QuoteI McDO! Demand for £217 McDonald's wedding parties soars in Hong Kong
Basic package costs £217, includes venue, decor, food, gifts and invites
Demand comes from customers 'who first started dating at McDonald's'
15 branches now host weddings, engagements and anniversary parties
Brides and grooms on a budget can now have the wedding of their dreams - for just over £200.
For this bargain basement price, they'll get venue hire, decorations, audio equipment, food, gifts and invitations.
The only catch is... they'll be getting married at McDonald's.
As unlikely as it might seem, demand for fast food nuptials is booming and McDonald's has expanded its wedding service programme from three to 15 branches.
'We started the programme because many customers tell us that McDonald's is where they first started dating,' a spokesperson told CNBC.
'McDonald's is where their love stories grew.
'This connection is exactly why they want to hold their wedding parties and even anniversary parties at McDonald's - to relive sweet beginnings and bring their romantic story full circle.'
The fast food giant launched its wedding party program in 2011 in response to customer demand, with three locations offering wedding services.
Today, 15 McDonald's locations in Hong Kong host weddings, as well as engagement parties, anniversary parties and bridal showers.
Gifts and props available - depending on your budget and package - include a McDonald's white balloon wedding gown, balloon wedding hat for the groom or crystal McDonald's house.
The company offers four separate wedding packages,the most expensive costing £753 (HK$9,999). The cheapest party option costs £217 (HK$2,888).
The most deluxe version includes two-hour decorated venue rental, wedding presents, a pair of McD's balloon wedding rings, bridal bouquet, apple pie cake display, Crystal McDonald's house, decorations, an MC, supplies for 50 guests including McDonaldland character gifts and invites, and more.
McDonald's dedicates a whole section of its website to its wedding party offering
Thinking about throwing a really special party for your wedding, engagement, anniversary or bridal shower? Think McDonald's,' says the blurb on their website.
'Our Wedding Party packages have just everything you need, including unique venue decoration, customized games and special gifts for bride & groom and your guests.
'Everything will be taken care of by McDonald's. All you need to do is to be there and enjoy the moment of your lifetime. Talk to us now to see how we can help you make your moment.'
When you consider that the average wedding price in Britain is more than £22,000, a McDonald's wedding begins to seem rather attractive.
But for now, McDonald's wedding parties are limited to Hong Kong locations only.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2694318/I-McDO-Demand-217-McDonalds-wedding-parties-soars-Hong-Kong.html#ixzz385QGYQ8w
Wonder when they'll export this to America or Europe
Hong Kong people are crazy about wedding parties. It is typical for even working class couples to spend like US$30k on their weddings. So I see these McDonald's parties as part of the package and a novelty. I can't imagine many people holding their wedding parties at McDonald's and no where else.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 21, 2014, 08:16:49 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on July 21, 2014, 03:19:57 AM
Hong Kong people are crazy
:lol: I am considered very odd even in HK. So I suggest that you don't draw any conclusions from a sample size of one ;)
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
Quote from: Monoriu on July 21, 2014, 08:56:48 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 21, 2014, 08:16:49 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on July 21, 2014, 03:19:57 AM
Hong Kong people are crazy
:lol: I am considered very odd even in HK. So I suggest that you don't draw any conclusions from a sample size of one ;)
Going off the two people from HK I was friends with, you're quite normal to me. Maybe your oddity makes you closer to us than the median of the HK population.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 21, 2014, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
Not at the ones in the US, no. But I wouldn't be surprised if they served beer at McD's franchises in foreign lands.
I can see Grimace chugging down a McBeer in subtitles.
And don't forget the Shark Fin McNuggets.
Quote from: derspiess on July 21, 2014, 02:31:24 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 21, 2014, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
Not at the ones in the US, no. But I wouldn't be surprised if they served beer at McD's franchises in foreign lands.
They do serve beer at Spanish McD's. It's not hard to get a license to sell low graduation alcohol over here, tbf.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 21, 2014, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
That just means the after party will be that much more intense.
I thought I read somewhere McDonald's in some countries have booze?
Quote from: derspiess on July 21, 2014, 02:31:24 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 21, 2014, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
Not at the ones in the US, no. But I wouldn't be surprised if they served beer at McD's franchises in foreign lands.
No alcoholic drinks are sold at the McDonald's in HK.
Japan, the UK and Sweden don't have beer. I have seen it in a few European countries though.
They used to have beer at McD here, too, but a look at their webpage seems to indicate they've removed it from the menu. It seems they added Red Bull, though.
