Why a Restaurant Wedding?
Shuffling 200 different contacts and vendors in the weeks leading up to your wedding is enough to set anyone over the edge when they’re trying to plan a wedding. When you choose a restaurant as your ceremony/reception venue, however, you’re guaranteed that at least the food will be there on time. Restaurants also often come with lists of vendors that they work with frequently, so you’re close to guaranteed to be working with someone familiar with the conditions of the venue.
No Décor Worries
Restaurant come with décor (hopefully), and if you pick the right restaurant, you may not even need to add anything of your own at all. Most venues that are familiar with the wedding scene will often have selections of linens, simple centerpieces (like candles or paper goods), and will know how to arrange seating for optimal visibility and aesthetic joy. The lighting will also already be arranged in a way that suits an event. Easy as pie!
No Wait Staff Hunting
For weddings hosted in blank or unfinished spaces, many couples forget that someone really should be running around putting things together before everyone gets there. Hiring a whole private wait staff can get expensive, and you really don’t want another thing you have to add to your list of “things to worry about” on your wedding day. Restaurant package deals usually come with a trained and capable wait staff who are more than familiar with the flow of a wedding.
No Difficult Parking
It may sound silly to worry about parking convenience in the midst of bigger considerations, but this really is something you should consider. Many non-restaurant venues (such as state parks) will actually charge for parking, and you don’t want your guests climbing steep unpaved lots to get to your out-of-the-way venue. The logistics of paying for guest parking ahead of time can be frustrating, and you really don’t need the added stress. Restaurants are usually good about ample, easy parking – check it out ahead of time!
No Clean-Up
I have a good friend who was a maid of honor in a wedding recently, and the bride confided this to her about her proposed post-wedding clean-up: “People who love me will stay and clean.”
Please don’t expect your guests and/or bridal party to do this, especially if you’re taking off right after the reception concludes. Restaurants will take care of the cleaning for you, and you don’t have to saddle grandpa with a broom and dustpan at 2am.