Thursday, November 12, 2009

Rehearsal Dinner Drama

We have probably played around with a zillion rehearsal dinner spots. (Rehearsal dinner hereby to be known as "RD" because I am lazy.)

We aren't formal people by any means, so our RD is not going to be a formal affair. Some RD's end up as fancy as the wedding, and that is NOT what Mr Pug and I want. Before I give you our "options," here's some background. One of our hotel choices is downtown, since many guests have not been to Indy and will be tourists while not doing wedding things. Our church and home are in the "Broad Ripple" area, which is northeast of downtown. There are fun bars in both areas, but we always go out in Broad Ripple. Our church is in Broad Ripple. Ok, debrief done, moving on.

Our first and favorite option was the Slippery Noodle Inn, a historic Indy landmark.

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Located a block or two from the downtown hotel we have reserved, it's a fun Blues bar with great music. However, it's icky and smoky. But our non-RD guests could meet us here after and we could all enjoy some music and drinks. So... I called them.

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Big N-O from them. They do private parties, but no one under 21 is permitted. MOH R and groomsman J (our siblings) will be 19. So that won't work! He said though that they'd drop the 21 part if the smoking ban passes in Indianapolis. Which he assured me it would, and soon, since we are preparing for the 2012 superbowl here in Indy. Mr Pug, however, heard the mayor on the radio this very morning saying he would veto it if it made it to his desk. So... let's not bank on this one, I guess.

Mr Pug actually was pushing for a Broad Ripple area restaurant. While it would be less convenient for our out of town guests (not walking distance whatsoever) it is a very short cab ride. It is also very close to our church and where we normally hang out. One of our favorite restaurants, Bazbeaux, is located right where all the bars are. Parking sucks, but it's a fun area.

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Bazbeaux serves wonderful original pizzas. We could just pick a few, order a bunch, and everyone is happy! Right? Wrong. No private parties, no reservations. Thanks a lot, Bazbeaux. I will miss sharing my BOT with everyone...

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Yes, that is my favorite pizza above. The BOT... Bacon, Onion & Tomato. Le sigh.

Mr Pug and I pondered what to do while at Cancun, a Mexican restaurant on a main street right next to Broad Ripple. That we visit so often they know us. And then a lightbulb went off... we could have it here! So I pulled aside my waiter and asked. He said they've done parties of 100 before... you just need to call the day before. So that makes me a little uneasy, but you know that they'll shove as many people in those restaurants as they can when necessary! (Have you ever been to a Mexican place on Cinco de Mayo? Then you know what I mean.) There also are not private rooms, but we're not doing it formal, so really, why do we care? We are just out to thank our wedding party members.

Since they don't have a website, I pulled a photo of what the food would look like... you know what you're seeing, delicious cheesy, meaty, corny foods... tacky tile tables and weirdly upholstered booths... a large strong drink...

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Although we'd stick with pitchers of these, we wouldn't want anyone to be too toasted!

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I can't decide if we should keep looking or stick with Cancun. It's amazing delicious food... but feels like a risk! I want to include information about the RD in invitations (for those who are invited to the RD) so I need to decide in the next month. I asked for suggestions on the Indiana board of The Knot as well. What would you do?

8 comments:

  1. That would scare me Pugs, because what if for WHATEVER reason the mayor was throwing an event at Cancun. He seems like a pretty pushy guy and I'm sure they would give him reservations in advance. :)

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  2. Did you try talking to a manager and see if you can make a reservation in advance?

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  3. I don't know if I would risk it, but it does sound like a cool place, so maybe if you don't find anything else that fits, go with it?

    PS We're also stuck on this. There's an Olive Garden close to our venue which is perfect in every way...except they don't do reservations. *sigh*

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  4. Been there/ done that.. . go with something you can RESERVE in advance so there will be no unpleasant suprizes. And definitely go with a place all BP members can go. Few will remember the food but everyone will remember the company/fun. I've actually been to the area for a wedding-great spot! -'

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  5. Definitely go for something you can solidly reserve in advance! One less stress you'll have to worry about leading up to that night!

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  6. I'm going against the majority here Miss Pug and it's because we had our RD in a hole in the wall Mexican joint here in Louisville. We had a big fancy schmancy place reserved and we got cold feet. I saw on WB all of the gorgeous fiestas and couldn't get them off my mind.

    At our weekly Mexican meal we realized we wanted to do the RD there. We spoke with a manager and he literally wrote down our name and the date on a piece of receipt tape and placed it on the cash register. That was it. And very minimal English was spoken.

    But it worked out PERFECTLY!!

    I will say, we hired an extra hour of our DOC's event company because I had decorations to put up and the grooms cake to be delivered. But seriously, if you love it, go for it. Call and talk to a manager. And you can't beat the price we had at least 30 people who ate and drank whatever they wanted and it was under $500!

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  7. Trust your instinct, I would call around a few more places or maybe go a little early so you can be sure you have enough seats.

    And FYI! we have that smoking ban here and it has KILLED the restaurant and bar business, I feel really bad for them but at the same time I hate smelling smoke.... :)

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  8. Oh yummy yummy. Holy crap, by the way that pizza looks ridiculously, crazily, 100% delish. I want a slice...stat.

    If that restaurant is the perfect location, go for it! I'd most likely talk with the owner/manager to make sure that you could reserve the place...perhaps they will make an exception to the typical "call the day ahead rule" because they will be guaranteed patronage!

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