Your Wedding or Rehearsal Dinner at the Mélange
Typical Charges and Payment Schedule:
At the Mélange, our goal is to provide you with a cost layout that is transparent and complete.
Three cost components will determine your wedding costs:
1. Site Rental Charge for the exclusive use of all venues, facilities and amenities,
2. Catering and Beverage Services,
3. Weekend Accommodations in our five guest rooms that the bridal party and their guests are expected to rent.
These are outlined below:
1. Site Rental Charge:
- The Site Rental Charge for a wedding reception is $ 12 per attendee, with a minimum of $1000 and maximum of $2000.
- If the wedding ceremony is also held on the premises, there will be an additional charge of $200.
- Small weddings with 20 guests or less will pay a combined $750 for the ceremony and reception .
Example: If your guest size for the wedding were 20, the site rental charge is $750, for 50 guests it would total $1200, i.e. ($1000+$200), Similarly, for a 100-guest ceremony and reception event, the charges will be $1400 .i.e. ($1200+$200) .
Included amenities in the Site Rental Charge:
* The exclusive use of grounds and reserved facilities for the wedding, advance photo shoot privileges on the premises, chairs and tables for the reception seating with fine linens, china, flatware, cake servers, services of a food manager for buffet and bar decoration, exquisite copper serving or chafing dishes, ornate flutes for champagne toast, tabletop decorations (like runners, mirrors, table numbers, floating or tea candle bowls and vases of various sizes), unity and other candle stands, shepherd hooks, electrical hook-up for live music, an easel for the bridal portrait, separate set-ups for private and individual displays, ornate cage for gifts in envelopes, audio system with CD’s for the ceremony and/or for dancing., . . . Not included are the chairs for the ceremony on the lawn nor chair covers- these can be rented from other vendors.
Related Events:
* There is no duplicity of Site Rental Charge for a rehearsal dinner or for a bridal brunch if the wedding is also hosted at the Mélange. Otherwise, charges for a rehearsal dinner (or brunch) will be similarly handled as a reception, i.e. $12 per person, but with a minimum of $500 and maximum of $1000 (including all the amenities for a reception).
Duration of the Event:
* Total time on the facilities for the wedding ceremony and reception is 5 hours. Allocated time for a small wedding with less than 20 guests, a rehearsal dinner or a brunch is 3 hours. $200 per hour extra will be charged beyond the respective allocated duration.
* Live music, dancing and all beverage services are concluded by 9:30 PM. Reception ends by 10 PM. Guests of the wedding who stay at the Mélange and the bridal couple may move indoors or to East Porch to socialize for another hour. There are also pubs and sport bars available on the Main Street that are open late into the night.
Please note:
* Additional $50/hr will be charged if the Tile Pavilion is heated.
2. Catering and Beverage Services:
2a. Food Cost:
At the Mélange, we are equally at home with formal buffet set-ups manned by the chef and the staff or with exquisitely plated, banquet services to seated guests. Although dedicated buffet and plated dinner menus are available, catering may also be customized to your individual wishes, around an international theme or within budget constraints. Vegetarian dishes, separate dessert or grooms’ cake table set-ups and menus for children are available.
* Food Cost per guest will vary with the menu, with the number of guests and with the type of service (buffet or formally plated),
* The process of putting a final menu together would usually involve a series of correspondence between the parties until the bride and groom are content. Food Cost will be favorably calculated based on all selections in the menu and not individually itemized.
* Custom set-ups for a social hour or interlude between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception with satellite food and beverage services are possible. The presentation style may range from butler passed petit fours to light and heavy hors d'oeuvre platters on satellite food and beverage courts,
Please note:
* Aggregate cost for the service of all sodas, coffee and tea and water or hot cacao or lemonade or a non-alcoholic punch or herbal-tea concoction and cake cutting and plating by the staff will be reflected in the total Food Cost as an additional charge of $100 for small weddings and rehearsal dinners with 20 guests or less, $150 with weddings and rehearsal dinners of up to 50 guests, and $250 above that.
Example: If a buffet menu without a social hour is priced at, e.g., $30 per person, then total food cost for a 50-guest reception will be $1,650 ,i.e. ($30 x 50+$150) OR for a 100-guest event $3,250. i.e. ($30 x 100+$250)
Example: If a plated menu with formal sit-down service for a small wedding is priced at, e.g., $45 per person, then total food cost for a 20-guest reception will be $1,000 .i.e. ($45 x 20 + 100)
2b. Stemware Charge for Serving Alcoholic Beverages:
If alcoholic beverages are also to be served, the bridal party may supply their own wine, champagne and beer to the reception. These, however, are subject to Stemware Charge.
