EoFF Meet UP! (AKA the International Meet Up Catering Thrad)

[noxious.sunshine]

I know, there's the "If you had a restaurant, what kind would be?" thrad & the one about signature dishes.

But this is slightly different..

Everyone has specific tastes and many of us have strict dietary needs and/or preferences.

I also think that having 50 EoFFers go to a restaurant for dinner is really lame. Sure, people will naturally break off into their own groups, but I think let's not encourage it. Also, IDK how England works, but I had a party of 50 one time and I wanted to kill every single person 'cuz they kept getting up and moving and the checks were pretty well all separate and yeah. Let's not be douchenozzles.

Anywho.

So food & alcohol need to be a thing.

What kind of thing? Does everyone save up individually for their trip, then we all pile in for food & drink once we get there & order catering? Do we go for everyone BYOB (but you have to bring enough for at least you and 2 other people- sharing is caring)? Or do we do it potluck style? People from overseas and out of town crash a local EoFFer's house and cook a really nice whores douerve or whatever and bring it?

And what types of food? Obvy there should be vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.

And like 6 kegs of beer. And magnum sized jugs of liquor. If someone could hook me up with real absinthe, that'd be great. I'll probably have sexy time with you. JS.

So yeah. We've got 2 years to get this all into place, but still.

[noxious.sunshine]

Right, but it'd be better to have all the food in one place- like where we're partying, no?

[Parker]

What kind of thing? Does everyone save up individually for their trip, then we all pile in for food & drink once we get there & order catering? Do we go for everyone BYOB (but you have to bring enough for at least you and 2 other people- sharing is caring)? Or do we do it potluck style? People from overseas and out of town crash a local EoFFer's house and cook a really nice whores douerve or whatever and bring it?



Or do we do it potluck style? People from overseas and out of town crash a local EoFFer's house and cook a really nice whores douerve or whatever and bring it?




cook a really nice whores douerve or whatever and bring it?



whores douerve

[Shorty]

The way I envision this going is renting out a ballroom for a hotel and purchasing a buffet package. There are usually a couple main entrees, several sides, beverages and desserts. People move through the line to get their food and sit down. Easy peasy.

Going to a restaurant sounds like a smurfing nightmare. BYOWhatever sounds messy and will put unnecessary pressure on people - people traveling, people locally to feed the amount of attendees, etc. I think it a potluck will be an added headache to an already headache-y event, and I would rather just let the venue take care of it. Also keep in mind that many venues will not let you bring in outside food for events. Even if the venue allows outside food, I would much rather just pay a local restaurant to cater. Also consider the fact that few places will let you bring in alcohol, or if you do, they will charge you an outrageous corking fee, so kegs and whatnot are out as well.

If we want to have some informal bbq or something at a park on another day, all of this sounds fine.

Also, as far as paying for these things go - we'll obviously have to heavily rely on donations. For how little a number of people have, I am confident we can get the amount we need in two years with all of the people who said they would be willing to donate. Additionally, since we are all wanting food to be provided, there will be buy-in tickets for attendance at a reasonable price to help cover the costs of food (buy your own drinks :heart:)

Note: I coordinate these things as part of my job field and have some good experience with planning events, some for 200+ people.

[Shauna]

I second Shorty's vision of the future.

If we did get a hotel thing, there'd be an overpriced bar to go to! Everyone enjoys that. :3

[noxious.sunshine]

Good looking out, ShortStack. Those are all perfectly made points!

I kind of think that if we all pitch in on food, we should pitch in on having an open bar as well- Not because it's mega cool, but like it just kind of sucks being that person that wants to drink, but can't necessarily afford more than 2 or 3.

And don't get me wrong- I don't want to be buying someone else's drinks all night, as I'm positive no one else does.

Maybe I'm off, but this is what I propose: Everyone chip in on catering service. If people want to opt in for open bar, then they can chip in for that as well- Like X amount of dollars gives you open bar access, but if you choose not to, then you pay by the drink. And yes, I know there's a typical flat rate for pouring and bottle popping and drinks per head and all that, but I should think that it can be figured out easily.

