The Wedding Secret You Wish You Knew
FULL DISCLOSURE...WE DEFINITELY HAVE BIAS ON THIS ONE! After 14 years in the restaurant industry, it definitely still holds our heart! Our experience, knowledge, and our trusted relationships with Memphis' best restauranteurs leads us to share this well kept wedding secret.
Want a zero stress wedding day with amazing food and beverage? Then a restaurant buy out is for you!
So what's so great about this route?! One of the largest line items for a wedding day is the venue budget. Not only is this a several thousand dollar expense, but many venues do not have inclusions such as tables and chairs. So before you ever feed a guest or serve a single drink, you are spending tons of money to simply have somewhere to enjoy the day with them. In the industry, we call this a single dollar value spend. For each dollar you spend, you are getting one value-the wedding venue. That's it.
HOWEVER, a restaurant buyout is a double dollar value spend. What do we mean when we say that? Most restaurants will have a buyout structure for private events, the client agrees to meet a food and beverage minimum spend in exchange for the private use of the space. We are lucky in Memphis to have some truly beautiful independent restaurants that can hold over 100 guests. When you choose a property like Acre Memphis for example, you end up with a triple dollar value spend, as the space is so stunningly beautiful in its interior design, a light sprinkle of flowers and décor will create a truly remarkable wedding day.
For a luxury experience, dress these beautiful restaurants with lots of florals and allow your chef to come up with a tasting menu paired with wines, bourbons, specialty cocktails (or mocktails!). This is another reason restaurant buyouts are an interesting strategy for a wedding day. You can personalize the food and beverage culture in a more specific way and enhance the telling of your love story through your meal with guests.
We really love this fit for couples that are not interested in choosing every single detail such as place settings, seating charts, invitation choices, and more. There are a million things to decide when planning a wedding and being overwhelmed by it is super real! Allow the staff of your favorite special restaurant take excellent care of your guests at a much more traditional level of service than what they would experience through a catering environment. You know your people! Are some of your guests choosy or particular? This is a great way to take the heat off of you and your sweetheart.
Now that you know why this is such a great option, we'll share a few of our favorites for this idea:
Photo credit:
Hen House Photos: Mary Kate Steele Photography
Slider Inn Photos: Rob + Deanna Photography
Happy Planning!