Don't Bust Your Budget! A Helpful Guide to Catering the Wedding Yourself

Articles on Weddings | Topics: weddings, wedding

by Flowers

Making a decision to cater your own wedding can be a possible blessings or a possible disaster. Which of the two will you make it? When planning a wedding, the last thing in the world you need is more worry. This will surely bring even the strongest of planners to their knees. The benefits of doing your own catering can be great, and if you can pull this off, you can save a lot of money. However, making a big mistake could lead to the reception falling apart or could become extremely costly. Here are some helpful hints to make your planning a success.

Alcohol

This is an easy one; just make sure you incorporate a cash bar. This way people will tend to drink less knowing it is costing them straight out of their own pockets. The notion of an open bar tends to give people the idea that they can drink more because it is free. Having a cash bar will keep the drinking down somewhat while maintaining some sense of order for the evening.

Linens

Taking into account the amount of guests you will be having, linens can for a small fee be rented in just about any color your desire. You can get napkins and tablecloths, all in one package usually for a great price. There will be an obvious deposit required for all linens rented. Check around and get best quotes. Make sure you accommodate the guest book table, food tables, and allow for the head table, as it is much larger than the other tables.

Food

Bit of History

When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host...But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.

—Bible: New Testament, Luke 14:8,10.

This can be tricky, as you will probably be feeding several people, perhaps even up to 100 or more. You will need to assemble a guideline on what should be served. This will be your most expensive portion of the endeavor, as food and fixings will no doubt run a high dollar. It might not be a bad idea to review some catering companies menus and pick from some of their more popular items. In doing so, it might not be a bad to check with your guests for food allergies. However, remember, this is your day, serve what you like. Party trays such as cold cuts and cheese always go well with guests and can be had for cheap. Sometimes, the maker of the tray, such as a deli or supermarket, will offer a deal if you buy a fair quantities of the product. Veggie trays are always a hit as well and serving up a large batch of dip can easily be a cheap and economical purchase to serve many people.

Specialty items such as Sushi or other odd dishes may be more troublesome to get rid of and bare in mind will cost a pretty penny. Seafood will always draw a crowd if you feel you can afford it. Offering a few different types of pie and the addition of a fruit tray or to can easily round off desert. Ensure you have some ice cream, as there may be children at the reception. However, your wedding cake most often serves as the dessert.

Round this all off with some coffee at the end of the meal. This would be quaint and deeply appreciated by most of your guests. In addition, consider non-alcoholic drinks such as punch or sodas. If you wish, you could place two bottles of wine on each table at dinner one white, one red. You should be able to get both white and red for approximately $20 combined per table. Using an extremely high quality wine is not necessary because you already have a bar established and two bottles of high priced wine on each table will definitely run very high.

Wait staff and cooks

This will be the hardest position to fill, as many do not do well dealing with many people at one time. Also, finding a great cook to make what you have selected could prove to be a task in itself. You could try this on your own however. Do not take on the responsibility by yourself. Recruit a couple of good friends and family members to help. Or, consider disposable plates and provide a large trashcan.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Don't Bust Your Budget! A Helpful Guide to Catering the Wedding Yourself" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by FamilyBabyKids.com.

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