ideas and opinions

ravenpeeples

What do you think about a do it yourself wedding... do u think it will be as good as a wedding done by a caterer? What are good foods to serve? What abt a cake from walmart or publix with our engagment picture on top instead of a traditional wedding cake?

erbear84

I think it's your wedding and if it's what you want/can afford, go for it.  I'd skip the photo cake, personally, though.  I had one with NSYNC on it when I was 16 and they still kind of creep me out, haha.  I'd get it just decorated nicely.  

abbyizzymommy

I agree, it is your wedding, and it can be as fancy as you want or dont want, just be careful as I agree with PP, about the picture cake thing.

shipsinthenight

I have heard and seen bad things with DIY food. I don't think you or your family should be cooking/serving at your wedding, especially if it's large. If you ask on the foo board, you will get similar responces. Better to have a small wedding with less stress, than to make your family and friends crazy because you need to cook 20 chickens. See if any family members have catering connections, check out local restaurants who may charge lower prices, or if you must DIY, consider a lunch time reception with big sandwhich trays, fruit trays, and cheese trays that can be catered by the grocery store. Grocery store cake is fine. My friends had an Alberson's cake, and it was super tasty, unlike most wedding cakes, and I know Publix is at least as good as Alberton's, if not better (we don't have them in CA)...But I would skip the photo cake. Do you really want people eating pieces of your face? The only person who should be "eating your face" is your fi A nice sheet cake, if you don't want tiers, with flowers and maybe your monogram and wedding date on it would be lovely. You could have that done just like a photo cake without the creepy.

vk2204

I would say it depends on the amount of people you plan on inviting. I have a large family and at our family functions it is craziness trying to cook for everyone. I wouldn't want to put that burdon on someone the day of my wedding.

As for the cake, i totally love Costco cakes. I think they are delcious. But I would skip the picture on it. You could always put a framed picture of you and your FI next to the cake.

redjellybean128

I agree with PPs, depending on how many people you are inviting - diy food might be adding more stress. I know when I have thrown bigger parties for my family, sometimes ordering food from a catering place or restuarant costs just as much as buying all of the food and making it yourself. Definitely check out local restaurants and see what they have to offer for catering menus, you might be surprised. We get lasagna by the tray from a local pizza place and it's just as delicious as homemade and the price isn't bad either. Another tip I learned from my mom, most catering places give you way to much food, so if you need food for 100 people, you might be able to get away with only ordering for 75 depending on what kinds of food you are thinking about.  Even if you have to designate a family member to pick up trays of food, that's much less hassle then trying to cook for everyone. 

I also agree with vk re: Costco cakes.  And I also would skip the photo - everytime i've had a cake with a photo, the photo part tastes funny - imo. 

Christine9866

I agree with PP, it can put a lot of stress on both you and your family. I would check out various caterers and see what they also have to offer. You can do just passed food choices, buffet style, I even see a lot of people doing bbq style which I heard is a lot cheaper. I am going to a wedding in two weeks where the bride and groom were on a serious budget. The venue is also very casual so they rented "The Green Pizza Truck", I have heard rave reviews about this truck, and they have a deli coming in to pass some hot and cold items for cocktail our. They even saved money by getting the nice lennox plastic wear for the tables, but like I said the venue allows them to do this bc it is so casual (its a place called Light House Point New Haven, CT). I would check out the food board and see what they recc. As far as cakes I totally think a store bought cake is find, also something else to think about is if you go to a bakery and just get a simple 1 tiered cake, the can also make sheet cakes and have them cut into that for your guests.

ChiGirl2013

I definitely think homemade food can be as good as a caterer.  However, I think you might be underestimating the amount of time and stress it would take to do your own food, unless you plan on doing sub sandwiches or something you can make the day before and doesn't need to be reheated.  Do you honestly want to spend your wedding day in the kitchen in your wedding dress, sweating over the stove and all that?  I wouldn't. 

I LOVE all things DIY, but I think the food should be left to a restaurant or something like that.  You don't HAVE to do super fancy catering to have a nice wedding.  Even catering pasta and salad from a local restaurant would be inexpensive, and it will save you a lot of hassle.

As for the cake, our Walmart actually has pretty decent-tasting cakes.  We even sampled a Publix cake when we were in Ga and it wasn't bad either.  I think the photo cakes are sort of cheezy, but you could do that at your rehearsal dinner if you have one.  If you want a non-traditional wedding cake, what about cupcakes?  You could definitely DIY those.  Or skip the cake and have a dessert bar.  Publix even does little individual tiered cakes for each guest and you could DIY those as well, although they're VERY labor-intensive.

[Deleted User]

What level of formality and how many guests do you want to have?  If it's a laid back reception there's nothing wrong with hitting up Costco or Sam's Club and getting those big trays of lasagna, etc and throwing them in the oven for guests.  Even if it's a semi-formal event, have you thought about getting a less expensive chain restaurant to cater?
My FI and I were toying with the idea of getting Tropical Smoothie Cafe to cater our semi-formal wedding since it's our favorite affordable chain but we are getting married in the middle of nowhere so that would have been more difficult and probably too pricey once you factor in the travel costs.
I would not do the picture cake thing.  I love cakes from Publix and they've got some pretty affordable, simple designs you could choose from :-)  Cupcakes would definitely be an easy DIY.  My FI and I are planning to get a 2 tier simple design from a local baker and then get sheet cakes to feed the rest of the guests(we're hoping for only 150!)
Good luck!