DIY catering?

akirken

So, my fiances aunt has offered to do the food for the reception. Shes not a professional cook or anything but she frequently cooks food for the people at her church. Even the cheapest catering adds up quickly, and we are considering having her do the food. Pros and cons? What do you ladies think about this or has anyone here had experience with family or friends doing the food?

cschuma2

Have you chosen a reception hall yet?  Many places will only allow licensed caterers in their facilities.

How many people are you planning to host food for?  While I think that your FI's aunt could probably easily cook for 30 people, I think that might be a task that would be too much for 100+ people.  The more people that you have, the harder it becomes to estimate quantities of food, prepare it all, serve it all, keep it the appropriate temperature, etc.

I really think that the food is one of the most important aspects of the reception (especially for your guests) and should be left to professionals.  I hate to see someone get sick because something wasn't cooked properly or kept at the appropriate temperature.  I also hate for you and your groom to look like goofs and run out of food, or waste tons of money because you have way too much food.  In theory, this shouldn't be a problem with a professional caterer.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the well-being of your FI's aunt.  Do you want her to be able to enjoy your wedding as well?  Or do you want her to be stressing over food all day?  She likely will miss the ceremony as she will be prepping food.  She also likely will not enjoy the first half of the reception as she will be doing dinner related things.  I'm a firm believer that your guests should not be your wedding day workers.

While I don't have recommendations for inexpensive catering (as I could not use an outside caterer for my wedding), I'm sure that many ladies on here do.  I would instead go that route.  I would try to cut corners someplace other than the catering.

Just my two cents.   Good luck.

akirken

I appreciate all the advice. You brought up alot of points that I did not think about. We have booked our hall (the lodge at strawberry acres), and it does not require us to use any certain caterer. We unfortunately are on a really tight budget and as you mentioned, trying to cut corners. She offered, and it was just a thought, but you do bring up a ton of good points. We are only expecting about 80 people.

abbotsmead

D & J catering in wauseon is very affordable. They even provide disposeable dishes and silverware. On the other hand, If you are only expecting 80 people letting your fiances Aunt cater your wedding might not be a bad option. I would just keep it very simple.

cschuma2

I don't know if this could be an alternative for you, but you could consider skipping dinner altogether to save money.  Have your ceremony and reception at non-meal times and host lighter foods and/or desserts.  You could do an afternoon event if you want something more casual that will only last a couple of hours.  You could also just start your ceremony later at like 7:30pm and have the reception immediately following for a more traditional dancing and drinking affair.  Obviously that may not be your first choice, but it would likely help you stay within your budget.  Just make sure that you indicate that there will not be a full meal on your invitation wording.  You can google for wording ideas.

Also, if you choose to have an afternoon event for just a couple of hours, this would likely greatly reduce your alcohol expense (if you're having alcohol).

akirken

Thanks for the tips. I don't think a later evening time would work because the ceremony is going to be outside and we want it sometime during the day. But possibly having it earlier in the day instead of at dinner time could be an option. Either way, we arent planning on doing a sit down dinner, we were going to do a buffet. The whole wedding is going to be pretty casual (its only 80 people; close family and friends). I just kind of liked the idea of homestyle cooking since we were going to be doing ALOT of diy projects and making it feel more intimite. We are also planning on getting married in FI's backyard since they have 5 acres of land. But you're right, I guess what would be important to me is that she didn't miss out on all the festivities due to having to take care of the food.

abbeylynne06

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-toldeo_diy-catering?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:237Discussion:03877b06-51b7-4bb4-a1f0-85d9678c03a6Post:506bf941-0161-4413-88f3-12aec7c96b0c">Re: DIY catering?</a>:
[QUOTE]I appreciate all the advice. You brought up alot of points that I did not think about. We have booked our hall (the lodge at strawberry acres), and <strong>it does not require us to use any certain caterer</strong>. We unfortunately are on a really tight budget and as you mentioned, trying to cut corners. She offered, and it was just a thought, but you do bring up a ton of good points. We are only expecting about 80 people.
Posted by akirken[/QUOTE]

Even if it doesn't require you to use a specific caterer from a list, I'd still check to see that they would allow food from someone that is not a licensed caterer.