Soup in May?

Question

I am getting married May 12th and want to go with something cheap and easy for a 'self serve' meal. I got to thinking and I think I want to do bread bowls and two different types of soup. Do you think its okay to have soup since it will be may? I live in Indiana so it won't be too hot yet, and it is inside.

If you don't think it would matter, what types of soup do you think I should serve?
There will be about 175-200 people present

Answer 1

I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all, especially not if the receiption is indoors. I love the idea actually. If you're going to go with just two soups you may want to consider doing a cream-base soup and a broth-based. And if that is your main course you'll probably want to offer some hearty soups. Some suggestions:

Italian Wedding Soup
Seafood Bisque

Minestrone
Cream of Broccoli

Chicken & Pastina Soup
Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Answer 2

I worked in catering until my baby was born, and I agree soup is going to make a mess after about the first 20-30 people in line. (I'm against punch/chocolate fountains for the same reason!) No seasonal reason you couldn't do it, it's just that it would be a nightmare for cleanup.

Now, what might be a still affordable yet elegant, non-messy option - tea sandwiches. You can make these yourself, ahead of time, in bulk, using fairly cheap ingredients. Just be sure you label them (just get some of the make-your-own placecards from a craft or discount store, set them on the tray with the sandwiches) to avoid any allergy problems. There are so many specialty pre-sliced sandwich breads out there now you can even have some really pretty variety of breads, then arrange them on big trays and you're good to go. You could throw a sliced fruit tray out there at the end of the table for a sweet ending, and it's a light meal. Advantage is that you don't even need silverware, and if you're short seating for some reason, or can't move tables in, it's easy to manage standing or perched on your lap.

Italian can be a winner too - but I would stick to cold antipasto salads or things with very little sauce, again to avoid the mess issue. If you choose sauces, white sauces like alfredo tend to be kinder to clothing than red tomato-based sauces. Disadvantages? You need silverware, definitely a seated meal, and people will go through the line slower when it's something that requires dipping rather than just pick-up with tongs.

Couple of other things, since it sounds like you're doing this yourself. Double lines go faster than a single line for buffet setup, so set your buffet table up with plates, napkins, etc on both sides and get somebody to start the lines on each side. This is a good job for those adolescent cousins or helpful distant relatives that will show up on the day pestering you for something to help with. Keep hot things hot and cold things cold, and out for no more than 4 hours - another reason why I'm all about cold buffets, it's easier & safer to keep things cold, especially if there will be small children present. To keep a tray of cold sandwiches cold, for instance, get a big, shallow bowl, fill it with ice, and set the tray on top. Then you can drape tulle or fabric or flowers or whatnot round the bowl, and it looks like you've got a pedestal tray. Hot things require chafers or chemical packs, which are either fire or burn risks and harder to decorate.

If you do decide to go with soup, things you might want to consider with setup:

Have small plastic plates to put the bread bowls on. Be sure to choose ladles with a rest, you don't want people to have to be digging for the ladles or worse yet standing there trying to dip with regular spoons or the drinks cups. Rent the good chafers, most party rental places have them; not only will they look better, they are much safer than those aluminium things. Sterno gels are safer in my opinion than the sterno oils, but they are harder to put out. Be sure someone has wooden matches or a fireplace/candle lighter. Everything else is pretty awkward to use. Plenty of napkins. The general rule is one cream based, one broth based. However, if you have kosher or vegetarian/vegan restrictions, keep that in mind when choosing soups. For instance, while an ovo-lacto vegetarian might eat (cream based) broccoli cheese if the other option was (broth based) mushroom beef, a vegan would just be out of luck. Kosher and self-serve is an issue unless everyone is kosher. Easiest way to fix that in a mixed group is let those who do keep kosher go first.

Hope something here helps, and congratulations on your wedding. Do eat something before the ceremony though, I remember on my wedding day even though there was tons of food I think I got about 3 bites of salad until the whole thing was over.

Answer 3

i had soup as an appt for my may wedding.

some soups you can do are chowders - clam chowder, or corn chowder

how about a chili bowl one? i know that it could get messy with the red color in chili but with the bowl it would look neat.

remember it is your wedding, there is no set type of food you have to have

Answer 4

New England Clam Chowder in a bread bowl sounds great.Also, pasta dishes work great for large numbers of people.

Answer 5

It's going to be too late for soup, besides, it will make a BIG mess after a few servings.

May I suggest pasta instead. It's cheap and you can feed a crowd. very elegant too.

Good luck

Answer 6

Yes and you could always do a cold soup

Answer 7

It's ok...I had soup at my wedding in August and it was the hottest day of the year!

Answer 8

You should probably have a choice between a cream-based soup or a stock-based soup (ie, cream of broccoli or minestrone).

Answer 9

New England Clam