Escape - resturant or private reception?

[Boardwalk_bride]

Hey Disbrides!

I am trying to decide whether or not to have our reception dinner at a restaurant or through a catered venue. I really would like a private reception, but since we are having one at home, I guess it is not a huge deal, plus a restaurant seems like a cheaper idea.

So here are my question:

Was your dinner catered privately, or at a restaurant? What were the pro's and con's?


We will have probably 20 ppl total. We love Kona, but do not know if they can seat that many at once, so if anyone knows the answer to this I would appreciate it as well!

Thanks a lot!!

 

[disprincessatheart]

We did dinner at Narcoossee's for 19 ppl. We had to do either the first or last seating of the night. It wasn't private, but we didn't mind a bit. They put us in an area all together and we didn't notice the rest of the people there at all. It was kind of nice to have it be a little lower key than a full on reception. We got to relax and enjoy the dinner!

 

[disbridemimi]

We are also planning to do a resteraunt, we want things to be simple, I do not want to have to worry about tables, linens & centerpieces etc etc. It just seemed like a lot of extra stress to find a private place. Im saving all that effort for the dessert party, which will be our "private party" so to speak.

We are either doing Narcoosees if the budget allows, or O'Hana. That way the food will be good, the atmpshere will be good and there is a bar if people choose to ahve a few drinks. We are still undecided on if we are going to pay for alcohol or not.

 

[dhay]

We had 20 people including us and we booked the private room at V&A and it was amazing. Mosts our guests came in form out of town and we knew some of them had to save for a while to afford the trip so this amazing meal was our "treat" to them. It was also where we ate thenight we got engaged so it had a lot of meaning for DH and I.

 

[MeowGoddes]

We also had about 20 people for our Escape and had a private patio at Fultons Crab House. I was concerned becuase of the mixed reviews and it was our first time at the World.

I've gotta say, the food was phenominal! It was soo good, I actually had to loosen the corset strings on my dress to fit all the good stuff in. It was a private space with inside dining and the outdoor patio with water/ downtown disney views. The room was probably a little big for our group, but not achwardly so... could easily accomodate 10-15 more people.

 

[Caniacdeb]

I'd also like to chime in on Fulton's Crab House. DD had a 12 Noon wedding at SBP and after cake(eat dessert first!) we used limos to transport most of our guests over to Fulton's. Some guests were local and had cars available.
I too was worried about some so-so reviews about Fulton's.
It was fantastic! We had a private room and selected our menu, food was great. The planning with Fulton's personnel was very smooth.

 

[honey2741]

I'm also doing a restaurant as a private event for 25 people (Escape). Since the restaurants has great interior design, I really won't have to decorate and the views make for great photos. I vote to have a private reception.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Thanks everyone for your comments!!!

I think it will depend whether or not we stick to having an at home reception or not. If we do, than a restaurant will be fine for Disney, but if we decide to cancel our reception, I think we may decide to spring for the Attic so that we have something for ourselves.

 

[Bethany2008]

We got married at the Boardwalk last year and had 13 guests, plus us made 15. We planned our wedding in 2 months and only had options for ADRs at a couple places. We decided on Epcot's Marrakesh and had a blast! The only thing was that we were all at one long table which made visiting hard to do with people on the other end of the table. Also, our bill at the end was about $600 with drinks. Which isn't bad when you think of a wedding reception, but for a dinner, it was kinda crazy!
The atmosphere was awesome though and the food was great! We didn't consider a reception in Florida, as we did one in our hometown when we got back. Also, the other great thing about dinner at a restaurant as opposed to a reception is that our family wanted to celebrate our marriage as well as see the parks. So when we were done we all were able to go and spend the rest of the evening enjoying Disneyworld!

 

[PrincessShea]

We had our "reception" in a private room at Bluezoo which is the in the Dolphin on the Boardwalk.

The pros were that it was private, it was on the Boardwalk (all the other events were as well), the food was great, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is very nice.

The con is the cost. There is a $1200 minimum and you will easily hit it. My total was well above the minimum with only 12 people, but we also had 4 courses which was waayyy too much food.

 

[Wish on a Star]

I didnt have a choice- I'm having a 12 oclock ceremony and my planner told me that restaurants wouldnt want to take a party of almost 20 at the end of the lunch hour, because they would have to save those tables and then turn away customers. When she told me about the Convention center (St. James Room) the minimum is really low and the menu is really nice. I like the idea of being in a room of just the reception for photo's sake. I can have my cake cutting inside rather than outside at SBP.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I think that I may use a restaurant, since I really want a DP and restaurants are generally less expensive, and if you have already eaten there you know what you are getting. I think we are leaning towards Raglan Road, I saw one trip report where it was used, and they seemed to enjoy it. We are having a 2:30 ceremony, so we would probably get there by 4:30, which I assume will not be a problem there.

Has anyone else used this venue?

 

[honey2741]

I'm doing my Escape meal at the Flying Fish. Our ceremony is at 10 am. I don't have to worry about additional transportation costs and the interior is beautiful. I can't wait!