Posts by frozencobra46

Betty Hernandez4 said:Does the catering include drinks, or just the food? The catering I'm looking at is from Ploča. You can check out Mustapić Catering and Anđeo Catering on Facebook... and honestly, it doesn't cost nearly as much as you'd think. I'm not sure how you guys handle the beverages, but here, we just buy everything ourselves and return whatever isn't opened—then we only pay for what was actually consumed (you obviously have to return unopened packages, not half a bottle of Jagermeister, hahahaha🤣). You know what, I don't even stress that much over the amount of food. Based on what my friends have told me, people barely eat anything during the reception before the main course; that whole phase passes so quickly. With 100 guests, you won't have even half of them eating much, so there's really no point in overdoing it with the food... though, of course, it still needs to be "high quality"!

From what I know, it's just the food included, and the drink situation works the same way. I'll definitely take a look at those caterers you mentioned.

Betty Hernandez4 said:Hold on, I don't quite follow those catering prices...$20 per person? Does that mean if you have a party of 200 people, the catering costs you 12$0.00... I guess I don't understand—do they calculate based on a smaller headcount? The caterer I hired works like this:
Their service—which includes the tent, tables, dishes, waitstaff, food setup, and all those little extra details—comes to $533.
Then you buy the food yourself and they arrange everything and prep it all; they tell you how much to buy, but their estimates are ALWAYS excessive. Three of my friends got married using this method, and they ended up with so much leftover food they were handing it out to everyone they knew.🙂

I was actually leaning towards hiring Baletni because I’ve heard great things. You don't order based on a strict headcount; instead, they use their experience to tell you exactly how much you'll need. The food at Baletni is excellent, and they mix up different delicacies so there's plenty of variety for the guests. Plus, the catering setup is seamless since they bring and take back all the dishes and equipment; you just provide the drinks, so there isn't any headache later on. On top of that, Baletni offers a free tent rental, which is a huge plus since I understand those usually charge by the square foot. Once I factored in the cost of buying the food, the total was pretty much the same, so when I compared it to the sisters' mashed potato prices, I decided this was the better route.
Betty Hernandez4, which catering company did you go with?

Betty Hernandez4 said:Has anyone here actually worked with Instagram from Castle Rock? I was just at the Lion expo... and honestly, what I saw looked incredible—maybe even better than expected. But here's the thing—when companies show off albums at these trade shows, they obviously only pick the absolute best shots. I really want to know how they handle an entire wedding reception. Has anyone actually hired them for a big event? I didn't realize choosing a photographer would be *this* difficult!

Both of my sisters used Instagram photographers from Castle Rock and the photos turned out great, though the specific photographer who shot them has since left the company. You might want to double-check exactly who you're booking, as they have a large roster.

Thanks, ladies,
I’m not planning on heading out to Iowa just yet either. I want to check out the local candle shops first before making any moves... anyway, my latest batch from IBM arrived and they look fantastic. Honestly, at about $144 for the set, $12..everything seems so overpriced lately that this actually feels like a steal.

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right place to ask, but I was wondering where one might find affordable artificial petals, floating candles, car bows, and other small decor items in San Francisco (or maybe online, if anyone has some experience there). Where do you all usually pick stuff like that up?
I actually went ahead and ordered two different types of petals through a DTP studio, so now I'm just waiting to see how they look once they arrive (about $12 pieces).
Where have you guys been shopping, and does anyone know where else I can find these kinds of things?

irontrucker13 said:Have you ever listened to the Volar band? They're available, and I'm really leaning toward them, but I just can't track down their DVD from any of those old bootleg sites, even though they're the most affordable option out there.

Who did your photography? I asked Papaya, but he's booked up for all those dates. Simon is free at Tip Top, and Rank Pupic at Studio Smile is also available during the slots for Volar and Barclays 🤷

Barclays are fantastic; I caught one of their shows at a party once and they kept the energy absolutely perfect.

If you're planning on snagging a studio session, you'd better move fast. I tried to book for October 20th, 2012, and they were already fully booked by mid-December. I'm heading in to work out a deal with Studio Val-Mario Paparello... does anyone happen to have any intel on them?

Jack Murphy7 said:The impression... look, I work in the music industry myself, so I care way more about the sound than the catering—but I’m sure if anything had gone wrong, I would've noticed. So, everything was fine, I guess...

Thanks, I appreciate that. You make a fair point—given your background in music, you probably would have noticed immediately if the levels were off or something was out of place.

Even though there’s still a full year to go, once I realized people were booking things over a year in advance—like the specific photographer I wanted for the shoot, who’s already booked up—I decided to start locking everything down early.
So, I've already secured the venue, the catering crew, Mario Paparelo’s photography studio, all the lighting effects, the florist, and even the live band for the house.

But honestly, how does nobody have any info on Amadeus yet?

Jack Murphy7 said:I was at one of those parties once... they had Kocka playing—honestly, they were way below Top Notch—but I didn't even notice the music blending together like that

Hopefully, I won't run into any of that musical mashing during my set either. How was the food, and what did you think of the venue overall?

N/A

Bradley Jones9 said:If you mean that blue ballroom right off the highway—the one with both a ground floor and an upper level—I've heard rumors that the music tends to bleed between floors. Apparently, people also mention it can get quite chilly or drafty in there...

Yeah, that’s definitely the place. I really hope those rumors aren't true, though, because we already put down a deposit.

Has anyone here actually used the wedding venue in Monterey? Specifically, what’s the deal with the Amadeus band?
I feel like I've scrolled through almost every thread on this board, but I still can't find a straight answer.😕