Weddings, money, & big dogs rolled into 1 article

[Deleted]

Since I know that MM likes talking about weddings, money, and big dogs... Eater (a food blog) is having a "Whale Week" which is a really stupid name for a week where they talk about the restaurant adventures of BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG dogs.

At any rate, I present to you its list of 9 World Class Restaurants for Your Big, Expensive Day:

Whale Weddings: 9 World Class Restaurants For Your Big, Expensive Day

Tasting menus are plenty pricy, but wedding receptions
are possibly the most expensive meal a whale will every buy. Gathering
200 of your closest friends in one of the best restaurants in the
country is obviously going to cost some major change, but adding the
word "bridal" to anything notoriously raises its price exponentially. Buyouts of these restaurants begin in the $30,000 range (or around $250 per guest) and go up infinitely from there based on wine, flowers, equipment, and more.

Below, Eater talked to event planners and restaurant representatives
across the country to find out what it might cost to splurge on the fine
dining wedding of your dreams at restaurants like the French Laundry, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Daniel, and many more. Get ready: it's a nice day for a Whale Wedding.

New York City event planner Tzo Ai Ang
tells Eater fine dining restaurants are often "an intimate wedding of
less than 100 guests...rather than a great dance party." And that's
true: these weddings are often in the 25-to-50 guests range. (Although
tell that to Daniel Boulud, who has a dance floor ready to be installed
in the dining room at Daniel should a couple require it.) Ang adds that
couples should be aware of extra charges such as "the cost of service, coat check,
room rental and tax." Other extra charges can include charges for
bringing in outside cakes, premium wines, custom gift bags for guests,
and any number of restaurant specific upgrades.

Depending on the location, these types of weddings can be priced either per guest or as a flat buyout fee. Event planner Suzy Berberian says in California's wine country, events of this nature can range in price from $350 to $1,000 per person, although she notes those figures are prior to "flowers, entertainment, photography, etc."

All of the figures below are a baseline price for
the venue, and just include the space, food, and service. The numbers
can vary wildly based on what each couple wants, including upgrades,
equipment rental, time of year, all kinds of factors. Given that it is
incredibly difficult to pin down how expensive any of these actual
weddings might be, the restaurants are listed in alphabetical order by restaurant name.

These restaurants were chosen to provide a range of high end
restaurants across the country. Some restaurants were not included
because rough estimates on price were not available at press time, and
some were not included simply because the restaurant in question doesn't
do main dining room buyouts. (Restaurant at Meadowood in California,
for example, doesn't do main dining room buyouts, although other areas
of the resort are immensely popular for weddings.) If you've got info on
a high end restaurant wedding buyout not included here, do please dish on hard numbers in the comments.

[Photo: Le Bec Fin / Facebook]

Le Bec Fin, Philadelphia: $350+ Per Guest

A rep tells Eater Le Bec Fin can hold 52 in the main dining room with an additional 24 in the private dining room for a seated meal, although they can accommodate up to 200 guests
for a canapé reception. Couples can have the ceremony in the main
dining room if they wish as well as a champagne hour before the meal.
Seated meals can run three to eight courses. Le Bec Fin also offers an
in-house florist, the ability to customize linens, and parting gifts
including a box of custom truffles or a favorite bottle of wine.

[Photo: Blue Hill at Stone Barns / Facebook]

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, New York: $245+ Per Guest

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, just outside New York City,
is a whale bride's dream: a rep tells Eater they offer ceremonies in the
courtyard, four course dinners with wine pairings (additional costs
based on the couple's selections, naturally), a pre-dinner cocktail
hour, and after dinner dance space in their HayLoft area. The guest
count minimum starts at 175 and goes up to 260. Bonus?
Couples can use the restaurant's regular linens and arrangements for no
additional cost. For whales looking to wow, gift bags from the farm's market are available. A rep for the farm notes that the price above is not
for the main dining room, it's the starting price for the event spaces
on the property. She adds that couples that book Blue Hill at Stone Barn
will be given one all-inclusive price for the event.

Blue Hill NY is also available for receptions for up to 50 guests, but they don't offer ceremony space due to space constraints. Get out to the country if you want more room than that.

[Photo: Canlis / Facebook]

Canlis, Seattle, Washington: $25,000 to $30,000 Flat Fee

Seattle's famous Canlis is available for complete wedding buyouts in the range of $25,000 to $30,000,
which covers 100 to 150 guests. A rep notes that their private dining
room works as a dressing room for the bridal party, and adds "Our
wedding gift is usually to give the room and dinner to the couple for their first anniversary."
They can do custom dinners, and "when it comes to wine, forget
it...there are no limits." Inclusive of "food and beverage, service
charge, room charge, valet, and tax," the price range is $150-200 per
guest.

