Need some expert (fellow brides) advice on catering!

skrolewicz · August 2011

Ok, the budget I have is very small. Trying to cater my own wedding, with help from family of course! Does anyone know about portion size or how much food I should have? We are looking at 130ish ppl, 3 Entrees : Chicken breast (of some kind), Ham, and Roast Beef (pot roast basically). 2 Veggies: corn and green beans (basics) Mashed potatoes and gravy (chk and beef) Salads (simple house slad w/dressing) , rolls w/butter. Just trying to figure out how much i need of each item??!!! Can anyone help. Please and Thank you (in advance)!!!!

Steph

NOLAbridealmost · August 2011

I am overwhelmed just thinking of this! Ummm....I'd say plan on 3 oz. of each meat option per person. That's the amount my venue used for our carving stations. It was plenty along with the other options. I'd say allot at least 1 cup of mashed potatoes per person...potentially more just because they tend to be a crowd pleaser and it's probably not that much more expensive to err on the side of having too much. 1/2 cup of gravy per person. I'd allot 1/2 cup of corn and 1/2 cup of green beans per person. Rolls: I'd go with 1.5 per person (so have around 200 for a 130 person event). Salad.....I'm really not sure. I'd imagine about 1 cup per person once tossed would be plenty. Maybe even 2/3 cup per person.

Good luck! This sounds like a lot to take on.

ElisabethJoanne · August 2011

The Department of Agriculture defines serving sizes for ALL sorts of foods. Toodle around here:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

A big, reference cookbook like Joy of Cooking will tell you how many pounds of raw meat you need to buy, etc., to feed X number of people. Public libraries have cookbooks you can check out just to get the amounts sorted out.

emilyandjoeygetmarried · August 2011

i would go to a restaurant supply store and look at the serving utensils. Scoops come in 2,4,and 8oz sizes and so to ladels, spoodles, and the other serving implements this may help you better consider your needs.
Honestly I wouldn't advise catering your own food for that many people unless you have access to a commercial kitchen and alot of help 130 people is alot of food to prepare and risking something going wrong you won't have a contingency plan in place, unlike if you had a caterer.
Maybe look into one of your local men's clubs or chuch groups to do the food for you (I know the ones in my hometown do things like fried fish and jambalaya dinners in exchange for donations to the club or church)
If you are set on doing it yourself I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, its a BIG undertaking.

jess9802 · August 2011

If you've never catered for a large group before, I think you are asking for trouble. Some recipes scale up better than others. Keeping food at the proper temperature is always a challenge. Then there is the concern about your family members getting to be guests at a wedding instead of working. Serving a meal is a lot of work.

Honestly, I would exhaust options for cheaper catering, including BBQ or Italian, or do deli trays of cold cuts, cheeses, fruit, dinner rolls, etc. before attempting this. You can have an afternoon wedding and reception and serve light fare relatively inexpensively, and you will be saving you and your family members a considerable amount of work in preparing a meal for 130 guests.

mollyehren · August 2011

We too are on a budget which is why we decided to go with a mom and pop Italian pasta buffet. If we had it just delivered and setup for 100 people it is only a little over $400. We are opting to use servers too which does add another $150 but still if you can find somethign similar in your area with service it is only $6.50pp and alittle over $4.00pp without and you could probably hire cheaper "servers" aka high school kids.

mollyehren · August 2011

We too are on a budget which is why we decided to go with a mom and pop Italian pasta buffet. If we had it just delivered and setup for 100 people it is only a little over $400. We are opting to use servers too which does add another $150 but still if you can find somethign similar in your area with service it is only $6.50pp and alittle over $4.00pp without and you could probably hire cheaper "servers" aka high school kids.

skrolewicz · August 2011

Thank you so much for the help! I know its a tough to tackle! Thank you for the information.

Steph

skrolewicz · August 2011

Thank you for your reply and the website. I never thought of using that particular website for info. Thanks again!

skrolewicz · August 2011

Thank you for your reply and support. I know its a tough thing to do but, my honey has some great family members that are willing to help with all of this!

Good luck to you as well and I hope your wedding day is awesome!

Steph

skrolewicz · August 2011

Thank you for your ideas! We have been looking at catering as well. Thank you for your reply and support!

Steph

skrolewicz · August 2011

Thank you for your response. We have looked at little mom and pops as well, but in our area there arent many to choose from. But I do like the idea. Thank you for your advice and good luck with all of your planning and wish you a very happy wedding day!

Need some expert (fellow brides) advice on catering!

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