Having family cook for reception

fictionalnotfactual · January 2013

I want to do this because it'd be a great money saver. Plus both sides of the family offered to do it. I just have no idea how i would be able to pull it off. And even if I could what would I want to have made? I want to have it be as formal as possible. Any suggestions from brides who have done this or are planning on having thier family cater thier wedding?

Maggie0829 · January 2013

First, how many people are you planning on having at your wedding?

I know you said that they volunteered for this but do you or any of your family know how much is involved with preparing, cooking, and serving 100+ people? You have to consider food safety because you certainly do not want to give food poisoning to all of your guests. Do you have the facilities do prepare, cook and store this food? Do you have the equipment to keep all the hot food hot and the cold food cold? Do you know how to take a receipe that feeds 4 people and increase it so that it feeds 100 but still tastes the same? How will be serving the food? Who will be clearing the dishes? Who will be cleaning the place up at the end of the night? Who will be providing the dishes, flatware, chaffing dishes, etc? Have any of your family cooked for large groups of people before? Is this something that your family and you really want to be stressing over the week of your wedding?

I am sure I missed a lot more questions that you should think about but you need to weigh the pros and cons of DIYing the food yourself or spending a few extra bucks and having professionals take care of it.

I love hosting parties at my house and I have made plenty of meals for groups before but anything over 20 people and I would start having major anxiety and stress.

NOLAbridealmost · January 2013

If you're going for formal, this sounds like a bad idea to be honest.

GoodLuckBear14 · January 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_having-family-cook-for-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:70c3364c-adcb-4572-b328-1df7662b0820Post:68368a68-b55b-4121-be2b-21ee3664b03f">Re: Having family cook for reception</a>:
[QUOTE]First, how many people are you planning on having at your wedding? I know you said that they volunteered for this but do you or any of your family know how much is involved with preparing, cooking, and serving 100+ people? You have to consider food safety because you certainly do not want to give food poisoning to all of your guests. Do you have the facilities do prepare, cook and store this food? Do you have the equipment to keep all the hot food hot and the cold food cold? Do you know how to take a receipe that feeds 4 people and increase it so that it feeds 100 but still tastes the same? How will be serving the food? Who will be clearing the dishes? Who will be cleaning the place up at the end of the night? Who will be providing the dishes, flatware, chaffing dishes, etc? Have any of your family cooked for large groups of people before? Is this something that your family and you really want to be stressing over the week of your wedding? I am sure I missed a lot more questions that you should think about but you need to weigh the pros and cons of DIYing the food yourself or spending a few extra bucks and having professionals take care of it. I love hosting parties at my house and I have made plenty of meals for groups before but anything over 20 people and I would start having major anxiety and stress.
Posted by Maggie0829[/QUOTE]

ALL OF THIS!!!

The only thing I would add is that if anyone gets food poisoning, odds are pretty damn good they are suing you so get some hefty insurance to cover this. Think this won't happen? People sue over less. Also, this happened to a knottie's mom and she wound up passing out from the vomiting, hitting her head on the bathroom sink and being hospitalized for a concussion.

Find the money in your budget to hire professionals.

bunni727 · January 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_having-family-cook-for-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:70c3364c-adcb-4572-b328-1df7662b0820Post:68368a68-b55b-4121-be2b-21ee3664b03f">Re: Having family cook for reception</a>:
[QUOTE]First, how many people are you planning on having at your wedding? I know you said that they volunteered for this but do you or any of your family know how much is involved with preparing, cooking, and serving 100+ people? You have to consider food safety because you certainly do not want to give food poisoning to all of your guests. Do you have the facilities do prepare, cook and store this food? Do you have the equipment to keep all the hot food hot and the cold food cold? Do you know how to take a receipe that feeds 4 people and increase it so that it feeds 100 but still tastes the same? How will be serving the food? Who will be clearing the dishes? Who will be cleaning the place up at the end of the night? Who will be providing the dishes, flatware, chaffing dishes, etc? Have any of your family cooked for large groups of people before? Is this something that your family and you really want to be stressing over the week of your wedding? I am sure I missed a lot more questions that you should think about but you need to weigh the pros and cons of DIYing the food yourself or spending a few extra bucks and having professionals take care of it. I love hosting parties at my house and I have made plenty of meals for groups before but anything over 20 people and I would start having major anxiety and stress.
Posted by Maggie0829[/QUOTE]

Definitely consider all of this! Having a self/family catered wedding is very difficult to pull off, and is probably not your best bet if you want a formal event. Also consider if your family would mind the work involved: many people would rather relax and celebrate but offer help to be nice, our families would be horribly offended if we did not want their help.

