my wife had a friend who had her rehearsal dinner at the ellicottville brewery, and the place was incredible.
i think your approach to wedding is what i'll likely do for our kids. here's the amount of money you're going to be given by us...use it as you see fit. it wasn't a ton, but every bit helps. i didn't mind spending a bit more on the wedding, but i was 34, already had my house and business, so i wasn't a young kid who needed the money to go elsewhere. i was lucky in that regard. all i requested was good food and good booze. i've been to too many weddings where the food was absolute dog meat. i couldn't do that.