Georgia couple buys Chili's for wedding guests, feeds 99 people for less than $2K: 'Loved the price'
Bride on TikTok shares she saved money by serving Chili’s for wedding food
A couple from Georgia has gone viral for choosing to order food from Chili’s Bar & Grill for their 99-guest wedding, which cost them less than $2,000.
Madison and Greg Mulkey reportedly tied the knot on March 18 in Savannah, a coastal city in east Georgia, and they placed a party platter order with a local Chili’s restaurant three days before the big day, according to a receipt photo shared by the bride on her TikTok account.
"Our total cost for our wedding food was $1,950 for 99 guests," Mulkey said in her reveal video on Sunday, May 14.
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She continued, "This also includes five specialty meals that we did for people who were gluten-free, dairy-free (AKA me) and people who needed, like, special items like no dairy, only seafood, etc."
The couple served chicken tenders, sliders, egg rolls, chips and salsa, Cajun chicken pasta and salad during their buffet-style dinner reception.
"We loved the price point," Mulkey said. "It was the perfect meal for our wedding."
The sub-$2,000 cost was for food only and didn’t include delivery or setup.
Mulkey explained that she and her husband didn’t want to pay for delivery fees, but that choice created a few challenges they weren’t expecting, such as having someone pick up the food at 11 a.m. and safely deliver and preserve it at the venue until it could be heated up and served by 6 p.m.
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Madison and Greg Mulkey, a newly married couple from Georgia (not pictured), have gone viral for sharing that they spent less than $2,000 when they placed a to-go order with Chili's Bar and Grill for their March 2023 wedding. (iStock / iStock)
"It was St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Savannah…And they were packed," Mulkey said in reference to the Chili’s restaurant she and her husband ordered from.
"They were so busy, and they had to have it ready earlier in the day," she continued.
Her aunt, who reportedly works in food service, was able to help, in addition to their hired wedding coordinator and servers, Mulkey said in her video.
Storage and preparation instructions were reportedly written on sticky notes to ensure "no one got sick," according to Mulkey.
Madison and Greg Mulkey reportedly fed 99 guests for $1,950 when they hosted their wedding on March 18, 2023. (Claire Thorn Hiller Photography / Fox News)
"We had to keep things cold, and then we had to have our hired servers who were really supposed to be cleaning, serving and preparing, really do a lot of the cooking," Mulkey said. "And my coordinator kind of had to show them what to do and take on a role that she wasn't really supposed to do, and they weren't supposed to do either."
"But everyone made it work. Thank goodness. Our situation was rare," she continued.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Mulkey for comment.
Professional wedding catering costs are generally more expensive than what the Mulkeys spent on their reception dinner.
The Knot’s 2022 Real Weddings Study – which is an annual survey that consults 12,000 newlyweds on wedding spending – has found that the average per-person cost for wedding catering is $75.
In 2022, newlyweds with a guest count between 51 and 100 spent $70 per person on average while newlyweds with a guest count over 100 spent $80 per person on average, according to The Knot’s findings.
The estimated average cost for wedding catering in 2022 was $75 per person, according to The Knot’s 2022 Real Weddings Study, which surveyed 12,000 newlyweds in the U.S. (iStock / iStock)
The Knot doesn’t have wedding catering costs pinned down for 2023 just yet, but if last year’s approximations were applied to the Mulkeys’ guest list, the couple could have been billed anywhere from $6,930 to $7,920 (taxes, gratuity and delivery fees not included) by a catering service.
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"The food was amazing and other people said so, too," Mulkey said in her original TikTok video. "I mean, they could have been lying to us."
TikTok users have been divided on whether hiring a chain restaurant to handle wedding reception food is a good idea and if the extra work for setting up is fair or worth it.
"Normalize this! Weddings are so out of control. Such a great idea!" one TikTok user wrote.
"I’m not gonna lie, I would’ve been SO excited for this menu as a guest," another user commented.
Formal weddings typically have food and drinks served during the post-ceremony cocktail hour and reception. (iStock / iStock)
"I can’t blame you. Heck it’s hard to find stuff that offers specialty diets at some venues," another user shared.
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TikTok users who oppose the use of a chain restaurant without delivery and setup did so because they believe this route creates more work and stress than there needs to be for wedding vendors, family and friends.
"Yeah as a wedding planner that is so unfair to the planner and servers," one TikTok user wrote. "If ppl do this. Hire a delivery pick up driver and a specific food prep cook."
"’It was a tenth of the price but there was a lot of unexpected work’ well yeah…" another TikTok user commented.
Social media users are divided on whether penny-pinching on wedding food is a good idea. (iStock / iStock)
"Trusting the algorithm to bring me to the coordinator telling the horror story of the bride who made them reheat $2k worth of Chili’s," one TikTok user joked.
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Several commenters have responded to Mulkey’s viral TikTok video by writing that they have or plan to hire a chain restaurant to handle their wedding catering.
Popular chains that have been cited include Olive Garden, Domino’s, Chipotle, Qdoba, Buca di Beppo, Raising Cane’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Others have commented that they’ve hired barbecue restaurants or food trucks to save money on wedding food. Some have even opted to cook on the day of their wedding or ask a family member to cook for them.
Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain that's owned and operated by Brinker International. The company was founded by Larry Lavine, an entrepreneur from Texas, in 1975. There are over 1,000 Chili's locations in the U.S. (iStock / iStock)
A social media manager from the official Chili’s TikTok account left a comment under Mulkey’s post, which said the brand found the couple’s wedding food choice to be "iconic."
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"When we saw Madison’s video on TikTok our first thought was ‘iconic’ and there is truly no better way to describe it," a spokesperson for Brinker International – the parent company of Chili’s Bar & Grill – wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAT | BRINKER INTERNATIONAL INC. | 123.70 | -0.97 | -0.78% |
"Chili’s is grateful to have been part of many wedding celebrations, in big ways and small – whether it’s a party platter of our Crispy Chicken Crispers to even hosting both weddings and receptions in our restaurants (true story), it is an honor to be a part of Madison’s special day," Brinker continued. "Raising our (margarita) glass to the newlyweds!"