Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

Easy DIY Menu

I have quite a few people willing to help with food and a caterer is so expencive. So I'm looking for some dishes I can serve at my wedding. I want something not too difficult. I don't have any chef's helping out, but I want it to look good. It will probably be dinner time. 



Tia.  
Lilypie - (pZmO)

Daisypath - (m6Pg)

Re: Easy DIY Menu

  • How many guests are you anticipating?  Where will you be having the wedding (inside, outside, church, park, etc.)?  How formal do you want the reception to be (ballroom, church fellowship hall, backyard BBQ, etc.)?
  • First off you need to make sure your venue allows out-side/home cooked food as many don't. Many that do allow it require you to carry insurance in case anything happens. You will need to factor that into your budget. You do not want to start off your new life in the ER or a court room.

    Next you need to figure out how much storeage space you are going to need vs. what you have. How are you going to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold? Who is going to serve he food and make sure it stays with in a safe temperature? Also you need to have a back up plan in case all your help falls though, food is damaged in transport, or if anything spoils/dosen't turn out.

    Plus are you ok with missing some of he pre-wedding stuff because you'll be in the kitchen the majority of the time the day before and the day of your wedding?

    In order to make suggestions what type of wedding are ou having? Where are you having it? What is te formality of your event? Are you doing a buffet or a plated meal?

  • First things first, what have people OFFERED to make?   It's rude to ask anyone to prepare anything. If someone has offered to make their famous chili or offered to help you with anything that you want, then you're fine, but you can't simply ask for help with the catering.

    If you have people who have offered to help, things like lasagna, salad, casseroles, pulled pork in a crock pot, etc. are easy to make and keep warm/cold. 

    Good luck.
  • As someone who has had food poisoning from a potluck before (awful)...I don't eat anything at a large event that's not prepared in a professional kitchen.

    I think people are too trusting of others' food preparation/sanitization, especially when cooking in mass quantities. It's one thing to be able to do quality control when serving to 10 people, but when making quantities for 100+? Do you really want people to get sick from your wedding food? There's so much risk & liability involved.

    My suggestion, since you have a year to go, is to save every penny you can and hire a professional. It doesn't have to be fancy. It should just be a caterer--or even a local chef-training technical college--that is trained in food temperature and safety.
  • I do some catering on the side, and my biggest recommendation is that if you're having more than 30 people, get it catered by a professional.

    Cooking for more than 30 is a nightmare, often home kitchens just aren't big enough to handle the massive amounts of food you'll need for a large guestlist.  And transferring food is more difficult than people think if you don't have the necessary equipment.  Not to mention chafing dishes, serving utensils, and serving dishes.

    If catering the whole event isn't possible, maybe you could just have the meal catered, and DIY the appetizers.  
  • I agree with PP about not having a potluck wedding with food that needs to be warmed or refrigerated. Personally, a lot of chain fast casual restaurants will cater and I would go that route if cost is an issue.

    If that's not possible I would do an afternoon appetizer wedding. With appetizers that don't have issues with storage (lots of vegetables, crackers, fruit, etc).
  • I'm looking for ideas for what to have cooked myself (thats why I clicked on your post-t read the replies).  But I just wanted to share some info that might be helpful to your planning.  Ellenskitchen.com shows a great deal on your planning your menu.  Also lots of DIY tips at weddingbee.com that I found very useful. 

    I want a love like Johnny & June!
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