A proper lunch menu?

taralynne85

Need help Etiquette girls!

We are having a back home celebration after our destination wedding.  Its a fairly informal lunch for around 180 people.  It will be a lunch served buffet style.  When it comes to what to serve i am pulling out my hair.  Please help.

Choices when getting quotes from different caterers seems to be:

*Pasta, Salad, Bread

*Chicken Breast or Ham and Moz. on a bun w/ salad

*Sandwich and wrap selection board w/ salad

Also Veggie and fruit trays have been recommended as sides.

But really...sandwiches?  Caterer's keep bringing up sandwichs and wraps.  It is an informal lunch but i still want the buffet to look nice.  Has anyone been to a reception where they served sandwhichs or wraps?  Or would a pasta be best?   And do you go with a lasagna or? 

*Note dessert will be in the form of cupcakes served wedding cake style on a pedistal.

Please help girls.  These Caterers are making me feel lost.

lyndausvi

My sister had filet craved at your table for her noon reception.  Most of my cousins all had dinner like options for their lunch menus.  

There is nothing wrong with sandwiches, but there is nothing wrong with stepping it up a bit either.

emilyinchile

What do the caterers say when you tell them you want something different? It shouldn't be a groundbreaking event to have a lunch with a meal you'd serve at dinner too, so I'm curious as to why you keep getting sandwiches. Have you discussed the type of event you'd like to throw? Is your budget realistic for what you want to serve?

AbbeyS2011

I would suggest salad and sandwiches/wraps  for those who want a lighter lunch, then perhaps also a carving station or pasta for those who want a heartier meal.  I would add the fruit and veggie trays also.

That sounds nice for a luncheon type reception.

Beachy730

Ditto Emily.  If you want a more substantial meal, tell them you want to serve a dinner menu at lunchtime.  It shouldn't be that big of a deal, unless it's out of the price range you're giving them.

NOLAbridealmost

That makes a lot of sense.  Caterers are probably giving suggestions based on the description of the event you gave them and the price point you want to stay close to. 

taralynne85

It seems that when i mention the word lunch they jump to high end type sandwiches and wraps.  It was when i asked if we should do something heartier that the pasta option was brought up. 

So are we thinking sandwich options are ok?  I just dont want people feeling i went a little TOO informal?  If that makes sense?

So if sandwich style buffets are acceptable.  I put it to a vote as experianced wedding guest would you rather;

1) Sandwich, wrap type buffet with salad, veg tray.
2) Pasta, Salad, Bread

This is to be served at 1pm.

emilyinchile

Hang on, can we scrap the options you're being given for a minute? What would you LIKE to serve? For example, we had an informal reception in CA (where I'm from, we live in Chile and were married here) that was a lunch but had chicken breasts, beef skewers, mashed potatoes and a couple salads. It was the type of meal we knew we wanted to serve, so the caterer accommodated that.

If what you really want is either sandwiches or pasta, those are both good choices, but it seems like you're only going off what the caterers have told you. You're the client - you tell them what you want, and their job is to provide that within any budget/expertise constraints that might apply.

mkrupar

Ditto Emily.

What do you want to serve? You go to your caterer with that and your budget and you go from there. I don't think it's unreasonable to have options like Emily said above at a 1pm reception.

jessicabessica

Agree with PPs--what do you want to serve?  You're hosting this event, what do you like?  You would be fine with lighter lunch food or more typical dinner food, but pick what you want.  We are having a lunch reception, but we knew right away we wanted Alaskan fish and mushrooms on the menu, and we built our menu with our caterer from there. 

taralynne85

I have never been to a lunch reception so have been kind of lost of what was acceptable or what the options even are. 

Which is why i was depending on the input of the caterers and you lovely ladies:)

I guess i would lean towards a heavier pasta option but when so many caterers advised something else i wanted to explore that option as well.

mkrupar

Maybe you should stop thinking for a moment about the fact that it's a lunch. I think you're too hung up on the meal time. Should you serve filet and lobster? Probably not, but there are plenty of options that don't have to be specifically labeled dinner or lunch.

When you close your eyes and think about your wedding day, what would you like to have? Don't pigeon hole your options just because it's a lunch.

If you want people to have a nice warm meal, then say that. If you'd like them to have an option of say chicken, some beef, and crab cakes, then say it. It's totally doable.

FWIW of your two options I would prefer the pasta, but if you go that route I would try to add some kind of meat entree as well so people have a little variety. Like maybe Chicken Marsala. Somethin that goes with the "pasta" theme, but offers something other than carbs.