Wedding food on a budget

hauseramym

Hello! So me and my FI are going for a 5k budget, cause we are footing alot of the wedding expenses. And we have a guest list with about 200 ppl on it. I'm not wanting to spend all or most of the money on food. With that, my question is...What about meat trays? They are alot cheaper and then i was thinking of having some hot items too. I'm new to all this, so just wondering if there is any rule or something about what food to have. Any feed back would be awesome or any suggestion too! Thanks for your help!

hauseramym

Hello! So me and my FI are going for a 5k budget, cause we are footing alot of the wedding expenses. And we have a guest list with about 200 ppl on it. I'm not wanting to spend all or most of the money on food. With that, my question is...What about meat trays? They are alot cheaper and then i was thinking of having some hot items too. I'm new to all this, so just wondering if there is any rule or something about what food to have. Any feed back would be awesome or any suggestion too! Thanks for your help!

aerinpegadrak

I don't think this is the board you meant to post this on...

hauseramym

No i did not! Thanks

Goldlie11

I think it depends on when you are having your wedding.  Meat trays are not appropriate for an evening wedding.  What else are you serving?  I'm not sure if you are going to be able to pull off a wedding for 200 people with 45,000.   Maybe if the $5,000 was for food only.  

anna.oskar

You can do it, you'll just need to be creative.  My budget is 4k for 150 people and I think I have a pretty substantial menu.  Details are in my bio

Sue-n-Kevin

It would help to know where you are having the reception, and what time of day it is. Is the site a place where you can bring in your own food? I'm assuming so. Knowing your theme would also help.

I also have a budget of about 5K, but am having half as many people. I'd think you could find a caterer that would work with you, since times are hard, and you should be able to get something moderate without doing a meat platter, within your budget. That being said, if you can't find what you want for 200 people, a meat platter would be ok if you are projecting a more casual affair.

Another way would be to make the meal your highest cost item, which it probably will be anyway, and do more DIY on the other things like flowers, cake, decor, and favors. Order or make what you can ahead of time, getting the best deals possible, paying as you go, then save the balance for the caterer or food.

Another alternative, depending on what  you have in your area, and how much help you have on your wedding day, is to order food ahead of time from a place with hot food to go and have it picked up or delivered. We did a 100th birthday party for my fiance's grandmother last summer in Missouri, and picked up 50 pieces of fried chicken from the Walmart deli for $35. Many grocery stores with a deli, or restaurants or carryout places allow advance ordering of hot food items and they can be made in large amounts. You'd just have to have something on hand to keep them warm.

Extending this into cakes, to save money we are going to order a small 2 layer wedding cake and have large sheet cakes from Costco (I LOVE THEIR CAKES) in the back room to cut & slice & serve. Their sheet cakes are $15 each.

Good luck.