Quote Originally Posted by Shorty View Post
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.

Quote Originally Posted by Loony BoB
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.

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.