[Shorty]

It's a good idea in theory, but I don't think open bars work like that, unfortunately. Open bars operate on the head count with payment for both for the alcohol as well as paying the bartender's wages and tips. If we wanted an open bar, we would need to pay for everyone, not just people opting in.

I am wary of an open bar because I don't want people to have a free ticket to getting troutfaced and crazy, but if people want to chip in for an open bar for everyone, I will look into it. Even then, it wouldn't be totally open - there would be a cash limit. I was thinking that if we had leftover donations after venue, food, and awards, we could offer drink tickets or something, or give them away in some sort of raffle at the time of the event, idk.

In doing some research on prices, I've read that open bars usually range from $17 - $35 a head. Even if we got the best deal at $17 a head, with a 50 person attendance that still puts us as $850 for the cost of an open bar. I have no idea if this includes the bartender's wages and tips or no. Unless we get some incredibly charitable benefactor to donate a ridiculous amount of money, I am thinking that it is probably not an option.

Or, we could tack it onto the cost of the buy-in ticket. Tentatively, without looking at buffet prices for hotels or anything yet, $25 per person seems reasonable. We could tack the open bar onto that, but then people are looking at paying close to $50 just for attendance for this thing. And then what if not everyone opts to help pay for the open bar? Of course, maybe this is something people want to pay for instead of racking up potentially more money for drinks.

But also keep in mind that if people are coming from all over the world to meet, there will likely not just be a once-only meeting during the week; I am sure we would be able to get together somewhere where we could just buy alcohol by the bottle, making it a million times cheaper for everyone to drink and have a good time.

tl;dr - If people want to pay to fund an entire open bar, I will try facilitate it, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't happen because it is a long shot. Let's hear some feedback on it!

Sorry to keep shooting you down, girl xD These are all awesome brainstorming, though, and I hope you won't be discouraged.

[Shorty]

Sorry, in providing consumables for everyone, alcohol comes below food on the priority list! You guys can whip a few bucks out for a drink or two or three. Or there are two years between then and now for us to save up for an open bar.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

As someone who doesn't drink (and if I were to drink, I'd get one thing and be good the rest of the trip probably), it would kind of suck to pay that extra for something I wouldn't participate in. I mean, if enough people want it and that's a part of the buy in price, that's fine. I personally would rather save that money for other stuff as I would essentially just be throwing it away, but I know for some (or maybe a lot) of the people, an open bar where they pay the $17 bucks or whatever would be saving money as drinks can be expensive.

[Jessweeee♪]

I'm on team "let's just get a bunch of takeout and chill out somewhere" mostly because I feel uncomfortable at formal Things. On the other hand this kind of is a formal Thing.

[Parker]

I'm on team say hello politely to everyone and then sneak out the back to go get drunk and then eat dirty kebabs.

Shorty, are you researching open bars in the US or UK? You're gonna find a difference I think. Tipping bartenders here is also pretty rare.

[Loony BoB]

I second Shorty's vision of the future.

If we did get a hotel thing, there'd be an overpriced bar to go to! Everyone enjoys that. :3
I dunno, we went to a swanky hotel bar for New Year's and (standard prices for this place, I understand) the drinks were really cheap by Edinburgh standards. Prices here seem to vary dramatically regardless of the, uh, intended audience. I have no idea how much London fits to this.

One thing I will note is that when you're dealing with a large number of people having an actual meal, it'll often be the case that you have to choose between 2-3 meals for everyone rather than having a really open buffet, although again, this will depend on the venue and how much we collectively are willing to pay.

No way would I suggest an open bar, never in my life would I want to pay into that. Some people drink really cheap, some people drink really expensive. I'm on the cheaper end. I'm also a person who likes to pace himself and there are drinkers out there that are the opposite, and feeling the pressure of having to get my drinks ordered fast if I want to "beat the cash limit" isn't something I'd like. I imagine that with 60 people, many of them young adults, that we wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on them either. I'm sure there will be some irresponsible drinkers amongst us, somewhere, if we have enough people in one place.