That said, we had a semi-self/family catered reception, and this is how it worked:

Our wedding was at 4 on a Saturday, in H's family's hometown. We had about 120 guests.

His grandma made Italian beef for sandwiches. His great aunt made potato salad. My mom did a broccoli salad, and I think my aunt sent a pasta salad. His aunt put together a veggie tray. His mom did a couple cheese balls and veggie pizzas. I did a cheese tray, caprese skewers, and ham rolls. We bought a couple assorted chicken trays and fruit trays. We also bought all the buns, dipping sauces, and some of the groceries. Mamaw and Great Aunt insisted on buying their supplies, and the uncle that picked up the chicken surprised us by paying for it.

We were able to use these foam things that looked like microwaves, I can't for the life of me remember what they were called, to keep most things at the proper temperature. They were almost like coolers for hot or cold, but opened from the side so things could lay flat in them. For the beef, we used the metal dish with the burner underneath. We had a double layer bowl with ice for the potato salad.

As for dishes, we went with disposable. I can't remember where the plates were from, but we got nice sturdy 'silverware' from smartyhadaparty.

We also had a girl from the local college arranging the buffet table, directing the baker who delivered the cake, uncovering the food just before guests arrived, making sure there were serving utensils in everything, etc. She didn't want to be paid, so we got an awesome gift for her.

Our wedding was perfect for us and our families, and we are still receiving comments on how awesome the food was, but I need to make sure it is clear that I do not think this is a good idea for most people. It will not have a formal look. It is a ton of work and you have to tread very carefully to make sure your loved ones still enjoy the day and feel like family rather than servants.

smashfamous · January 2013

I definitely wouldn't advise this. Too many things could go wrong, plus you don't want your family to do alll that hopefully people wouldn't be like that but what if something was brought up in the future? How hard they worked for you, maybe then you would owe them?

QueerFemme · January 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_having-family-cook-for-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:70c3364c-adcb-4572-b328-1df7662b0820Post:513c97d2-ac55-4099-93db-0d971e568317">Having family cook for reception</a>:
[QUOTE]I want to do this because it'd be a great money saver. Plus both sides of the family offered to do it. I just have no idea how i would be able to pull it off. And even if I could what would I want to have made? I want to have it be as formal as possible. Any suggestions from brides who have done this or are planning on having thier family cater thier wedding?
Posted by fictionalnotfactual[/QUOTE]

I think PPs have good advice, but I think the bold part is what sticks out for me. I honestly don't think, unless your families are professional caterers, there is really any way to make this look formal. It could work, and be a cost saver, but I don't think it will give you a formal feel unless the families have professional catering experience.

theottercarter · January 2013

If you're worried about the potential cost more than anything, there's a pretty inexpensive yet highly recommended spaghetti catering place in Louisville that might be right up your alley; it's cheap, they set it up and can supply everythingyou need for the meal, and it's a unique dinner compared to a lot of wedding fare. We're probably not getting married in the area, but it'd be my choice if we were. You can check it out here:

http://www.thespaghettishopcatering.com/in-home/

GoodLuckBear14 · January 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_having-family-cook-for-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:70c3364c-adcb-4572-b328-1df7662b0820Post:07b4b585-07fc-437c-b4b6-6d2f867c9aa2">Re: Having family cook for reception</a>:
[QUOTE]If you're worried about the potential cost more than anything, there's a pretty inexpensive yet highly recommended spaghetti catering place in Louisville that might be right up your alley; it's cheap, they set it up and can supply everythingyou need for the meal, and it's a unique dinner compared to a lot of wedding fare. We're probably not getting married in the area, but it'd be my choice if we were. You can check it out here: <a href="http://www.thespaghettishopcatering.com/in-home/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thespaghettishopcatering.com/in-home/</a>
Posted by theottercarter[/QUOTE]

uh huh. You just happened to miss that OP is in TEXAS???

reported as vendor.

Having family cook for reception

Re: Having family cook for reception

Choose Another Board

Search Boards