i know it is stupid! i hate how companies get away with this. i wish there was something that didnt allow them to do this but i dont think that will ever happen!

my venue charges between £75-£95 per head but we are doing their special offer they are doing at the mo so is costing £28.73 per person. makes you laugh why they cant charge that all the time doesnt it! xx

It is really annoying! We are on a tight budget and looking for somewhere local which would be laid back but still nice. Most of the hotels and restaurants in the area, which we know fairly well and have always previously been affordable for meals out are suddenly out of our budget when we mention the "w" word!

Mrsbarkertobe, for a wedding breakfast worth £75 a head I can't imagine what they could possibly do to it to make it worth that much! Perhaps your own individual personal waiter and a couple of bottles of champagne, but that might be inappropriate at a wedding... Well at least you are getting a deal on it!

xxx

I know i was doing so well planning a "function" until they asked me outright whether it was a wedding, we i admitted it was they said the prices would be different to cover the different needs of a wedding, i gave up on this venue immediately, but unfortunately never found out what these different "needs" were!

Ours is £95 per person that includes canapes, welcome drinks, 3 course meal bottle of wine and water each, champers for toast, coffee and petit fours and bacon rolls in the evening.......I think mines value for money... I designed the menu for our 3 course meal and the food was lovely...and they have given us lots of leeway with things...

I just think venues charge a lot for food but if you get a good venue that isn't a chain what you get is better value/ service... As they are only as good as their last wedding.... Therefore more negotiation room

But I have noticed you say wedding and they "pop" on 45% extra!!

Anywhere you go, mention "wedding" and prices seem to treble - it's total rip-off, they seem to think it's a license to charge whatever they want!

god these prices are really expensive,we v got 200 guests to cater for i could never afford them prices are food is £7.50 per head and they get loads and our drinks package is £275 and that includes bucks fizz welcome drink and sparkling wine for the toast.x

I was thinking a local hotel looked decent, but OH isn't keen as it doesn't look great from the outside and has a reputation locally as "the old folks home" lol, it's called the Sherborne Hotel, I've put a link on my wall, what do you lot think?

I agree with your OH, its not that picturesque from the outside, but no one is going to be standing out the front for long. I think the menus look affordable and have a good choice range. I think it's definitely worth a look round! Have a chat with friends and anyone who has been there and see what they think, especially about the friendliness of staff. It's a good way to get an idea of what they are really like because any potential venue will be nice to you when you are looking to spend your wedding day there, they'd be stupid not to! Good luck xxx

I'm happy with the cost of mine: £40 a head for either a knife and fork buffet or combination (might have starter and dessert served to the table, then a buffet main so people have a choice), and £30 for the drinks package (1/2 bottle of wine; 1 welcome drink; 1 glass of champagne); I've priced up their standard food and drinks prices and it actually works out cheaper.

One tip, you could make the booking nearer the time stating it's for a birthday party, or, ask for a quote for a birthday party for the same number for the date you have in mind, and see what they see (ideally do it via email so its in writing), Then say the plans have changed and it will be a wedding but you'll have the same number of guests and the same food, so will still be sticking with your booking. They might get annoyed, but who cares? They can't say anything, you are having the same thing for the same number so it should be irrelevant if it's for a large birthday group, or a wedding group. Or, be firm: if you are paying for the venue ask that they break down their costs and ask how it can cost £600 plus £16.95 a head just because it's a big group; you might be able to negotiate an in-between point.

We're planning to book an up-hair appointment at a salon in town, having no intention of telling them its for a wedding, My bridesmaid will just have a simple blow dry and style and i'll get something a bit more interesting done. Thinking of telling them we're going to a summer ball/ prom (we're all young, early 20's, so i doubt they'll think it unlikely or strange). I just don't see why i should pay 4 or 5 times more than anyone else for the same result!

sign me up panther.lol.x

my 3 corse meal is going to cost around £5000 and then were stil having evening buffet. the venue is very reasonable apart from the food. xx

we were pretty shocked at the prices for food too, but after looking round a few venues we realised that was standard and just had to bite the bullet and pay it! we're paying £36.50pp for starter, main, desert and tea & coffee. most expensive we saw was £80 but that place didnt have a venue hire charge where as we are paying £2k hire charge so i guess it evens out in the end x

we looked at a hotel where I had my 40th and it was £40 per head for champagne reception, 3 courses and live entertainment. Great, we will have that deal please..oh not possible...it is £65 per head and £800 for exactly the SAME entertainment. What were the extras? well a red carpet and toast master????? It has made me so annoyed!

A simple case of supply and demand sadly ladies...if enough people will pay it, then they'll charge it :(

I will not be paying anymore then £30 pp out of principle. I am disgusted at the attitude of the pub/ inn I mentioned in the starting post and i understand that many venues have a similar attitude. They seem to think if one bride refuses to pay that much she can go elsewhere because they'll find someone else to rip off! I know a lot of the really desirable hotels, country houses and clubs charge extortionate amounts because they know that if someone really wants their wedding there they will save up, or stretch their budget to match any price they want to charge.

I agree martay/ marie, those gateau cakes are ridiculous, you can get them from the cash and carry for next to nothing (less than iceland)! There is no way it cost them £4 to buy/ make it let alone nearly £40!

We all need to think a bit more before blindly accepting the prices they give us! Think - did they make it? - how much did it cost them? - how much is it worth? Some places will do deals with you if they want to keep you as a customer, from their point of view making a deal and not earning as much on a few slices of cake should be nothing compared to the business you give them with your wedding reception! From my point of view, its worth a try, the worst they'll do is say no. lol

I know it's so annoying. The first venue we looked at was £60 a head, but because we are only having about 50 guests in the day thy said that they do a min of 60 so we would have to pay an extra £10 a head for another 10 guests that would not be there. That was £300 on nothing. I thought that was just pretty discusting when you are spending so much money there.
The next venue was brilliant. They had 5 different menus cheapest was about £21.95 and the dearest was only £29.95, so I was really pleasd with that. Also whats so brill about this place is we dont have to pay for the hire of the room, just the food. U think we would be mad not to go with that place. :)