I also agree with the various people about how we shouldn't invest too much into the bar/food overall because we're all just friends hanging around and in the end, people will want to go to less formal environments where they don't feel like they have to act a certain way. Personally I like both environments but we should consider how many of the younger people and/or people with tighter budgets might like to nip out for a cheaper option.

Again, I'm up for pretty much anything when it comes to venues but I have noticed that the number of people mentioning they could duck out is pretty high and I'd be gutted if half the people I wanted to hang out with had left early.

Also, kegs? Please. This is the UK. You should drink your beer out of a pint glass or a bottle (or a can, I guess).

Shortened version in reply to the first post, this is what will probably happen: At the venue meetup, you'll have paid your share to someone before arrival and they'll have in turn paid for the venue and the meals (and any drinks that may come with the meal). Any additional drinks or food would be paid for out of your own pocket or the pocket of someone else if they're feeling generous. There will be a bar at the venue where the drinks will be served for that venue, outside of it the food and drink is wherever you want to buy it from. I'm sure there will be other big/little parties that are less formal that people will organise at some stage but that'll be down to the individuals rather than an EoFF planned thing.

I am glad that I am not organising this, though. It sounds like a real headache. I'll be happy to offer input or advice when requested though... otherwise I'm happy to just go with the flow for the most part (outside of paying for an open bar).

[noxious.sunshine]

I was kidding about the keg, BoB.

[Loony BoB]

Alcohol Discussion is Serious Discussion.

[noxious.sunshine]

rofl.

Indeed it is.

So kegger at your place? We can play beer pong & do keg stands like we're 18 and in college. XD

[Shauna]

I don't think it should be anything too formal, really. I don't think it's ever been implied that it'll be a formal occasion. I imagine that we'll all be standing around with paper plates with legs of chicken and sausage rolls on them, chatting and whatnot. :D

[noxious.sunshine]

No Shaunas.

This is a m-effing black tie event. Men must be in suits and the girls must wear dresses and things.

We will have a cocktail hour with a couple of signature drinks that're made with fancy crap like elderberry and jamaica (I have no idea what jamaica is in English. lol- no not the country either) followed by a sit down 5 course meal.

[Loony BoB]

Unless you have a bank account that we can put down to cover it, we can't afford a limitless open bar.

[Parker]

I think everyone is maybe overestimating how many people will be coming. We don't know what will happen in a year's time. I think planning an event area and open bar and food is going to be ludicrously expensive and risky if people drop out. Find a few activities to do with places nearby for food and then pub in the evening for a couple nights. This doesn't need to be a massive event paid for by anyone in particular. Having some weird ciddies award ceremony will be awkward as hell. Lets just all hang out and get drunk and eat food and party and go on IRC/skype and laugh at those who couldn't make it.

[Shauna]

In the other thread almost 50 people have expressed interest in going - yes, people may drop out, but working on the assumption that the full amount of people will actually show up, what exactly do we do with 50 people? Let's travel hundred of miles to all mingle together! loljk we can't because there's not a pub that will be able to deal with such a big number of people randomly showing up on a Saturday night. Instead let's split off into groups and then not actually get to do anything with all the people who've shown up.

The cost of a function suite + a medium buffet won't be anything hugely extravangant (in my experience). xD

But regardless of all the thought experiments - we won't be needing to plan any of this for like a year. So yes we are all getting ahead of ourselves in this thread.

[Shorty]

One thing I will note is that when you're dealing with a large number of people having an actual meal, it'll often be the case that you have to choose between 2-3 meals for everyone rather than having a really open buffet, although again, this will depend on the venue and how much we collectively are willing to pay.
Often? I've never heard of this being done.


Again, I'm up for pretty much anything when it comes to venues but I have noticed that the number of people mentioning they could duck out is pretty high and I'd be gutted if half the people I wanted to hang out with had left early.
Where have you seen people saying this?

Catering will not be a couple grand for the number we will probably have coming. Even so, with people purchasing dinner tickets, that should cover the cost of it. Room rentals for a couple of hours are not very expensive - the food will be the biggest part of that, and if we can pay for it with the dinner ticket, everything will be fine budget-wise if we are relying on donations.

