Hello ladies,
This is one of my first posts. I'm realizing that my wedding is close and I need to get a move on in my planning!
So, I'm paying for my entire wedding myself (on a part-time, student budget), so I only have about $4000 to spend. I found a gorgeous, inexpensive location of an old hall with wooden floors, tables, chairs, silverware provided, along with a huge kitchen, bathrooms, it's pretty much perfect for only $1200. So, I'm going to get a caterer and plan on doing a buffet - probably Italian food, as that seems most cost-effective, and I figure most people like Italian?
My question is how buffets "work" in terms of how they're set up, who sets them up, do guests scoop their own food? It seems counterproductive to pay for wait staff to scoop food for guests, as I'm doing the buffet to not have a waitstaff.
My second question is about drinks - alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Due to my very limited budget, I plan on providing 2 beer options, 2 wine options, and alcoholic punch. I'd like to have some sort of set-up for guests to make/pour their drinks themselves, but I have no idea how to set this up or how it would work? Then there's the issue of the regular drinks - water, soda, juice.
All of the food/drink seems like so much to just place on tables and have guests do themselves, but I really can't afford a "wait staff," and I'm having a buffet, so do I need one?
Anyway, I'm pretty lost, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!