I seem to recall reading that they were going to test market wine in some US markets. Don't know if they ever actually did so, but if they did, the results must have been disappointing, because they certainly never rolled it out widely. Which is just as well--I shudder to think what the wine list at a McDonald's would look like.
Quote from: derspiess on July 21, 2014, 02:31:24 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 21, 2014, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: Tyr on July 21, 2014, 11:20:15 AM
Sounds good. Works just as well as blowing a bajillion on a fancy party
No booze at McDonalds. :secret:
Not at the ones in the US, no. But I wouldn't be surprised if they served beer at McD's franchises in foreign lands.
Wasn't it the reason DGuller wanted to visit a Mc Donald's in France? :hmm:
McDonald's will always have a special place in my heart, so I understand why some people want to have a party there. I absolutely loved it as a kid, because it was probably the only place where I could genuinely order whatever I wanted and the parents would be ok with it. Really, how expensive could it be?
The place is clean, I can see the kitchen, the quality is consistent, the service is quick and hassle-free, the staff are ok and aren't usually rude to children like so many restaurant waiters. Some of the food sucked (McDonald's is the reason why I thought milk-shakes are from hell), but I thought their hashbrowns, pork sausuages, chicken nuggets and some of the specialty burgers (e.g. the Japanese style burder with teriyaki sauce) were heavenly. The chicken nuggets had no bones. Loved those. Most Chinese places sell chicken with bones, which I hated. The BBQ dipping sauce is fantastic. Initially, chicken nuggets was a special item that was only available periodically. One of the happiest days of my life was when I learned that it would be a regular item on the menu.
I would memorise their menu by heart. I actually paid attention when there was a TV McDonald's advertisement, because I needed to know if they had any new product. Then I would drag my parents there to try it (I had no money until I was an adult).
Enjoy your Chicken McExpired, Mono.
http://qz.com/237708/the-us-meat-processing-company-at-the-rotten-center-of-chinas-latest-food-scandal/
Quote from: Monoriu on July 22, 2014, 05:22:24 AM
McDonald's will always have a special place in my heart, so I understand why some people want to have a party there. I absolutely loved it as a kid, because it was probably the only place where I could genuinely order whatever I wanted and the parents would be ok with it. Really, how expensive could it be?
McDonald's was the promised land for me growing up. I rarely got to go there because mom wanted to keep us away from fast food as much as she could. My parents always just told us it was "too expensive" when my brothers & I wanted to go. So I thought only rich kids got to eat there. Practically the only occasions my parents took us to McDonald's as a kid was when we were on vacation and had to stop somewhere to eat.
Heh, McDonald's was a special treat as a kid for me, too. Usually on Fridays, when Mom and/or Dad were simply too pooped to cook.
Quote from: Norgy on July 22, 2014, 09:01:52 AM
Enjoy your Chicken McExpired, Mono.
http://qz.com/237708/the-us-meat-processing-company-at-the-rotten-center-of-chinas-latest-food-scandal/
Yeah, it is all over the news here too. Not exactly McDonald's fault, as the problematic company supplied meat to lots of fast food chains.
I was a teen when I went to McD for the first time. The nearest was out of town, so you needed a car to get there, which we didn't have. Then again, every German town has an Imbiss, or unbranded fast food place where you can get your french fries fix (and, traditionally, grilled chicken and currywurst).
Quote from: Norgy on July 22, 2014, 09:01:52 AM
Enjoy your Chicken McExpired, Mono.
http://qz.com/237708/the-us-meat-processing-company-at-the-rotten-center-of-chinas-latest-food-scandal/
Color me shocked. In lead paint, of course.
The FDA has opened a satellite office in Shanghai. Talk about Fort Apache.
I met an American anthropology graduate student when I was in Fez. She said that there McDonald's is considered a high end restaurant. McDonald's is (by the standards of Morocco) expensive, western, air-conditioned and has such exotic treats as ice cream. She said her undergraduate students had a great deal of difficulty grasping this.
The McDonalds locations in Argentina tend to be nicer than ours. And they actually put real toys in the happy meals, not the cheaper crap that ends up in pieces at the bottom of the toy box.
But they don't seem to be much higher in status there than here, at least among the middle & upper classes.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 22, 2014, 09:34:33 AM
Heh, McDonald's was a special treat as a kid for me, too. Usually on Fridays, when Mom and/or Dad were simply too pooped to cook.
I recall when I was younger that birthdays always met that one of our parents would go out before we woke up and get us egg mcmuffins.
