Going for a meal after a small wedding ceremony

[SloopyDoodle]

Hi all,

my fiance and I are planning a small wedding ceremony next year, and we just want to go out for a meal in a pub or something afterwards. There will be around 14 of us. I am just a bit confused at the etiquette, I have contacted a couple places and not heard back - do I need to book and let them know its for after a wedding ceremony, or do I just ask to book a table for 14?! Would it be odd to just book a table for 14 and then turn up in formal wear?! My wedding dress is quite low key but I wonder if staff would be annoyed? Just wondering other peoples thoughts. I haven't been out to eat in a couple years due to small children and a pandemic either so I'm not sure if I'm just asking an odd question.

I think it depends on what you want. Are you just going to have a table in a restaurant or do you want to hire out a private room? If it's just a table in a restaurant then you probably can't book that far in advance.

What Mimi said.

There is also a massive difference between nipping into your local Wetherspoons, and wanting a secluded area at an upmarket country pub. Many places do have either a smaller room or a more secluded alcove or snug that they would be quite happy to set aside for a group, but I think if you were planning to make it into a longer than normal length meal, you'd need to discuss it with them.
Again, if they are any sort of a pub that relies on heavy traffic / quick turn around, they are less likely to be accommodating than if they are a more expensive type of place that don't reply on X number of sittings a day.
Plus things like a Tuesday afternoon when they are quiet they would likely be more accommodating than a Sunday when they are normally busy.

I booked for a table of 13 but when I mentioned it was for my wedding meal he put me away from the restaurant at no extra cost. He also invited me to bring banners and balloons and a cake if I wanted and they would dress it for me. So it depends if you want a no fuss meal.

We had this for 24 people in a local restaurant- our florist dressed the table in advance. They did a slightly revised menu (guests could choose from about 5 options on the day). It was a nice, relaxed afternoon and cost about £1200 with booze.

..and we were able to have our cake there, too.

We did exactly this. We found a great local restaurant which an upstairs room with one large table and a couple of sofas etc.

There’s no problem with being over dressed for your meal. (You may get looked at if you’re in finery at a pub but so what?)

For a group of 14 you do need to book.
But you don’t have to book it as a wedding meal etc

If you let them know that it’s following a wedding then they will understand the occasion. But people book groups for birthdays, anniversaries, team wins etc

With sufficient notice and depending on restaurant layout groups will often get placed in an area which may be private, a corner etc

As just a restaurant meal as opposed to a specific wedding menu you don’t need ‘special’ extras, but it does help to have any idea of anyone’s dietary needs, it’s sometimes quicker to pre-order (closer to the date) and that enables everyone to be served approximately together but any restaurant worth its salt can cope with a group booking

Thanks all, this has been really useful and good to know, need to consider the type of restaurant and what we want. Thank you :)

We did this for our civil ceremony. They put us in a separate area and allowed us to have a cake and everything.

I had a fairly simple and short white dress but with suits and everything we looked more dressy than most! It was fabulous!

Call it a private party not a wedding.

That is exactly what I am after...what was name of the restaurant maybe I have one near me...what's best time to book table for...may I ask did u still cut the cake etc etc...I am just worried it be slow and nothing in the evening to keep people active ..
I have about 26 guests including bride and groom

Thank you for advice