Catering vs. Do it Ourselves??

alf12

We're getting married in August of 2012 in south central Pennsylvania. Im having a real hard time with pricing food out. Ive always been the do it myself type. We definately know were having a pig roast and my fiance already has that taken care of. The salad and veggies and stuff like that we can do ourselves but who refills them when theyre empty? But to pay $12 a head for things like that seems absolutely crazy to me. please help!!

cmp1986

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_catering-vs-ourselves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:bd09f13d-b476-4d9a-abb2-c71702b50a59Post:2c07ffbd-efed-4bd4-bb7a-8065b791c23a">Re: Catering vs. Do it Ourselves??</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Catering vs. Do it Ourselves?? : How many guests are you having.  If it's under 50, I think you could pull it off.  You'd need to hire a few people to refill the serving dishes and setup/clean up. If you have more guests than that, save yourself the headache and pay a caterer. $12/person is not bad for a meal, plus catering staff to cook/serve/clean up. The per-person price from the caterer should also include plates/cutlery/napkins/etc.
Posted by ILoveMilkDuds[/QUOTE]
I agree! Sometimes it's worth paying just a little bit extra to avoid a headache.

BinxRose

We were going to do it ourselves, but since we have around 300 guests, it wasn't worth trying to figure out who would take care of it once we were there, trying to figure out what to eat with (we didn't want paper plates, not did we wanna do a ton of dishes), etc. It was just worth getting rid of that stress and paying a little extra for a caterer. And considering what some couples have paid ($45?!?!), $12 isn't too bad. We are having our favorite mom-and-pop diner cater for $10.50pp (not including tax and 15% grat.)

sparent2010

I agree with Duds if it is a small wedding with some coordination you could pull it off. But if it is a mid-large wedding I would rather pay the $12 a head. I think $12 is a really good price. Out here it is averaged at $30- a head.

MelissaC315

$12 per person sounds like a great deal to me. Once you factor in servers, linens, plates, silverware, etc. will you be saving much money by doing it yourself?

alf12

Thanks so much everyone for your input! I didnt really give much thought to them supplying everything. We were just gonna go with the really study pretty plastic because we are having kids at our wedding and its so much easier to clean up that way with plastic. the $12 a person includes one meat and  2 hot and 2 cold dishes.

alf12

were also having over 200 people for the wedding...

WildMagelet

With that large of a guest list I'd definitely get it catered in.  We're debating b/w DIY & catering, but if we go the DIY route it'll likely just be apps (non-meal recep.), drinks, and dessert.

JessicaCrystalGailAmerson

definetly cater. u wont believe how stressful it is to do it yourself.

StephLove12

With over 200 people, I couldn't even imagine doing it myself. 12 bucks a person is a deal, and you will thank yourself in the long run. 

Cooking is my passion, and while I thought about catering my own wedding for a split second, I realized its my day, and I shouldn't have to work it. The last thing you're going to want to do during your reception is check on food and whatnot.