Wedding reception food...?

Question

I'm on a budget and I'm trying to decide what to do for food at the reception. I thought a buffet would be cheaper than individual plates for each person... does anyone know if it is cheaper? Also I thought about maybe catering my own wedding... making foods the day before the wedding, kind of like I did at my graduation. I could have fruits and veggies and maybe something like potato salad and desserts. If I do this, should I have something for the main course? And what? I would like to hear your ideas and what you did for your wedding.

Answer 1

We too are doing a buffet for our wedding and having a simple cheese tray/bruschetta bar beforehand. I personally would not want the stress of doing the food the day before but, maybe you could have a "potluck" where family/friends bring dishes they love to help celebrate your special day!

Answer 2

Smaller, less fancy restaurants often do off-site catering. There are a lot of options that you aren't even aware of. Shop around. Some places are just starting out, and can give you good deals. Also, depending on what day of the week you have your event, you can get a break if it's not a Saturday or Sunday.
As a caterer myself, I can tell you that a chocolate fountain will likely cost you about 3.00 per person minimum.
You could do an afternoon reception and have hot and cold appetizer buffet, with wine and soft drinks, and a wedding cake. This could be catered for about 9.00 per person; it's all about shopping around.
Remember, you're not just paying for the food. You're paying for someone to set up the tables, keeping the dishes full, and cleaning.
I catered my own wedding (a while ago, before I was a caterer), and did not take into account setting up the tables, heating up the food, or cleaning up. My bridal party, God bless them, ended up working during my reception, and cleaning up afterward.

Answer 3

I wouldn't cater it yourself b/c you wouldn't be able to personally take care of the food and keep it cold/warm like you need to, and a lot of places don't allow you to cater yourself.

A buffet is usually cheaper to do. I would look around at caterers to see prices in your area.

Also you can have a early reception b/c breakfast and lunch buffets are cheaper. Or you could have it later, and have a dessert reception and just serve drinks and desserts.

Answer 4

Yes a buffet can be cheaper depending on the food served. We had finger foods and a chocoate fountain (big hit). It ended up being really cheap. Do NOT cater your own wedding, you will be OVER stressed and you will have to worry about getting it out and everything to that nature. The only thing a bride should have to do the day before and the day of the wedding is attend her bachlorette party and get pampered (hair, nails, makeup, dress).

Answer 5

Do not cater the wedding yourself. That day will be stressful enough as it is. Start looking for caterers. There are catering services that offer buffet style but regardless, buffet is cheaper. Don't depend on family or friends just hire someone to do it.

Answer 6

This all depends upon your budget and the number of people. Of course, a buffet is cheaper, and also gives more choices to your guests. If you are having more than 20 people, don't make the food yourself. In our family, when there is a wedding, we often will make all the sweets for the midnight lunch, then for the gift opening the next day.

Answer 7

Don't cater yourself...you will so stressed and loose out on enjoying your day!

Buffet's are usually cheaper depending on what you serve.

If you are on a tight budget, just serve horderves and dessert. You can create very wonderful finger foods on a budget.

go to foodnetwork.com to find some great recipies! Best Wishes

Answer 8

Well, a buffet is definitely going to be cheaper than a plated dinner, simply because you won't have to pay for as much labor. I wouldn't reccommend doing the food yourself, it's a TON of work, and something I wouldn't have wanted to do for my wedding. If you DO plan on doing it yourself, look at your wholesale club, like Sams or Costco. They have fruit and veggie trays, they can do party platters of deli meats and cheeses, etc., etc., etc. You can also have just the meat catered in. Check with grocery stores too, many of them also have catering departments.

For my wedding, we had heavy hor'duerves, shrimp, meatballs, chicken skewers, fruit platters, veggie platters, meat and cheese platters (with rolls for sandwiches). I didn't want to fool with a full dinner, I wanted to be able to walk around and visit with our guests.

Answer 9

cater out as the stress of it will be too much, relying on your friends too can also cause additonal stress.

Why don't you put a bit of a twist on reception food and have a 'desert' theme. You can have a massive chocolate fountain in the middle with fruits/biscuit/cakes/etc. to dip and then a selection of didnt deserts around on different tables - maybe different themed deserts?...

This way you save loads and loads of money, it still looks impressive so you won't look 'cheap', its really different and something to remember! also food is easily done wrong and theres nothing worse than to give your guests food poisoning, deserts are relatively easy to make and can store (you could infact do them all yourself up to a week in advance?).

Good luck.

Answer 10

well i did that for my wedding, We just had few tables with the trays of food on it we had potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, salad platter(lettuce, tomato, purple onion, cucumber etc) we had a fruit salad, and my dad and one of our friends cooked a bbq. It was great and cheaper too than having a big fancy meal. And because it was just a casual meal, everybody could be themselves and have a good time.

I didn't actually do any of the cooking, preparing myself, my mum and mother in law did most of it and it also gave them a chance to meet each other and have a good chat while doing this.
I thought that relying on friends wouldn't be the best thing to do, but who can you rely on if you cant rely on your mum?