I think people are hearing "venue" and "hotel" and thinking it will be a red carpet party or something like that... I don't want people to be put off by how formal or otherwise this thing is, but I did intend for it to be a little dressy because I think that's fun, and we have some guys and gals here who look awesome in dresses and suits (not that those would be required or anything). If people don't like the sound of semi-formal, though, then I'm sure we can figure something else out. We're geeks from a Final Fantasy site the age of a high school kid. Something about us getting a little dressed up to have a meal at a hotel and present awards to ourselves seems fun and ridiculous to me.

After doing some thinking about the open bar, it doesn't seem feasible and it seems like it's most fair to let everyone just purchase you own drinks. I think it's unfair to insist for other people to want to pay for that if they have no interest in alcohol. And to say "no cash limit" is ridiculous. Whose credit card would we put it on? Yours?

It isn't full catering and open bar or nothing. Food is generally expected to be provided. Alcohol is not a requirement, and if you want to drink, figure out a way to put some money in your pocket for it.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

No matter how informal it ends up being, I'm probably going to have to wear my tux. I need to look classy while giving my Ciddies speech or whatever.

[Shorty]

I think you are overestimating how much other people care about what other people are doing or eating or drinking.

Also, remember what I said about bringing your own alcohol - more than likely not an option because places either restrict it or charge you an outrageous fee for it. There is no one in the area with the size of a house to match John Travolta's suites, so we can't just hole up in someone's family room to purchase a bunch of beer and liquor and set up shop there. One way or another, we are going to be paying to drink.

We'll also be in London, so your drink expectations might need to be lowered on that account as well.

I really hope you guys can move past this alcohol thing. This isn't the time or place to get smashed off our asses or to focus on alcohol - if we book a string of hotel rooms, we can all have fun with booze that way, or at happy hour the next day, or literally at any other time when drinking will be cheaper. Pre-game before the event, sneak it in your purse in a flask or a water bottle, dude bring it in with your jackets, I don't care what you do. If you want to drink via the venue wherever we are, you will need to pay for them.

[Shorty]

Then you are welcome to engage in any of the suggestions I mentioned or creatively come up with your own! Or just pay for drinks!

[Loony BoB]

Often? I've never heard of this being done.
It's common practice over here at a lot of places, although probably not all of them (I can only go by my own experience). If you say "I want to book for 50 people" then they will say "No problem. Here are the meals we can provide, pick two options and a vegetarian option." This was how pretty much every wedding meal ended up and it was the same for all the award events I've been to for work up and down the country. The largest group I've been able to get into one area and have everyone order their own thing was the meal you, Rantz and many others had just after you arrived in Edinburgh. Paying for that meal was awkward as hell and we didn't actually end up paying for everything going by the "honour" system, so I think someone ended up having to pay extra... which is a real shame. I wouldn't want this kind of situation to happen at an EoFF meetup.

Still, not every venue will work this way and the best way to get around it is to have a buffet which should cater for everyone but probably won't be anywhere near as "serious" a meal. Pizza, bacon rolls, stuff like that. Which is fine by me. :D


Where have you seen people saying this?
In this thread. >_> I think people have hinted at it in another thread too but it's not a big deal right now. Still loads of time and to be honest, whenever people say they'll do this they often end up just staying put so long as they have neatly priced drinks and good company. Hopefully it turns out that way. :D


It isn't full catering and open bar or nothing. Food is generally expected to be provided. Alcohol is not a requirement, and if you want to drink, figure out a way to put some money in your pocket for it.
Depending on the venue, a good "alternative" would be to have pre-purchase a few bottles of wine and/or beer. Loads of venues will do this for you at a set cost and bottles of wine are always cheaper than glasses, so it'll probably work out well that way. Of course, I'm not sure if, given our grouping, wine would be the best choice or not. I know no matter what I'll end up having to pay for all of my drinks because of my specific tastes (ie, not being fond of wine/vodka/gin/beer), but I'm used to this and have no issue with it at all.

