limousine service
* Professional photography and/or videography
* Live band or DJ
* Wedding cake
* Overnight accommodations for the bride and groom
* Invitations, guest book and pen, toast glasses, cake knife, cake napkins, embossed matchbooks, or place cards
* All applicable taxes and gratuities
The facilities that offer these plans have spent extensive time and energy interviewing bakeries and bands, florists and photographers, limo drivers, linen companies, etc. They have tirelessly checked references, seen samples, and judged for quality all those things that you would have to do on your own. In other words, the legwork has already been done for you. And if you're short on spare time in your life, a package plan may just be the thing for you.
Other pluses for the wedding package plan are as follows:
* You will not have to write out endless deposit checks all over town. Your banquet facility will request an initial blanket deposit which covers everything.
* The services are guaranteed. You won't have to worry if the limo is going to show up, or if the cake arrived on time. The responsibility rests with the function facility alone.
And what of the minuses? Well, you are paying for the privilege of having all these aspects of your wedding worked out for you for sometimes as little as a few hundred dollars; sometimes as much as a thousand. If you are interested in a package plan reception, you will want to see the guide where I'll help you figure out your costs, based on the plan you like best.
Can you get a credit on any service the plan offers that you would prefer to provide yourself? Generally, yes. But credits would only pertain to the services the facility does not offer on its own. For example, you won't receive a refund on head table candelabras. But more than likely, you can get a discount should you wish to provide your own band instead of the one they provide.
A word of warning, however. The credit price you'll be quoted may sound terribly low. And this will cause you to question the quality of service provided. Well, now's the time to explain how it all works.
I'll use music as an example. The band or DJ who is fortunate enough to appeal to both the banquet facility and to you will very often start off with a Friday night wedding then leave their equipment in place and return for two receptions on Saturday and one on Sunday. The same general idea applies to the lucky florist, photographer, and limousine company: a minimum of five weddings per weekend. In turn, these choice selected service industries or individuals most often provide discounted rates to the banquet facility in exchange for the windfall of business. This is essentially why the credit rebates offered to you on package plan services may seem somewhat low should you elect not to use them. And of course, there are always those facilities who are just not going to give you the full refund. Oh, that band may cost them $1,200, but you'll find yourself ending up with only $600 back if you don't want to use them. Unfortunately, such a practice is more commonplace than you may think.
My personal advice to you is simple. Judge each facility by what it offers. I believe in package plans for busy women, as long as the prices reflect the quality offered. I do not, however, recommend package plans for women who have the ability, time, and patience to place their own personal signature on every aspect of their reception. A package plan then becomes just a waste of your money.
Read on. Now let me show you ways to make your wedding reception truly yours!
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