The kids have a guest list of 80 for their rehearsal dinner - yes, 80. :) They, in their excitement, suggested a venue at the same time we suggested one to them. Their venue suggestion would cost $11k, for a very limited menu and ours was about $4K with a better menu selection. When you are thinking about a 2 hour dinner and all the other expenses involved in a wedding, both parties were thrown off. I could have avoided conflict and given in, but I would not have been happy. I truly thought this may be best, but just couldn't fathom $11k for a 2 hour dinner. Once, I spoke up, the kids were surprisingly understanding. Although they weren't interested in our suggestion, they were open to collaborate. Once we knew what they were hoping for, and they knew what we were, we were good to collaborate and find a great place with a great menu selection and for about $7/8K. We collaborated to find this solution, which in turn was also a compromise, I think. We did not need to cut the guest list or anything, and got everything we all hoped for. Note - only mentioned cost to show the discepency.
