TT, why are the caterers at fault? They deserve to make a living the same as everyone else. They have expenses as well. Just because the price is high that doesn’t mean they are making a fortune. Shop around and choose a caterer and a venue you can afford.
If you want a fancy wedding then you have to pay the price. Why should YOU be treated like a Queen if you don’t want to pay for it? If you want ordinary prices then realize that YOU are an ordinary person that can’t afford extraordinary frills. Its as simple as that. If you pay $10,000 for a Kleinfeld gown, then why should the caterer have rachmonus on you? Or the band or the photographer for that matter? Keep it simple all the way around and you won’t go overboard. Go overboard and you will drag everyone with you.
I have been to many a plain wedding with silk flowers in a small hall with a cold smorg, etc. And guess what? The couple are still married, with a beautiful family!!!! Isn’t that the point????? I have also been to these fancy weddings where the parents blew $50,000 and upwards on a wedding that didn’t last a year. Guess what it had nothing to do with the kids. It was a beautiful, enchanting evening out for my husband and me, and all my friends at the expense of the hostess. It could have been a holiday get away, or a vacation with a dress up night, or a fancy ball, a presidential dinner, or whatever but again, it had very little to do with the bride and groom.