catered reception

bmorris329

My fiance and I have planned on catering BBQ and sides since we were engaged.  Now that it has come time for us to start paying for everything, I really hate to pay another2-3,000 on food.  Has anyone made their reception meal themselves (with the help of family)? If so, how did you pull it off?  Any help/advice is appreciated!

JaxInBlue

I did not self-cater but have been to several family and friend weddings that did.  In listening to those couples talk, there seem to be a bunch of things you need to keep in mind: has your family volunteered to help?  If they haven't volunteered, you can't ask.  If your family has volunteered, do you have enough people with experience cooking for a large group to make the process easy?  Do you already have recipes that you know scale up well to the quantities you need for your reception? Do you have a large enough kitchen to prep and store food? Do you yourself and your FI have enough time to help - including time the day of your wedding to help set-up and clean up - with preparation?  Do you already have the means to keep foods appropriately hot or cold during the reception? No one wants to get food poisoning, and proper set ups can get expensive.  How will you keep a buffet stocked?  What is your plan for disposing of trash, clearing dishes, and returning serving containers to the original owner?

I don't think its out of the realm of possibility for a couple to cater their own wedding, but in my experience, self-caterring is most successful when the wedding wasn't the first time through - when there is a caterer or cook involved who is familiar with the process and can lend materials, recipes, and experience.  If this isn't the case for you, I'd really consider whether you want and are able to take this on.

If what you have been quoted so far seems outside of your budget, I'd either continue to shop around or I would approach caterers with the point of view of, we have $X to spend, what can we do - keeping in mind the time of day of your wedding and whether or not a full meal is necessary and appropriate.

JaneAustensGhost

Catering your own wedding seems like it would add so much stress to the day.  If you can afford it, pay for it.  I think whatever you spend will be worth it so you don't  have to worry about it.  

Maggie0829

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_catered-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:798b3a04-f1ef-4935-b0b9-2f187513b1fdPost:60bebb0f-6e9d-4ab9-8cfd-8ee09f7748ba">Re: catered reception</a>:
[QUOTE]I did not self-cater but have been to several family and friend weddings that did.  In listening to those couples talk, there seem to be a bunch of things you need to keep in mind: <strong>has your family volunteered to help?  If they haven't volunteered, you can't ask.  If your family has volunteered, do you have enough people with experience cooking for a large group to make the process easy?  Do you already have recipes that you know scale up well to the quantities you need for your reception? Do you have a large enough kitchen to prep and store food? Do you yourself and your FI have enough time to help - including time the day of your wedding to help set-up and clean up - with preparation?  Do you already have the means to keep foods appropriately hot or cold during the reception? No one wants to get food poisoning, and proper set ups can get expensive.  How will you keep a buffet stocked?  What is your plan for disposing of trash, clearing dishes, and returning serving containers to the original owner? I</strong> don't think its out of the realm of possibility for a couple to cater their own wedding, but in my experience, self-caterring is most successful when the wedding wasn't the first time through - when there is a caterer or cook involved who is familiar with the process and can lend materials, recipes, and experience.  If this isn't the case for you, I'd really consider whether you want and are able to take this on. If what you have been quoted so far seems outside of your budget, I'd either continue to shop around or I would approach caterers with the point of view of, we have $X to spend, what can we do - keeping in mind the time of day of your wedding and whether or not a full meal is necessary and appropriate.
Posted by JaclyneD[/QUOTE]

All of this.  Do you really want to deal with all of this the day of and the week leading up to your wedding?

sari9912

We had friends who did a BBQ rehersal dinner that included out of town guests so there were about 65 people. My sister picked up the BBQ from a local BBQ restruant, it was part of there takeout catering. It came with wire shafers and was cheeper then having it catered. 

lyndausvi

how many people are you having?   $2000 doesn't seem all that bad if you are having 100+ people.  Once you start buying food, containers, dishes, etc then add in time and stress it might be better to pay a the extra for someone else to cater.

If you are only having 10 people, well then yes it's too much.

NOLAbridealmost

The money will be very well spent on a caterer. Don't try taking this on yourself. There are other ways to cut back on $$ that are way, way easier. Try using an iPod instead of a DJ, get invitations cheaply from Vistaprint, DIY flowers from Sams, cupcakes from SAMs instead of a wedding cake....these changes could easily save 1000-2000 dollars which could be used for the caterer.

Viczaesar

I am a fan of potlucks, but a week ago I went to a 100 person potluck birthday bash for a family friend.  It was a lovely event, with hired helpers and a hired bartender, and still a good number of the guests got food poisoning from something that was brought.  (Luckily my family left early and didn't get sick, but we were in the minority.)  Food safety with homemade food for a big event is difficult, and unless you have a lot of experience with doing this kind of self-catering I really urge you not to attempt it.

Viczaesar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_catered-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:798b3a04-f1ef-4935-b0b9-2f187513b1fdPost:e7d2f92d-1db7-49e6-a6f0-201db9707d9b">Re: catered reception</a>:
[QUOTE]Potlucks for receptions are rude, anyway.  Receptions are for the guests.  Call local restaurants.  I also had my reception catered by a barbecue restaurant. We got a TON of food (had a lot left over for the freezer) for 50 guests.  It cost just under $500.
Posted by RetreadBride[/QUOTE]
Potlucks are inappropriate for any event that should be hosted, but that's rather immaterial to my story.