For Florida Wedding Planners

Your rehearsal dinner vendor
for all of Florida.

If you’re planning Florida weddings — 30A beach weekends, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Destin, Orlando venues, Miami estates, Keys destinations — Fork Yeah Hibachi is a vetted, licensed, insured hibachi catering vendor built specifically for the backyard rehearsal dinner / welcome party your couples now ask for by default. Fast quotes, planner-friendly timelines, COI on file for most Florida venues.

Planner inquiry — quote within 2 hours

Email with date, city, headcount, and venue. We reply with written quote, COI, and preferred timeline same-day.

Email planners@forkyeah-hibachi.com Call (352) 651-3827

Why Florida planners are booking us for rehearsal dinners

The structural reality: your couple is staying in one 7-bedroom beach house with 30 of their favorite people. The Friday-night rehearsal gap is impossible to solve with a restaurant — a 30-top at any decent Rosemary Beach spot is unbookable at 90 days out, and your couple hates the idea of three Ubers and heels at a hostess stand the night before the wedding.

A private hibachi chef at the house solves it: 90 minutes of live cooking + show on the pool deck, everyone stays together, your bride’s dad doesn’t have to fill the silence with a speech because the chef is the entertainment, and the whole thing wraps by 8:30 PM so the couple sleeps and the wedding morning is fresh.

Costs land dramatically under restaurant equivalents — a 32-person rehearsal on three proteins runs ~$1,920 all-in versus $5,000+ at a comparable Destin steakhouse. That delta becomes a photographer upgrade, a videographer add, or just a cleaner Monday-morning closeout for your couple.

The timeline we hand to planners

Share with your couple as-is. This runs 50+ weddings a year.

T−30 min · 4:30 PM — Chef arrives, sets up portable teppan grill on pool deck or driveway. Needs a 6×6 ft flat surface, nothing else.
5:00 PM — Golden-hour guest arrival. Pre-batched signature cocktail in a dispenser (we don’t do bar; your planner coordinates with the bar vendor or house crew).
5:30 PM — Welcome toast + 10-min remarks from groom’s family. Short. Everyone standing.
6:00 PM — Chef starts the show. Salad course, then live-cooks fried rice, then 2 or 3 proteins.
7:30 PM — Dessert (store-bought is fine — the fire show is the dessert memory anyway).
8:00 PM — Chef breaks down and leaves. Party keeps going at the host’s pace. Couple is in bed by 10 PM.

Headcount → chef count

Guests	Chefs / grills	Live-cook duration
Up to 20	1	60–75 min
21–40	1 or 2 (depending on space)	75–90 min
41–80	2	90 min parallel
81–150	3–4	75–90 min fleet model
150–300	5–6, with a lead coordinator on-site	Custom timing

For reception-size events (100+), book 60+ days out. Our fleet-model events price slightly differently; written quote within 24 hours of inquiry.

Pricing for planner budgets

Package	Per guest	Includes
Buffet style	$35	Chicken, steak, shrimp served buffet-style; hibachi fried rice; salad; yum yum & teriyaki sauces; full cleanup
Two proteins	$50	Each guest picks 2 from chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon, scallops, tofu; grilled vegetables; fried rice; salad; sauces; cleanup
Three proteins	$60	Three proteins per guest; everything in the two-protein package
Upgrades (per guest)	Filet mignon +$10 · Lobster tail +$15
Kids 12 and under	$30	One protein, fried rice, same fire show
Event minimum	$500	Covers small boutique dinners

Travel fee based on distance from Orlando is always itemized in the quote. Deposit is $50 and credits to the final bill. Gratuity optional.

Vendor sheet — proof points you can forward to the venue

License	Florida business license on file
Insurance	General liability COI available; we add your venue as additional insured within 24 hours of request
Response time	Written quote within 2 hours for planner emails; final booking confirmation within 24 hours
Payment terms	$50 deposit at booking; balance by card, ACH, or check on event day. Invoice + W-9 for business clients.
Setup	Portable teppan grill. 6×6 ft flat outdoor surface. Chef brings grill, ingredients, prep table, serving ware, sauces.
Cleanup	Complete. We leave the space cleaner than we found it; venue walk-off within 15 min of final course.
Rain plan	Covered patio, garage with doors open, or large open-air structure with ventilation. Will not cook in sealed interior spaces.
Named-storm cancellation	Deposit refunded or moved at no charge.
Markets served	All of Florida — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm, Boca, Orlando, Kissimmee, Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, Sarasota, Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Jacksonville, Destin, 30A, Panama City Beach, Keys, and all surrounding markets.

How we work with your other vendors

Photographers & videographers: we coordinate hero-shot moments — the onion volcano hits at a telegraphed moment so the photographer is pre-positioned. Request this in your planner notes.
Bar & beverage: we do not run bar. We coordinate timing so first-course salad lands after cocktail hour wraps.
Rentals (long farm tables / string lights / sailcloth): we can share a vetted vendor list for every FL market on request — email planners@ with the event city.
Venue coordination: we provide COI, equipment list, and setup plan to the venue coordinator at least 7 days before event.
DJ / sound: live hibachi is loud — coordinate background music to be ambient during the show; drop volume for the volcano moment.

Common requests we handle easily

Allergen-safe stations (shellfish-free grill, gluten-free sauces, nut-free prep — declare in your planner notes)
Kosher-style or halal-compatible protein sourcing (requires 3+ weeks lead time)
Mandarin or Spanish-speaking chef on request (same lead time)
Vegetarian + vegan guest counts handled with tofu + extra grilled vegetables
Dietary cards printed and placed at the chef station
Rehearsal + welcome party + brunch same-weekend bundles (we can field 2–3 events in 48 hours if planned in advance)

Planner-only perks

2-hour written quote SLA for all planner emails — separate inbox, higher priority than consumer inquiries.
Simplified contract — standard planner MSA on file; just a one-page event addendum per couple.
Shared Dropbox of event photography for your portfolio within 72 hours of each event (full rights for your use).
Preferred-planner pricing at 5+ confirmed bookings/year — email planners@ to apply.

Add us to your preferred-vendor list

Email with your name, company, and markets you plan. We’ll reply with the planner-only vendor packet (COI, menu PDF, high-res event photo library, planner MSA).