[Jessweeee♪]

It's hard to say how I feel about catering until I actually have a price and know how it's being paid. Is it pre-pay? Each person pays for what they consume or is the bill split evenly? Maybe we should "shop around" and get some actual quotes. This is another reason why I like the take-out idea, calculating the price of pizza or whatever for x amount of people is super easy.

And we don't really need alcohol at the event. We can just go bar hopping later, get our drink on in a hotel room, or skip the alcohol altogether. As others have said before me :p

[Loony BoB]

Let's just wait a year and go from there. xD

[Shauna]

Uh, regarding sneaking alcohol in? Be super super careful with that sort of thing. If you get caught we can be expected to pay extra to cover the amount the venue has lost by that alcohol not being bought at the bar, and at worst we may be asked to leave the premises. I would not encourage this sort of behaviour. xD

[Shorty]

Seems like everyone has different sorts of ideas for this thing. I think we should determine how fancy or not fancy we want it by posting in the wonder square poll, and that can help determine what food we want.

[Shauna]

The event can be fancy. Doesn't mean the catering has to be, and I don't think we should look to anything too fancy food-wise. x}

[Shorty]

It won't be fancy food, I can assure you xD something most everyone likes or can agree with at a good price. (so no steaks, asses)

[Shauna]

The finest lobster and caviar.

[Mirage]

I'm suggesting that we all bring as much alcohol as you need to get yourself comfortably drunk, but in two parts. One part that is just for you, and one part that you add to a common pool of beverages that everyone else is free to try. Let's all try to bring something exciting for the "share with others" part!

As for food, i'll just eat whichever kebabs they sell around where we happen to hang out.

I'll probably bring a mix of rum and local craft beers.

[Shorty]

HEY GUYS WE LIKELY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BRING ALCOHOL INTO ANY ESTABLISHMENTS PLEASE REFERENCE THE NINE HUNDRED OTHER POSTS I HAVE MADE ABOUT THIS

[noxious.sunshine]

I'm pretty sure mixing whiskey into a bottle of coca cola will fly.

I've done this many many many many many times.

[Crop]

In doing some research on prices, I've read that open bars usually range from $17 - $35 a head. Even if we got the best deal at $17 a head, with a 50 person attendance that still puts us as $850 for the cost of an open bar. I have no idea if this includes the bartender's wages and tips or no. Unless we get some incredibly charitable benefactor to donate a ridiculous amount of money, I am thinking that it is probably not an option.


If this or something similar to this turns out to be the case, I'd be happy with footing the bill in that price range.

If it indeed does turn into a venue event (I hope it does) then I think it would be easier for everyone to have as much or as little alcohol as possible to suit them. At least that would be one of many organising headaches out of the way.

[Jiro]

Holy crap. How much do you people plan on drinking? :shobon: I don't think we need to plan around all attendees drinking 15 drinks each. Surely it would be more cost effective to just buy what you want. Last time I went to this kind of "open bar" bar, everyone pitched in like $50 and I managed to get one gin out of that before everybody else drank the lot, so I'm far from ecstatic about paying for everyone else to get shitfaced. I haven't even had a glass of anything since January, so sign me up for the non-drinkers section.

[Shorty]

We should all start making bets around forums-related things in the form of gambling for drinks.

[Parker]

forum drinking games:

down a shot for each paragraph in an iceglow post

*everybody dies*

[Mirage]

I was hoping we'd be able to have like a house party where we just consumed whatever.

[Iceglow]

As you're heading to my neck of the woods and out of the members here in London, I suspect I probably have more experience both because I'm older and go out drinking/socialising more often than most. I wanted to address some of the points you've made in this thread.


Yeah, but I tape the bag to my thigh, get extra long tubing for the nozzle, snake it through my dress. They'll never be the wiser.


I'm pretty sure mixing whiskey into a bottle of coca cola will fly.

I've done this many many many many many times.

Many, if not all venues will have door security performing bag and physical searches for security reasons, such as narcotics, drink and weapons. Most places will have a female door staff member responsible for providing pat downs on women. Don't get offended but it's a possibility. Additionally, most places won't even let a pack of chewing gum in as it means they wind up with it stuck all over the floor. Pre-mixing spirits in to coke or lemonade is fine for drinking outside the venue/bar/club but once you're lining up to enter, that stuff needs to be gone. Frankly the taping a goon bag to your leg is just bloody ridiculous.



