FAQs
The most obvious plus to having a restaurant wedding reception will be the food. You can be sure that the food will be great if you choose a restaurant you enjoy. The cost is also significantly lower when having a restaurant wedding reception. You won’t have to spend money on things like chairs/tables, decorations, or catering. Restaurants are a great place to have a more intimate wedding reception considering they aren’t equipped to handle larger parties. On the other hand, if you would like to have a large wedding reception, a restaurant is not the best choice. With a restaurant wedding reception, you won’t be able to have typical reception elements like a band or dance floor, and the decorating will probably have to be kept to a minimum. This, however, can be beneficial if you are trying to minimize costs. If you have any guests traveling from out of town, a restaurant wedding reception won’t offer the accommodations that a hotel reception would. Some restaurant owners will expect the wedding couple to match the revenue lost for the day of the event seeing as they will most likely have to close a portion of their restaurant to the public. Despite this, it may be sweet to be able to return to the place where such a special memory was created over and over again in the future.
Dressing for an event at a restaurant largely depends on the kind of event, the location of the restaurant, and the time of the party. Be sure to check the invitation for a specific dress code. If there are none, consider the kind of event you’re attending. If this is a work dinner party, try to find a balance between looking professional and stylish. Casual dinner parties often have a polished, simple dress code. Go for a classy and relaxed outfit like a nice pair of jeans and a cute top. Formal dinner parties, like an engagement party, can be a white tie or black tie. White tie is the more formal of the two, so if it is expressly stated that this is the dress code, wear something elegant. Black tie is still dressy, but not as formal as white tie. Timing can be split between day and night. For a daytime party, dressing casually is probably your best bet. For a night-time party, dress a little more formal and dressier. The kind of restaurant can also clue you into the dress code. A casual restaurant means comfortable, casual clothing. A formal, extravagant restaurant means dressing fancier.
There can be multiple ways to handle the bill when attending a dinner party. It’s customary for the person or group of people throwing the party to pick up the tab, but this isn’t the only way to go. The party can split the bill evenly among everyone attending, including the birthday boy/girl. The party could also choose to cover the cost of the guest of honors' meal and then pay for their individual meals. The traditional route is for the host of the birthday dinner to pay for all the invitees. If you are hosting a dinner party and would not like to cover the entire ticket, this should be explicitly stated in the invitation as hosts are normally expected to take responsibility for the cost of the party’s meals.