Dawn wrote:

> Is price your main concern for this party? Or is something else
> involved, like seating space at the house, or desire to not have to
> clean up, or wanting to use a favorite restaurant menu?


That's a good question. We're not arguing over price, quite the
contrary. We've both said we can pay for more than half. I think my
brother and I are using price because we don't have much else to base
our decisions on. We know that I like smaller parties best, but our
parents like big affairs. We know we want to appear generous and
entertain in style, but we also know the guests will mostly be in their
70s and 80s, which would mean less food, less energetic dancing, little
or no alcohol, earlier in the day rather than later. On the other hand,
the guests might not want to be treated like old folks. They might want
the appearance of youth and energy. I see more advantages in
entertaining at a hotel. My brother likes the idea of using his house.
We're both agreeable. Neither of us has any real experience. With
all that in mind, I thought I'd look into price to see if that swayed us
one way or the other.


--Lia