The Stemware Charge includes all fine glassware, i.e., dedicated wine glasses and flutes, other beverage glasses, mugs, napkins, ice, coolers and disposal of bottles. Un-opened bottles may be taken back.
* The cost breakdown is: $5 per std. size, 0.75-liter bottle of wine and champagne; larger bottles are charged at $10. Beer is charged at $25 per case or $90 for party size (sixth barrel) or $160 for pony (quarter barrel) kegs.
Please note:
* For events of up to 50 guests, the minimum Stemware Charge is $125; above that, the minimum charge is $200. The event holder pays whichever the higher amount is, i.e. Stemware Charge based on actual consumption or the minimum.
* If cocktails and mixed drinks are also to be served, these, too, may be brought in. There will be an additional charge of $5 per attendee across the board in addition to corkage from beer, wine and champagne consumption. Dedicated cordials, mixes and glassware are included.
* The event holder pays extra for the services of bartender(s) who will hired. Bartender wages are about $20 per hour and will include a minimum of one hour for set-up and one hour for clean-up. Bartender wages may be reimburse to the Mélange or paid directly to the person(s) in advance.
Example: If the 20-guest small wedding reception is an alcohol-free dinner, there is no Stemware Charge. Otherwise, if50 guests of the reception enjoy, say, 12 bottles of wine, and 1 case of beer, then the Stemware Charge will be $125.(minimum charge).On the other hand, if 100 guests consume, say, 3 cases of beer and 2 cases of wine and 1 case of champagne (36 combined bottles, std size), then the Stemware Charge will be $255. i.e. ($25 x 3 + $5 x 36). Estimated bartender wages are $120.
2c. Service Charge and Taxes:
Food Cost is subject to 20% Service Charge (staff gratuity). N.C. state tax is 7.75% and is assessed on Site Rental Charge and on the Food Cost.
Please note:
* Events with less than 50 guests or where the 20% service charge on the food cost would not cover the actual staff costs, the event holder may have to pay an additional flat service charge to cover the difference.
Example: Service Charge for the 20-guest rehearsal dinner @ $45 per person is estimated at $225, for the 50-guest reception @$30 per person food cost is $330, i.e.(0.2 x $1650); for the 100-guest event with the same food cost is $650. i.e.(0.2 x $3250); Total taxes for the 50-guest event will total $220.9; i.e. (0.0775 x ( $1200+$1650)) and for the 100-guest event to $360.4, i.e. (0.0775 x ( $1400+$3250))
3. Weekend Accommodations:
Our forte at the Mélange is that we provide privacy and intimacy to the bride and groom and their guests. To facilitate this goal, no other special event will be scheduled nor would we accept reservations for guestrooms from parties not related to the wedding. In turn, the bridal party guaranties the rental of all 5 guestrooms for a minimum of 2 nights (3 on holiday weekends and during first three weekends in October). Accommodations may be paid individually.
Exceptions to this policy are small weddings with less than 30 guests, a rehearsal-dinner-only event or weddings on Sundays or during the week. In turn and if the guestrooms are not booked by one party, other events may be scheduled.
* Guests who travel from far distances and wish to stay longer, enjoy a 20% rate reduction for an extra night beyond the required 2 nights (3 during holiday weekends and in October) (same guests stay in the room).
* Room rates are based on double occupancy. $35 surcharge is applied for each additional person in the room per night. $25 is charged for house cleaning if guests in the room change on consecutive nights.
Please note:
* Henderson County levies an extra 4 % Occupancy Tax for overnight stays.
Example: Total cost for the 5 guest rooms for any 2 nights during Friday-Saturday-Sunday in 2010 (other than Holidays and in October), are $1,790 plus $210.3 taxes, based on double occupancy in each room and payable by the wedding party or their guests.
Deposits and Payment Schedule:
A first payment of $1000 is required when an event contract is signed and the all important date is booked at the Mélange. A second payment of $1000 is due latest 8 weeks in advance of this date, when menu selection should be completed and finalized. The remaining balance is to be paid two weeks before the big date when a minimum number of attendees is guaranteed to the Mélange. All payments related to reception or rehearsal dinner are made by good check or money order. Rest of Stemware Charge and remaining bartender fees, if any, may be paid after the event by credit card which is to be supplied in advance. Individual guests may pay for guestrooms at check-in with credit card.
* The higher number either guaranteed or present during the reception would be the basis for the final calculation.
* Children aged 3-5 count as half and 6 and above as a full paying guest.
Please note:
* A cancellation will result in forfeiture of all deposit(s). Postponement to another date is subject to availability; all out-of-pocket costs of the inn and/or would-be-lost-income from accommodations need to be reimbursed.
