Budget Review: Food, Cake & Favors

Catering

Down South Delights

Contact: Rita Rowland

{photo courtesy of DSD - thank you, Rita!}

What We Got

Six hors 'd oeuvres on beautiful serving dishes; choice of two beverages; all cutlery, plates & napkins; back of house staff & complimentary cake cutting

$2100

Deposit

{required to book your date & applied to your balance}

$100

Total Cost: $2100*
 *This total does not include gratuity
______________________________

 Alcohol

There wasn't any! We had a dry reception. It was a personal choice based on the budget, proclivities of our family & friends and the shortness of the reception itself.

 Total Cost: $0.00
______________________________


Cake

Hermitage Bakery

{another photo courtesy of DSD}

What We Got
3 tier wedding cake with cream cheese butter cream icing
{two traditional white tiers and one chocolate; 
included ribbon decoration}

$167 (plus tax)

Delivery
{Our wedding was on a Sunday, thus additional charge on delivery}

$50

Cake Accessories
Cake stand, monogram cake topper and cake bling
{purchased or made by yours truly}

$48

Total Cost: $289.51
______________________________

Candy Buffet Favors

 {shot before the jars were filled, but it's all I got at the moment - thanks MIL!}

Candy

We purchased way more candy that was used. Thank goodness our coordinator didn't open all of it - smart lady! I returned half of what I purchased to Sam's Club.

(1) 56 oz bags of classic M&MS
(1) 56 oz bags of classic Hershey's Kisses
(1) 44 oz bags of Reese's Pieces
(1) 54 oz bags of original flavor Skittles
(1) 6 lb bags of gummy bears
(1) 290 ct tub of soft peppermints

Accessories & Favor Bags
100 favor bags with hand-stamped "thank you" tags and tiny spoons

 {I did not include the apothecary jars purchased. They've become household decor or sold.}

Total Cost: $70.62 
______________________________


Total Food, Cake & Favor Costs: $2850.13

Partying together

Little Spoon and I have been preparing for a party for my work for three days now, and now that it's finished, I can safely say I would have made a mess of of it by myself. She helped substantially with cleaning up the house, and she had several excellent ideas regarding drinks (e.g., getting a couple of tubs at Big Lots to contain ice and beverages, putting the bottles and cans into the tubs before pouring the ice in them) that saved me. I took charge of picking up the living room, vacuuming the house, hosing off our outdoor tables and chairs, and arranging the tables and chairs for maximum viewing pleasure and traffic flow.

However, we would have both been run into the ground had we not gotten the event catered. Fortunately, I was given permission to hire someone to provide the food, and I chose Down South Delights for the job based on our successful tasting for our wedding reception. I called Rita on Wednesday morning; after learning that she didn't have any events planned for this weekend, we planned out the party on the phone. She guided me through the process with aplomb, calming my nerves and making loads of helpful suggestions to make a nice, informal party. We started with our wedding reception menu, keeping the finger sandwiches, chicken salad croissants, and fruit and cheese platter. We replaced three heavy reception hors d'oeuvres with buffalo wings, spinach dip and cheese, and flatbread pizzas. The food was a big hit, and many people complimented us on the plentiful spread.

It was great to have this catering to take the load off us both, and I appreciated Little Spoon's help in assembling a party for over 30 people. It's the first time I've ever hosted something that large, and with her help, I'm sure we'll be able to do so again easily.

We're "Delight"ed

Remember the Engaged Nashville event I blogged about here? I walked away from that event with some major caterer envy. Luckily for us, our original catering option fell through and I contacted Rita Rowland of Down South Delights. She is super easy to work with and her food is simply delicious!

From her talk at Engaged Nashville to our first meeting, I had a great feeling about Rita and her team. She was willing to work within our budget, offer suggestions and answer a multitude of questions.  Not to mention she is just a delight to be around!

Big Spoon and I talked through and submitted a menu to Rita and we just returned from our tasting tonight. Just, wow. The food is even better than I remember! We are oh, so happy with this vendor choice and thus, we put a deposit down tonight to reserve our date.

Also, for the benefit of Tennessee/Kentucky brides, I want to note that Rita offered us an all-inclusive price. Read: no fees. I hate fees and it's almost comedic there are so many of them for the most ridiculous things! Again, we are very pleased :)

Lost Our Caterer

I know things are going to go wrong, but when they do ... it feels just awful.

Today. I was informed that my caterer has been let go from her job at a popular local Nashville restaurant. This is a big blow considering we were getting a very good deal and were weeks away from finalizing the menu and signing a contract. The crazy thing is, the establishment didn't even contact me to let me know! I found out from our mutual friend and emailed my former caterer immediately. She is a friend and I feel terrible that she has lost her job.

So, we're back to the drawing board on this one. Fortunately, our engagement is long and its better for this to have happened now than later. Big Spoon and I are going to talk strategy tonight.

 Nashville blogger brides, whom do you recommend?

Reception Matters

photo courtesy of Copper Kettle

We had our tasting with our caterer on Thursday night. My friend Aimee is the assistant chef at Copper Kettle in Nashville. They make delicious food and make lovely buffet-style displays. The food was excellent, by the way and she let me bring home a swatch book of linen samples to look at.

We decided early on in the planning process that 4pm seemed an appropriate time for our ceremony. It's close to sunset and early enough that we can have a light reception with hors d'oeuvres, fruit and cheese, and of course, cake!

I'm glad that we have gone in this direction and honestly, it was an easy decision for us to make. We agree that the most important thing is that our guests enjoy our day as well. We especially want our parents to be responsible for as little as possible in the way of preparation and clean-up. Having the reception catered takes care of nearly all of this responsibility.

In light of the budget, we have taken on some reception responsibilities - like providing the dinnerware and cutlery, the beverages and linens. My grandmother will be making our wedding cake and my mother purchased our cake topper (which we are going to "customize"). To me, this is much more special than picking out an elaborate wedding cake.

Luckily, the caterer offered to provide us with containers for our beverages, however we decide to serve them.

I feel like things are really beginning to take shape!