[Krieger, 9/11/08]

Daniel, New York City: $275+ Per Guest

Want to get married in the main dining room of the three Michelin-starred Daniel?
Sure, why not: a representative for the restaurant tells Eater the
restaurant offers ceremonies in both the main dining room as well as
their Bellevour Room. For the reception, they have a dance floor
available; should you choose that option, the restaurant can hold 140 guests
max. They'll bake a wedding cake for you, make macarons or chocolates
for wedding favors, print menus and placecards, and will make personalized cookbooks as gifts for guests. The price cited above is the base price for lunch receptions; expect a heftier tab for evening affairs.

[Photo: Everest / Chicago]

Everest, Chicago, Illinois.

A blowout wedding at Chicago's Everest involves a maximum guest list of 200 people,
custom dishes from chef Jean Joho, sweeping, stunning views of Chicago
from the restaurant's spot on the 40th floor above the Chicago Stock
Exchange, and complimentary valet parking. A rep declined to give a base price, although their private dining menu lists various charges here, including a $135/per person seasonal tasting menu and a $78/per person brunch menu. Also, you can order "a pair of Everest Alsace wine glasses designed by chef Joho" for $50 a pair (!).

The French Laundry, Yountville, California. [Photo: French Laundry / Facebook]

The French Laundry, Yountville, California

Yes, you can do a French Laundry buyout for a whale
wedding. A Thomas Keller Restaurant Group rep declined to provide a
number for this story, although she did add that any number "is between
the property and the person/people planning the party, and we don't
publicly disclose that information. Pricing also varies from party to
party based on the menu, beverage and format, as well as the time of the
year, so we wouldn't be able to give estimates anyway." That said: a
2011 blog post on the French Laundry puts the number at $1,000/head,
which you can take with about half a grain of salt as, at the very
least, it's dated by now. That number does happen to be in line with the
range event planner Berberian provided. Of course, you could always
just elope, make a regular old reservation, and pay the tasting menu price for dinner.

[The Salon at Per Se by Krieger]

Per Se, New York City

Again, Thomas Keller Restaurant Group declined to participate in this
story — see a note on the French Laundry entry for details. However, an
event planner tells Eater a wedding she planned at the restaurant cost $19,000 for 36 guests,
which included "food, alcohol, wedding cake and rental of the West
Room." She adds that during cocktail hour, "guests were offered a tour
of the stunning kitchen."

[Photo: Zaytinya]

Zaytinya, Washington, DC: $35,000+ Buyout Fee

A rep for chef José Andrés says Zaytinya,
Andrés' take on Greek, Lebanese, and Turkish cuisine — is bought out
for weddings more frequently than any of Think Food Group's other
restaurants. Why? Sky high ceilings with tons of windows make for a
dramatic space day or night, and unlike many of the restaurants on this
list, Zaytinya has ample room for dancing. Be aware that including a
dance floor knocks the max number of guests from 300 to about 100. (The
rep says "hybrid" solutions are available for those whose guest lists
are in the 200ish range.) Perks? Zaytinya offers liquid nitrogen cocktail stations as an upgrade on standard packages. No word on whether you can upgrade to having Andrés actually perform the ceremony.



eater.com/archives/2013/01/31/whale-weddings.php

[mbcdefg]

Some of these actually aren't unheard of for my (our) area.

Canlis, Seattle, Washington: $25,000 to $30,000 Flat Fee

Seattle's famous Canlis is available for complete wedding buyouts in the range of $25,000 to $30,000,
which covers 100 to 150 guests. A rep notes that their private dining
room works as a dressing room for the bridal party, and adds "Our
wedding gift is usually to give the room and dinner to the couple for their first anniversary."
They can do custom dinners, and "when it comes to wine, forget
it...there are no limits." Inclusive of "food and beverage, service
charge, room charge, valet, and tax," the price range is $150-200 per
guest.

This one's actually a pretty decent deal in North Jersey/NYC. I'm sure a lot of girls back on my local Knot board spent more on this for their receptions.

[Deleted]

I just want to be invited to one of these weddings.

[Deleted]

I have a feeling some of those prices don't include alcohol because they seem low to me. I'm pretty sure my sister's wedding had a 200 person minimum and was $150 a person (in 2008) in the NY Metro area.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I was surprised too at how not offensive most of the prices were.

[Awkward]

Jan 31, 2013 15:20:02 GMT -5 @totsintosa said:

I just want to be invited to one of these weddings.

Right? I need more obscenely wealthy friends. I'm tired of cash bars at VFW halls.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2013 16:26:48 GMT -5 Awkward said:

Jan 31, 2013 15:20:02 GMT -5 @totsintosa said:

I just want to be invited to one of these weddings.

Right? I need more obscenely wealthy friends. I'm tired of cash bars at VFW halls.

My cousin's reception this summer is going to be at the rodeo arena. LOL

[h]

I was invited to a wedding at Everest, but it was a week after DS1 was born so I couldn't go.

[Bob Loblaw]

I wonder if you get any "no" RSVPs if your wedding reception is at The French Laundry.

[heliocentric]

If I had the money, I'd rather pay for a reception at a great restaurant like this and give my guests (and myself) a truly memorable experience than spend almost as much for a run of mill reception venue.

[Deleted]

That is so so sad that I'm not shocked by those prices. Some halls in NJ are $400+ pp.