Wedding Reception Forum

XP: LARGE wedding, small panic (longish)

Here’s the deal: My FI and I are both from the small “city” that we are getting married in. I use the term city loosely because the population is about 26,000, and we’re the capital. My FI is a Red Seal Chef, and therefore is in charge of organizing the reception food, along with our respective mothers. Due to the fact that my FI wants the food to be up to his standards and edible by me (I am allergic to wheat, dairy, gluten and bananas), he made the decision that the food was going to be DIY. He wants to set the menu, use his recipes, and partake in as much of the prep cooking as I will let him(LOL).  I am in charge of every other aspect of the wedding, he wanted to deal with the food, so that’s what he’s dealing with. There are a few hitches in our giddy-up though. Like the fact that there were 260 people invited to the wedding. I think that we need to plan feeding about 200 people.

I suggested to my FI that we do a gourmet sandwich bar. He could cook and cut prime rib, turkey, and ham the day before the wedding. If he really wanted to be super involved he could create some signature sandwich spreads (garlic pesto mayo or something like that, who knows). The helpers (family members) could do things like cut up the veggies, make the breads, etc etc. I also suggested that we have an array of salads and some appies to go with the sandwich bar. Our reception starts at 5pm and is a casual summer wedding. Everyone will be dressed nicely but it’s not a black tie event. We are having 2 cakes and a candy buffet for dessert.

My FI thinks that the sandwich bar is too.....subway-esque. What do you think? Alternate ideas? We need a meal that can be done 95% beforehand....

 

Thank you in advance!!!

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Re: XP: LARGE wedding, small panic (longish)

  • My biggest concern with this is that you said you're planning to feed 200 people, but invited 260. Always, always plan for 100% attendance. I had only 1 person RSVP no to my wedding, and no no-shows. I would have been in huge trouble if I had basically planned to not feed 60 of my guests.

    As far as the actual menu, I think DIYing food would be horribly difficult, and would suggest you simply hire a caterer who is sensitive to your dietary needs (perhaps your FI knows someone since he works in the food industry?) If you are really set on doing the food yourself, however, I think a gourmet sandwich bar would be a decent option. If you offer various hors d'oeuvres, artisan breads, plenty of topping choices, etc., and have an elegant presentation I don't think it will seem too casual.
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  • Sorry, I should have clarified. We invited 260, and so far with the RSVPs that we have received, the head count is around 200.

    Because of the small place we live in, there are about 3 caterers. For 200 people that catering cost would be about $6000.

    (We live in a remote area and the cost of living is quite significant...ie ears of corn are $1.50 each)
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  • We are not completely DIYing our food, but our situation is not one I've heard commonly. FI will make 1 or maybe (that's a strong maybe) 2 dishes the day before, 3 will brought in from local restaurants and we have a caterer for 2 entrees. What makes it work is that our caterer is going to provide the equiptment and service staff to deal with the food we bring in (from FI and from the 2 restaurants). We met with Chef and he agreed to taking care of everything per our instructions, just simply imformed us that it's not food he has prepared so he will not take responsibility if it sucks (my paraphrase, not his words). Fair enough.

    If I were you, let FI prepare the meats and any spreads or sides the day prior and find a caterer who will go along with your plan.

    I would not ask family members to do any of the work, let them enjoy the wedding as guests.
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