Food & Beverage Minimums

[SRUAlmn]

Hi! We are trying to figure out how we're going to meet our food minimums. We are having an afternoon wedding in the Napa Room of the Cali Grill ($75 minimum.) Here is what we have so far:

The lunch option that we think we like best (although we don't really like any of them ) is about $28-$30/person

The cake we like best is $980.00 but has no per person charge listed. Plus it's for twice the people we have so I think it's overboard, but it's SO CUTE!! Can they make it smaller? Our second choice is about $13/person. Is the cake counted in your minimum??

We are having a dessert party that same night so it can count toward the minimum and is $24.50/person

That comes out to about $66/person without wine and beer costs. Can these be included in your minimum? How much are beer and wine costs usually? Is it a per person charge? Do you pay afterward based on what is consumed? How does it work?

Also, if you can't count the cake or the beer/wine, how in the world do we reach the minimum? I guess we'll have to add things on to the reception menu?

Thanks!!!!!!

 

[chipscinderelly]

Yes beverages do count to your Food and Beverage minimum - even alcohol . We're doing a bill on consumption bar and our planner estimated what our guests would drink and it seems reasonable. You can also add the package bar where you pay a set fee per person for the time frame. For us that would have been more expensive than what we feel our guests will drink.

Just an fyi - the menu pricing ended up being higher than the printed versions we received so be prepared for some increases.

 

[Laurafoster]

Your cake is usually for a minimum number of people so it may not be able to be reduced! Mine if for 50 people but i only have 26!

We have an open beer and wine bar which alos includes soft drinks and for around 4 hours its about $28pp i think! we were going to do billed on consumption but as ours is an evening reception i worked out people would drink a bit more.

 

[SRUAlmn]

$28 per person!?!?!?!?!? YIKES!!!!!!!!!! Ours is at noon and I'm wondering if it's even necessary, however, I know there is a $500 charge if you don't consume a certain amount. Is it possible to just not have an alcohol option at all????

As for the cake. I was referring to the whimsical one and the mad hatter one. They say they are $980 each (there is no per person amount listed.) So I was trying to figure out how that would factor in to our per person charges. Would we just divide our quest count into $980?? That's about $24.50 per person!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JJClemson]

Yes, you can definitely choose a beverage option that does not include any alcohol. You can also choose one that only has wine and beer. The ones with hard liquor are the most expensive. Have you been assigned an EM yet? When we were assigned our EM, we got to see all these options in Wishbook.

 

[Skylarr29]

Also remember that although your cake goes towards your per person minimum requirement it does not go towards the minimum requirement to use the Napa room because the cake is made at the GF.

Your pre reception also goes towards that minimum if you are having one. Other things that you can add on if you are having trouble is possibly a sorbet course, a special dessert, or maybe just a more expensive bottle of champagne to make the minimum. I am sure you will figure it all out although it seems overwhelming right now.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Yes, you can definitely choose a beverage option that does not include any alcohol. You can also choose one that only has wine and beer. The ones with hard liquor are the most expensive. Have you been assigned an EM yet? When we were assigned our EM, we got to see all these options in Wishbook.

Not yet. We heard from Pam on Monday that they had all of our stuff, but she emailed and said it would be a week to a week and a half before we were assigned an EM. I'm just anxious

 

[SRUAlmn]

Also remember that although your cake goes towards your per person minimum requirement it does not go towards the minimum requirement to use the Napa room because the cake is made at the GF.

Your pre reception also goes towards that minimum if you are having one. Other things that you can add on if you are having trouble is possibly a sorbet course, a special dessert, or maybe just a more expensive bottle of champagne to make the minimum. I am sure you will figure it all out although it seems overwhelming right now.

Thanks! It is a little overwhelming, but I think that's because it's all still a little hypothetical. Once we have our EM and I see paperwork and things I'm sure it will make a lot more sense. Thanks for the tip about the cake not counting toward the Napa minimum. I don't think that will be a problem, though, because the lunch time Napa minimum is pretty low