Also, remember what I said about bringing your own alcohol - more than likely not an option because places either restrict it or charge you an outrageous fee for it. There is no one in the area with the size of a house to match John Travolta's suites, so we can't just hole up in someone's family room to purchase a bunch of beer and liquor and set up shop there. One way or another, we are going to be paying to drink.

We'll also be in London, so your drink expectations might need to be lowered on that account as well.

I really hope you guys can move past this alcohol thing. This isn't the time or place to get smashed off our asses or to focus on alcohol - if we book a string of hotel rooms, we can all have fun with booze that way, or at happy hour the next day, or literally at any other time when drinking will be cheaper. Pre-game before the event, sneak it in your purse in a flask or a water bottle, dude bring it in with your jackets, I don't care what you do. If you want to drink via the venue wherever we are, you will need to pay for them.

This is fair enough. Location will be key, if we're in Central London, you will likely pay more. However, you can minimize this by picking bars and clubs out based on the area we'll be in. Closer to the time (in case of changes) and once I know where exactly we'll be doing things I will be able to scout bars and prices to provide detailed knowledge and help on that front, it will be a tough task but someone will have to go drinking for this ;).

At the moment, I can provide you an estimate of the range of prices for drinks in London. 2 pints in the Acorn20 (Kingston, work local), will cost me around £7. Shot and Mixer will vary depending on drink but a double shot and mixer will normally cap out at about £4.50 - £6.00. Wine is about £5 - £6 a glass (large). That being said, an expensive bar like The Old Frizzle will cost about £11 for 2 pints and a beer and large wine will cost in excess of £15.

I can't remember who mentioned it but someone indicated that pubs in London may not be able to accommodate a large group of say 50. This is unlikely to be true as many pubs will handle it just fine. Though in some areas it may be ideal for me to arrange a group booking in so we'll have tables and everyone will be able to go in. Of course, as I said in the main thread, if you do not bring ID such as passport, drivers license, european union id card, even if you are over 25, I have little hope of you getting in to a bar or club. This is because many bars now scan your ID not only to verify age but also to have a record of you on file. This means if you commit a crime, or need medical attention from passing out etc they can provide the relevant authorities information such as your name and age to get you appropriate assistance quickly.


forum drinking games:

down a shot for each paragraph in an iceglow post

*everybody dies*

I'll make several extra long posts just for you. With many, short but sweet paragraphs.

[Iceglow]

Hahaha, I figured you were but hey, can never be sure. Side note, based on my post above and the mention of how strict door security is here. If you happen to need medication at all which must be taken like every 2 hours or so. I would suggest obtaining a note from your doctors on letter headed paper indicating what it is you take exactly and what for and keeping it in your wallet/purse. That way if you do need to take pills/epi-pens or whatever in with you you should be fine, again closer to the time, when we know where exactly it'll be going on and I've scouted some bars, I can also speak to management of some venues on their stance concerning this to make sure things flow smoothly.

Normally, any drivers license will be fine so long as it contains your name, date of birth and photo. Though as said, I will check the area closer to the time and speak to various bar owners and bouncers about the ID they will accept and if they'd need us to pre-book.

Please note, based on BoB's rep comment, the pubs I quoted are not the cheapest of bars, they're not wetherspoons or other major chains. These are individual pubs. However, The Old Frizzle which is where I normally take dates I want to impress and do not plan on being very drunk with is notoriously a pricey bar even amongst Londoners. Acorn20 prices listed of about £3.70 - £4.00 a pint (depending on beer brought) is more "A Typical" but not a minimum/rule.

[Mirage]

£3-4 for a pint sounds moderately below norway prices. I think I'll be perfectly fine :p

[Iceglow]

£3-4 for a pint sounds moderately below norway prices. I think I'll be perfectly fine :p

Yeah, I like the Nordic people and really want to go over and see a lot more of the places but frankly the cost of a night out there is astounding. Especially since European beers are generally smaller than a pint as well.

