Is anyone having their reception in a Village Hall?

Hi

We are thinking of having our reception in a village hall as we are on a budget and im going for a relaxed vibe, there seems to be an awful lot to do thou as in finding caterers, a bar etc, any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

x

Were not in a village hall, but were just hiring the venue and using our own suppliers. Have you spoken to the management and found out any recommendations on who theyve had in the past there? Also ask friends and family, you really will be surprised who they know of and worth of mouth is better than just internet searches. Check with the hall too what crockery, cutlery and glasses they hold as you may beed to hire in separately too.

The only thing I wouldnt recommend would be doing your own. FBIL and his wife did it this wayfor both main and evening and it was stressful on the family to do close enough to the day to remain fresh and get right quantities of everything and this on top of decorating the hall too! Atleast with caterers they know how much, they set up themselves and even better they clear up too!

We're using a village hall and it is a lot of work but I can't wait! Cheap and I see it as a blank canvas.

For food we're using family friends who are caterers but they've also catered there before. Am hoping they will have recs on bar, cutlery etc. I would definitely ask the people that run the hall if they could recommend anyone locally. 

Where abouts are you? 

we're having it in a village hall and have saved so much money as have not been tied in to any caterers, don't have to pay corkage for the table wine and then in the evening the bar is free as long as you have a certain amount of guests.  Got recommendations for everything and a bit of google help.

Rach xx

Thanks for your advice everyone! have not been on here long, what does FBIL mean??

I am in Dover, Kent, the hall iv looked at doesnt even have a bar, just a serving hatch to the kitchen! Iv had a quote from a hog roast company for £2,500 for food and we are only having 45 people!

FBIL = Future Brother in Law.

Try work out caterers per head. £2500 for 45 people is about £55 per head. That is a lot! Did it include VAT as well? A lot of companies quote figures first, then spring VAT on after!

Our caterers are working out £20 per head, to include canapes, then bread and butter on the tables to start, starter, roast turkey main, dessert, and coffee and mints after. Also table cloth hire too. They will also serve the drinks we buy ourselves. Inclusive of VAT as well.

To be honest though, this is a word of mouth recommendation as my aunt works for the town council and they used them for a party for the mayor, they dont advertise online so would never have found them that way.

When I got quotes, they were coming in basic 3 course sit down menu of £30+VAT which seemed average. Sit down meals are usually more expensive though, hog roasts are meant to be a much cheaper (but still yummy quality) than sit downs if you like the informality of it!

I'd aim to get someone to quote around the £20 per head mark for hog roast.

I would expect a gold lined pig for that price! Quotes for hog roasts in my area are around £10-15ph + vat so I'd definitely keep looking! Im hoping to feed 150 on £15.

As for there being no bar, that shouldn't be a problem, lots of companies provide mobile ones which they can bring along.