Wedding Reception Forum

Food Trucks

I live in a city where food trucks are the trendy new thing. I have seen on a few blogs where people have used food trucks to cateer, and I love this idea! I personally love the food that the trucks put out, and there are so many options (tacos, mediteranian, korean, sandwhiiches, etc). Plus, what fun photo ops!

I have done very little research, but I do know that lots of the food trucks in my area offer cateering. I have also heard it can be very affordable. Before I contact them individually I am wondering if anyone has used a food truck for their reception? Or been to a wedding where one was used?

Benefits? drawbacks?

Thanks!

Re: Food Trucks

  • Full disclosure: never been to a wedding that has done this. I think of food trucks like I think of stations at a reception: make sure there are enough of them to fill people up and keep lines to a minimum. Rather than having multiple trucks (I imagine that would get expensive) you could supplement the menu with stationary items or do a food truck as a late night snack.
  • I live in a city where food trucks reign supreme.  Literally, Philly is covered with them.  I've eaten at so many.

    Anyway, is your idea for people to walk up to the trucks and get hot food or have the owners of the trucks deliver their food?  I think having the trucks there is going to weird some people out.  Many people live outside of cities where food trucks are not the norm.  Many people who do live in the cities don't like the trucks.  I have a lot of friends who refuse to eat at them because they think they're unclean.  That's neither here nor there, but I think to avoid side eyes from people who don't "get it," then I'd just ask the trucks to cater and have the food served away from them.

    I agree - a lot of the food is excellent! 
  • Fun idea for reheresal dinner but not for reception. Most food trucks are only equipped to deal with serving straight from their trucks. Can you imagine all your guests having to go outside to get dinner, especially if the weather is bad. My experience with food trucks is that even with a limited menu, people pick what is on menu & I've had to wait easily 10 minutes for my food to be prepared, depending on how many guests you have, can you imagine each guests placing their order & having to stand around for 10 minutes for food.

    My company hired a food truck once for a large event at our office (500 people) total disaster. They food truck couldn't handle the food demand and didn't limit portion sizes so 1/2 way through service more then half the options were gone. They did bring food inside but luckily the truck was associated with a local restaurant so they had staff they could bring to serve the food then inside.
  • Meh. I think the wait time to get food would be a huge drawback. And PP brings up a good point about standing outside if the weather is bad. I wouldn't want to wait in a line outside to order and then stand around and wait for food at a wedding. Especially if it is cold, windy, rainy, or snowing.

    Sometimes the food is great! So maybe for a late night snack at the reception not a full on meal.

     

  • Ro041Ro041 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    We are doing food trucks for our reception.  There is a place at our reception location where they can set up right outside the door (10 feet away, at the most).  We are also going to have yard games set up outside and tables and chairs for people to wait if they have to.

    Our repcetion is going to be on the smaller side (120ish people), and we are hiring two trucks.  We are having one that is serving Italian food (which doesn't have a lot of on-the-spot prep time) and a Korean Taco truck (hopefully - we are negotiating with them right now).  In addition, we are having a cupcake truck instead of a cake.  

    I would say that it is do-able, but you have to think about what PPs have said - we don't want our guests to wait a long time, so we are having two trucks, which cuts down on the number of portions we are ordering from each, and keeps my nerves down that we may run out of food. 

    My out of town guests think it is a fun idea, especially those who live in towns where there are no food trucks.  All of the trucks that we have rented have brick-and-mortar restaurants and "A" Grades from the Health Dept.  We have decided to do it this way because our location is small and we don't have the room for buffet stations to be set up.  I initially worried that people were going to side eye the idea of the trucks, but FI and I tried a ton of trucks and picked two of the best in my town (i.e. get write ups in local papers because of how good the food is).  Good luck!

  • I'm friends with someone so works with the food truck industry, and he mentioned the other week he gets a lot of questions from brides. One issue he mentioned specifically was timing--brides tend to plan long term (naturally!), but food trucks tend to be more transient. He really was against brides planning too far out as it could cause undue stress later for them. So, if you are willing to wait a while, it could be worth it, but if you need to get things crossed off your list, maybe look elsewhere.
  • I personally do not think food trucks are wedding appropriate, but it all depends on you and the type of wedding you are having.  If you are having a formal event, then no, food truck would be odd.. but if you are doing something more casual than a food truck could be fun. 
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    Anniversary
  • Just b/c food trucks rule your city, doesn't mean you should have it at your wedding. I dunno, I think it's kind of a weird idea.
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  • I've never seen them used at a wedding, so I'm not sure if or how that would work, but they could possibly work at a more casual event.

    But for a more formal event, I don't think they would be appropriate.
  • I went to a wedding where they had a food truck waiting outside when the reception was over.  It was a grilled cheese truck (they were just churning out 3 different kinds, so the wait wasn't long).  It was great, and was a good way to get people out of the venue when the reception was over
  • Thanks everyone! All of the concenrs people have about the logistics of the food truck, are all things I am worried about too. I just can't decide if it is a good idea or not.

    Because we most likley can not afford more than 1 truck, I was thinking the truck could park outside and provide 2-3 menu items (not cooked to order, but ready to go. They would just pass the food through the window). And to cut back on standing in line, they could also cateer light orderves at stations inside the venue.

    I guess I just need to start contacting food trucks to ask them about pricing and logistics. But you all gave me good things to think about.

    Many of you suggested having the truck come towards the end of the party for late night snacks. As a guest, would you expect the bride and groom to pay for the food? Or would it be appropriate to expect guests to pay for any snack they may want on their way out (similar to guests paying for drinks/food at an after party?)
  • Ro041Ro041 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_food-trucks?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:e76f4f09-1065-47cb-9639-e7cda07a9191Post:aa2fd5b2-d6d9-47b9-b65e-e9901b9edeff">Re: Food Trucks</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks everyone! All of the concenrs people have about the logistics of the food truck, are all things I am worried about too. I just can't decide if it is a good idea or not. Because we most likley can not afford more than 1 truck, I was thinking the truck could park outside and provide 2-3 menu items (not cooked to order, but ready to go. They would just pass the food through the window). And to cut back on standing in line, they could also cateer light orderves at stations inside the venue. I guess I just need to start contacting food trucks to ask them about pricing and logistics. But you all gave me good things to think about. Many of you suggested having the truck come towards the end of the party for late night snacks. As a guest, would you expect the bride and groom to pay for the food? Or would it be appropriate to expect guests to pay for any snack they may want on their way out (similar to guests paying for drinks/food at an after party?)
    Posted by acanon526[/QUOTE]

    <div>They should absolutely never pay if you have a food truck come out.  So for you, just having them there at the end of the night wouldn't be practical since you are worried about budget.</div>

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