[Shauna]

I never said that a pub/whatever wouldn't be able to accommodate 50 people. The first time it was implied this was ever said, I let it slide, but this time I certainly won't! x}

It was said that we should just go into a pub and get drunk instead of doing any advance planning, I was saying we would need prior planning/booking because I doubt we could just wander into a random pub as a group of 50 on the spur of the moment and expect that we will find a place for us all. Ideally we want somewhere for us all to be so we can intermingle and actually well, meet everyone. :3

[Jess]

I live close to London and the drink prices really do vary on what kind of establishment you choose to go to.

I think your best bet is a buffet. The cheapest way to do this, I think, would be to book & pay for a function room in a bar & pay for the buffet which the bar will then arrange. It wouldn't be anything extravagant, but it will feed people and the most important part of the event is to have everybody in the same place, right? Also bars tend to be cheaper for drink, unlike hotels. Hotels and wedding venues seriously rip you off when it comes to drink! I'm for the 'Pre-pay for the venue & buffet, and everybody pays for their own drinks on the night' type deal. That seems like less of a headache to organise, too.

In the UK, I have never heard or been to an open bar with a time limit instead of a money limit. I don't think an open bar is a good idea. Some people drink a little, some people drink a lot, and others might not even drink at all. I don't think it's fair for somebody who doesn't drink to have to contribute to the drink kitty when if they were buying their own drinks their evening would be considerably cheaper.

Also, I'll echo the ID statement. Even though you're legal to drink at 18 here, pretty much everywhere operates a "Look 25" policy and if they think you look under 25, they will ID you. I get asked for ID absolutely everywhere I go, and I'm 24. Typically, they'll only accept a drivers licence or passport, but I'm not sure about overseas drivers licence so perhaps a passport is your best bet.

[Shiny]

To be honest, I've done the whole - let's buy a bunch of food and drinks and then all dip in thing - and I hated it. I like to have my own meal of however much I want to personally have, so I'd rather just pay for myself. Yes, it's a bit selfish, but basically I'm not paying for you nerds. If I am feeling particularly nice I may chip in for a bottle of chamapagne or something that can be shared all around.

EDIT: If we do the catering/buffet type thing like Shorty suggested, I can chip in, but I hate that idea too unless you get duplicates of everything. I will not be happy if there isn't enough of something I want to stuff in my mouth. I will be hangry. No one wants to see me hangry.

[Iceglow]

Also, I'll echo the ID statement. Even though you're legal to drink at 18 here, pretty much everywhere operates a "Look 25" policy and if they think you look under 25, they will ID you. I get asked for ID absolutely everywhere I go, and I'm 24. Typically, they'll only accept a drivers licence or passport, but I'm not sure about overseas drivers licence so perhaps a passport is your best bet.

Plus that's only talking Pubs. Anywhere with a late license in London generally operates on the whole "No ID, No entry, you could be 75 we won't let you in." Though I've seen many of my friends from work whom hold German ID such as drivers licenses get by on those so if German, Nordic and French drivers licenses are fine, I would suspect a US one. Just make sure as I said you have ID showing name, picture, date of birth issued by a formally recognized organisation such as the US Government, even if it is only at state level.

[Shorty]

EDIT: If we do the catering/buffet type thing like Shorty suggested, I can chip in, but I hate that idea too unless you get duplicates of everything. I will not be happy if there isn't enough of something I want to stuff in my mouth. I will be hangry. No one wants to see me hangry.

I don't know how things in the UK work with portion sizes, but every buffet I've ever been to where we pay for head counts there is far and away a good amount left over for people to snag seconds and even thirds if they wanted to.

I will definitely find out before confirming we go to this method of eating, but to be clear, I am not down with us going to a bar/pub/restaurant and then dealing with fifty different people in our party ordering separate checks and having it all be a huge mess like that and worrying about space and everything. If we're all still hungry after the event, let's go stuff our faces with appetizers outside the event site! I really and truly think that having a mass food order will make everything easier for everyone.