This is a thread that was started in our old BlissWeddings.com forums by Ophelia53 on 08/10/2004.
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posted by Ophelia53
Please excuse cross postings...
Hi, I'm new to this site
My fiance and I are looking at reception sites. Most places in the area (Chicagoland) charge an 18% gratuity/fee on top of the meal cost, resulting in our paying several extra thousand dollars. However, the place his brother held his reception does not charge this, and the price per meal is actually lower. The "easy" solution would be to have it where his brother did, but we want to have our OWN wedding, and this reception site is about 40 minutes away from my church--where the ceremony will likely be.
Here are my questions:
1. What is this charge for if some places tack it on but others don't (I was under the impression it is a "gratuity" for the servers)?
2. Do any other Chicagoland brides know of sites that DON'T carry this charge?
3. Or, is there any logic to why one place charges it and others don't (e.g., if we look into a reception hall with outside catering, can we save money)?
Thanks!
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posted by tweetyblue
Hi --
1. Places charge 18% because they can. It's not for the servers, it's for the provider. "Gratuity" in this context is the technical term for "we think you're too deluded/ hurried/intimidated to examine our charges closely." Of course tips are supposed to be for servers, and good servers should get them. A mandatory gratuity is not a tip.
2 and 3. Yes, not every place charges it (you already knew that), and yes, you can save money (often, but not always) using an outside rather than a captive caterer. (But you need to be careful with caterers, too, because some caterers will charge a mandatory gratuity as well. It's just as spurious a charge from them as it is from the site!)
I strongly recommend Denise and Alan Fields' book "Bridal Bargains" (about $14 and worth ten times that amount) for strategies to negotiate away mandatory gratuities and find places that don't charge them to begin with.
If you want to post where you're looking I might have some suggestions for you -- my wedding and reception are in Evanston and Winnetka, respectively, and I know a little bit about sites and caterers in the Loop and mid- and near north areas.
Best of luck!
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posted by Ophelia53
Thank you!
I'd love to hear about what you've found. Our wedding will be in or near the Schaumburg area. Generally, we're not sold on the church yet, either. So, I think we're flexible on where/which suburb to have it.
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posted by tweetyblue
(By the way, congratulations!)
Wow -- if you haven't settled on the church for sure, then the door really is wide open for you. When are you planning for? Any ideas about what kind of feeling you'd like to have -- is this an elegant and sophisticated dinner, a pretty garden party, a casual family-style party? And you don't have to say what your budget is, but it would help me make suggestions if I knew if you were in the four-figure or five-figure range (or alternatively, what kind of per-person cost you're thinking of). How many people at your reception?
For starters, check out The Country Squire in Grayslake (csquire.com). It's a bit of a drive but just right up the tollway for you. That was our "safety school" until we settled on the Winnetka Community House. Country Squire is a "just bring your party" place -- one price buys everything. There is a "service charge" (16%, I think) but the general price range was low enough that we figured we'd net out OK. (that's really the bottom line [so to speak] -- you can often negotiate away certain kinds of fees or charges but the real point is to stay within your budget, regardless of what the provider calls the charges.) Can't speak for the food quality as we didn't get that far, but the grounds are lovely (it's an old Sears estate) and there's room outside and inside for a pretty big group.
I'd also recommend the Winnetka Community House if you're flexible about location. They have a long list of approved caterers (unlike some places whose lists are two caterers long), the facility coordinator is delightful, and the garden is gorgeous. No service charge.
There are community facilities or woman's clubs in many suburbs and they very often don't assess "service charges" so those are great places to look at.
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posted by gymrat
Hi. I use to live in Blue Island which is a south sub of Chicago. But I recently returned for a friend's wedding in June which I think was fairly close to you (not sure how close though). She has her reception at Concorde Banquets in Kildeer (20922 N. Rand Road). She had appetizers with the servers walking around before dinner, a sit down meal, and open bar. I am not sure of the costs but it seems like a nice place. Sorry I could not be of more help.
Smiles,
Lisa Marie
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posted by Ophelia53
First of all, thanks for the "congratulations!" I keep forgetting I'm supposed to be enjoying this part.
We are looking at next summer. Other than that, we haven't settled on a date. Definitely a weekend, probably a Saturday, best if between July 1st and August 20th. I have "church issues" so am not really sure we even have a church date yet. Sit down dinner at night.
I was so glad to hear that gymrat had a good experience at Concorde (so, thanks and please pass along any other impressions if you have any). My fiance and I finally decided to get this over with--he looked on the internet and made a list for me, and I called as many places as I could yesterday. Concorde and Manzos are two places in the suburbs (Kildeer and Des Plaines, respectively) that have reasonable prices and no service charge/gratuity.
I don't know that we have a set, per-plate price we are planning to pay. I think--generally--the country club we are thinking about (with the service charge) is still in our price range. It's more that we are thinking about the money we could save and apply elsewhere (2 Grand is a lot). Currently, we have a deal for about $52-63 per plate including tax and gratuity).
I appreciate the support and the suggestions. It made me feel so much better to get some leads.
What to do about 18% gratuity?
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