Number of h'orderves - am I crazy?

Redpen888

So, I met with my caterer to go over some menu basics in order to set up a tasting. We are having a typical one hr cocktail hour. My fiance and I chose 6 passed h'orderves & two platter style h'orderves. We're having 150 guests & my caterer insists we only need 100 of each passed h'orderves since we "have so many options." She said "not all people will take one." I feel as though this is too much of a generalization. I am used to NYC style weddings (my wedding isn't in NY), where people expect A LOT of food. I want all my guests to have the option of at LEAST one of each passed h'orderves. I was thinking 200 of each, I'm pretty sure I know my crowd's eating habits @ functions.

AM I CRAZY? Money is not the issue here. We, of course, would pay for the extra quantity we want. I don't understand why she's pushing back on me so much. Any one have experience on h'orderves amounts?

baboox

Usually you plan on each person eating 3 to 4 pieces per hour.  Not of each selection, but total.  Hope that helps!

kaesha

Whenever I'm a guest, I want to try everything. At my wedding, we did one of each passed hors d'oeuvre per person. I should say they weren't miniature pieces though. If your serving sizes are small, then I'd plan on 2+ of each type per person.

AlmostMrsStrong

It's much better to have leftover food than to run out. See if you can arrange with your caterer to keep the leftovers, if there are any?

[Deleted User]

I agree that it would be better to have left overs than not enough, but I would also say that your caterer has experience and probably knows what they are talking about, so unless you have reason to not trust them I would say you are fine.

LauraT25

We had 2.5 pieces of each passed appetizer per person, with 6 different dishes.  I'm  not sure how they did the stationary appetizers, because they were 'spreads'.  Our DOC told us that they had leftovers, but not a lot, so I'm glad that we had enough.

jeanna85

I get what your saying about NYC style weddings. I'm getting married right outside NYC, and we have 12 types of passed apps and 8 stations with 2 to 3 different things per station. (And then a plated 4 course meal). NYers definitely expect extravagance and a ton of food.

BUT, as long as your caterer is reputable I would trust her. She's probably catering a couple of weddings per week and should have a good handle of how much food she needs. One thing to also consider is the size of the appetizers. I just went to a wedding where the passed apps were huge, think an entire soft shell crab instead of just a piece. If they're fairly sizable/filling I wouldn't worry about it.

kaesha

FWIW, I've been to a few weddings where the food has run out. You know your crowd's eating habits the best, you know?

amanda_robinson0717

my caterer is doing the same thing to me but i insisted that we have atleast one per person becuase for thoses that dont eat one, there are thoses that eat two.

JustKate

200 of each might be a bit much.  Have you thought about ordering more of the more popular ones since those will be the ones that people will most likely take more of? 

Gismo123

wow that's a lot of pre food lol you don't need to serve dinner! jk Seriously though that does seem like an awful lot of food I would suggest cutting down on how much of each or maybe getting rid of a horderves...6 is a lot.

Redpen888

Thanks for the feedback guys! You have def. made me feel a bit more sane. My caterer I can tell has never seen the likes ot my family/friends. I could tell the instant we spoke (for instance she doesn't liike the idea of an appetizer course... um?? why?). I am thinking of upping the smaller types of h'orderves you just pop in your mouth to about 200 and the bigger ones (like mini burgers) to about 175. Now if only my caterer would loosen up. This whole wedding in a small town for a city girl is prooving to be a HUGE headache for me.

AliGirl11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_number-of-horderves-am-crazy?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:ccf8747f-88dc-4748-be31-12ae8dcec8a3Post:0271900f-42b1-455d-8a2e-7593530e29ad">Re: Number of h'orderves - am I crazy?</a>:
[QUOTE]FWIW, I've been to a few weddings where the food has run out. You know your crowd's eating habits the best, you know?
Posted by kaesha[/QUOTE]

That was my worst nightmare! 

sarahbutchin

I think that you can explain to the caterer the crowds eating habits. I think that she can then give a more realistic estimation. If she still stays at the same number, I would trust her! My guess is she has done this often :-)

mica178

I would talk to the caterer more specifically about your guests' eating habits.

I personally like having at least one piece of every passed appetizer per guest, just because as a guest, I like to try everything.  I think I ordered about 1.15 pieces of each passed appetizer per guest (in addition to the food displays).  Some things ran out quickly (bacon wrapped shrimp), some things went around the room a little more often (bruschetta).  But everyone was fed and had their appetites quelled until the seated meal.