Just wondering what peoples experiences are with menu tastings. We have an all inclusive package at a Hotel at a really good price but they want to charge us £25 each for the bride and groom and £30 each for additional guests to have a menu tasting. Should i accept this or keep pushing not to pay it?
CommentAuthorAH86
Ours was free, completely free, including any drinks that we wanted. I really think it is unacceptable to make you pay more. Menu tasting is standard practice surely when you're spending thousands with them. Did they tell you this when you booked?
Friday 10th April 2015
Marrying my best friend
Not long now :D
CommentAuthorCoralLeigh2016
I'd have a look at your booking confirmation hun.....we have to use a recommended outside catering company for ours yet our menu tasting is completely free :)
If it doesn't show anything on your booking form I'd ring the hotel and speak to their manager....I'm sure they wouldn't want to upset you by charging extra when you're already paying a large amount for the wedding xxx
CommentAuthorclairenina
Ours was included and we got our invite to go 5 months before the wedding. We both selected our courses prior to going
CommentAuthorbarbie86
The simple answer is that some venues/caterers offer complimentary tastings, others don't. Ours was free for us, but then we paid for my parents and brother, and drinks weren't included.
I'd definitely speak to them again, esp if there isn't anything in your contract about it and say that given how much you're spending with them, and that a menu tasting is pretty essential, you have hoped/assumed it would be complimentary. The worst they can say is no, in which case you'll have to pay.
Ours was an outside caterer called b0n @pp3t1t and we had to pay £50pp for our tasting if we wanted one. Generally a 'free' tasting isn't free it's just included in your package so it's paid for somewhere along the line anyway as all companies are still a business. Normally it's only be you and h2b who would go to a menu tasting anyway,no one else needs to go. £25pp is a pretty good price generally speaking x
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthor*KelBel*
Trying to get a menu tasting included is difficult if you've already paid a deposit etc as they already have a signed contract by you
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthorFlossie
I think it's common for people to have to pay for the menu tasting, though every venue is of course different. There's no harm in asking them to waive the cost; the worst they can say is no!
I'm not sure if we will have to pay for ours. We did however take our parents (all 7 of them - 3 are re-married, then my mum) to view our venue after we booked it and they offered us all complimentary tea and coffee.. x
Happily married
18th June 2016
xx
CommentAuthorbarbie86
KelBel: that depends if it states in the contract that they need to pay; if it isn't mentioned, it's at least worth a shot. FWIW, I didn't bother to check until we actually booked it, then they said it was complimentary for myself and OH, so, that was a bonus! We also had free drinks (tea/coffee) at meetings, and were offered alcoholic drinks a couple of times. So it really does vary.
Also, how many people need to go depends how the tasting is set out and the number of dishes you want to try. We didn't want to try small portions (which I know a lot of venues/caterers do so that you can sample all choices), we wanted to try full portions so that we could see the portion sizes and presentation, and, because we were offering 3 choices each for the starter and dessert and 4 for the main, and were undecided on the mains (eg there were 2 chicken dishes we wanted to sample), we kind of needed at least 4 people; so we treated my family as a thank you.
CommentAuthorStaceyH613
Thanks everyone for your advice. We just want it for the 2 of us so will definitely try contacting them again about it. We have paid a deposit but not signed anything yet so i guess there is hope!
CommentAuthorAprilS61
We paid £30 for the both of us when we had ours. We had to arrange it ourselves though, it wasn't something that was offered to us or included.
Mr & Mrs Swan 04/04/15
CommentAuthorElinor Claire
We had a complimentary tasting, but only of two options for each course. We had hoped that we might have small portions of a number of items, but they said that wasn't an option as they served the dishes as they would be served at the meal.
30th August 2014 was the best birthday ever.
It was the day that I became Mrs. Dixon.
CommentAuthorJennK
I just tried to wangle a free one out of our venue coordinator but she wasn't having any of it
Our perfect day - 08.08.15 <3
CommentAuthorKirstyR386
We paid £25 for both of us and got to try 2 choices of each course. We were already set on our veggie option for the main so tried two meat ones that we liked the sound of. They gave us one plate of each but at a full portion size so we could see how they would be presented on the day.
It could be worth going through your t&cs to see see whats included. No harm in asking them to remove the charge if its not on the contract. X