Chick-fil-A nuggets blow McDonalds out of the water. Delicious taste of homophobia. :mmm: Well, that and real chicken.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on July 22, 2014, 01:33:44 PM
Chick-fil-A nuggets blow McDonalds out of the water. Delicious taste of homophobia. :mmm: Well, that and real chicken.
I am not aware of any Chick-fil-As in HK. I used to have chicken nuggets at the Kentucky Fried Chicken places in Vancouver, but somehow I can't find them in HK. They only sell chicken with bones :mad: The other one I really liked is White Spot/Triple O, and they have opened many branches here.
But I haven't bought chicken nuggets for many years, because I want to avoid eating too much deep-fried stuff.
Is boneless chicken that rare in HK? Here you can get boneless chicken breast (grilled or fried) anywhere.
Quote from: derspiess on July 22, 2014, 09:31:50 PM
Is boneless chicken that rare in HK? Here you can get boneless chicken breast (grilled or fried) anywhere.
Chinese and westerners have different tastes regarding chicken. Chinese place great emphasis on the tenderness of the meat, and they prefer small chicken, drumsticks and wings. They consider large birds and chicken breasts too coarse. In Chinese meals, a chicken must be served whole, including the head. My taste is closer to a westerner, and my no. 1 priority is boneless meat.
Quote from: Savonarola on July 22, 2014, 12:41:19 PM
I met an American anthropology graduate student when I was in Fez. She said that there McDonald's is considered a high end restaurant. McDonald's is (by the standards of Morocco) expensive, western, air-conditioned and has such exotic treats as ice cream. She said her undergraduate students had a great deal of difficulty grasping this.
The KFCs in Asia I've been to have been proper sit down restaurants.
Um, so, the elephant in the room, people? Will McD's do parties for same-sex weddings?
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on July 22, 2014, 10:57:45 PM
Um, so, the elephant in the room, people? Will McD's do parties for same-sex weddings?
It isn't a big issue in HK.
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on July 22, 2014, 10:57:45 PM
Um, so, the elephant in the room, people? Will McD's do parties for same-sex weddings?
The McHomo. Two burgers. No bun.
Quote from: Norgy on July 23, 2014, 06:12:32 AM
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on July 22, 2014, 10:57:45 PM
Um, so, the elephant in the room, people? Will McD's do parties for same-sex weddings?
The McHomo. Two burgers. No bun.
With lots of special sauce.
What's the likelihood of gays wanting to get married in mcdonalds?
Unless McDonald's make a point of saying they can't of course .
(Though one gay guy I know is fairly obsessed with mcds..... No way he would go this far though)
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on July 22, 2014, 10:57:45 PM
Um, so, the elephant in the room, people? Will McD's do parties for same-sex weddings?
You know BK would if they did weddings.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.christianpost.com%2Ffull%2F74235%2Fburger-king.jpg&hash=3bbbafa62d3730dec23bf3eb9a05d686b2866c97)
Who knew fast food would be the great battle ground of the culture wars?
McWhore Pills. Supersize me!
"Do do do di do, I'm abortin' it!"
:lmfao: :blush:
Quote from: Valmy on July 23, 2014, 10:16:40 AM
Who knew fast food would be the great battle ground of the culture wars?
Somewhere there's an anti-Meri who has Burger King and 30 other LGBT-friendly business on her personal boycott list.
Funny how the McRib and the McFetus taste the same.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 23, 2014, 12:19:40 PM
Funny how the McRib and the McFetus taste the same.
THE MCRIB IS UNBORN PEOPLE! :o
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 23, 2014, 12:19:40 PM
Funny how the McRib and the McFetus taste the same.
Dare I ask how you know the taste of fetus? :hmm:
Keep it classy Hong Kong.
Quote from: Malthus on July 23, 2014, 01:34:46 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 23, 2014, 12:19:40 PM
Funny how the McRib and the McFetus taste the same.
Dare I ask how you know the taste of fetus? :hmm:
It's what we pro-choicers do.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 23, 2014, 02:09:42 PM
Quote from: Malthus on July 23, 2014, 01:34:46 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 23, 2014, 12:19:40 PM
Funny how the McRib and the McFetus taste the same.
Dare I ask how you know the taste of fetus? :hmm:
It's what we pro-choicers do.
:lol:
Now we know why McD's has those extra-wide straws ...
Fancy Ketchup. Fancy, yes. Ketchup? Mebbe. :hmm:
Just ask for the Kermit Gosnell meal. They'll know what to do.