DIY

iloveu4ever · February 2012

I didn't know if I should of put this here or DIY so here I go. Anyone else making their own food? My mom wants us to save as much money as possible.

Sue-n-Kevin · February 2012

I have seen posts about DIY food, but the things to keep in mind are these:

- keeping hot food hot and cold food cold........you don't want anyone to get food poisoning at your wedding. This requires chafing dishes for hot foods, and someone to take care of putting food on a buffet table, replenishing it, and taking it away

- Have you decided on a venue? Many venues do not allow people to bring in home made food. They will allow outside licensed caterers, but not DIY

- ovens for heating up food that should be hot. You need a facility (home or reception venue) that has at least a "caterer's kitchen to allow you to warm up the food you've taken out of the refrigerator, before serving it

- refrigerators onsite to keep the cold food cold.

DIY food may work in a home setting for a guest count under 50........ anything more than that is going to require all of the above, along with servers to take away empty serving platters and replenish them.

If you are talking about meat & cheese platters, with some bread and side dishes, it's probably all right. Anything more than that will require a lot of the above.

If you are wanting to keep costs down, look into having your reception at a "non meal time", such as 2-3 pm in the afternoon, or 8-9 pm at night. This allows you to offer light snacks, or a simple snack & dessert reception.

Good luck.

meliB229 · February 2012

Having a caterer was never in our budget, but I felt like I was missing out on the "planning" aspect (I love to do research!) so I contacted a bunch, but there is no way we can afford it.

Our wedding is in august, and is super informal. We are going to make a bunch of quiches (which can freeze the week before, and then sit in a cooler with a little bit of ice, and then sit out at room temp no problem), and a salad bar.

Nothing fancy, but it won't put me in debt.

StephieDee · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_diy?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:1ce8ccae-0a39-4385-9557-e3be89a8eb72Post:7d52fc80-cf05-4327-b021-1cbda19d2add">Re: DIY</a>:
[QUOTE]Having a caterer was never in our budget, but I felt like I was missing out on the "planning" aspect (I love to do research!) so I contacted a bunch, but there is no way we can afford it. Our wedding is in august, and is super informal. We are going to make a bunch of quiches (which can freeze the week before, and then sit in a cooler with a little bit of ice, and then <strong>sit out at room temp no problem</strong>), and a salad bar. Nothing fancy, but it won't put me in debt.
Posted by meliB229[/QUOTE]

Not to poke my nose in your business too much but I'm a little curious about your logistics. I'm a chef and quiche is one of the things I treat like a delicate little baby.

Are you going to heat the quiche up somehow? Cold quiche isn't really all that appetizing, it's meant to be served warm. If you plan on serving it room temp, it will likely take an hour or two for the chill to wear off. It's not all that safe to have quiche just sitting on the counter for 2 hours going through a lot of temperature fluctuations.

Would you want to eat scrambled eggs that have been sitting on the counter for two hours? Pretty much the same thing.

Is it possible, maybe the night before, to get all the shells ready, cut the ingredients and scramble all the eggs? That way someone can just assemble and bake them the next day and have fresh quiche. I'm not sure how many quiche you need to make so this might not be the ideal approach.

becky659 · February 2012

We're having and early morning wedding, so we're having fruit trays, punch, bottles of water, doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, coffee and ice pops for the kids. Ours is absolutely on the sparse side, but we're keeping a tiny budget so we can have an international honeymoon.

leamide · February 2012

We are having a family member cooking our meal. We are trying to keep it as simple as possbile for her. Chicken, oven roasted potatoes, salad, and mixed veggies. For the appetizers we are doing a veggie tray, watermelon and cantalope (august wedding) and maybe some bolona and cheese. We are also on a budget and would have loved to have a carter do all the work, but just couldn't afford it. We are having someone help out the day of the wedding to be able to keep everything filled.

carrie09 · February 2012

We are having a buffet-style dinner for our wedding that my mother and my aunts are making. Pretty basic foods, such as salads, chop suey, meatballs and mini hot dogs, turkey, finger sandwiches, and snacky foods, like pickles, olives, cheese, crackers, and pepperoni, and chips and dip. You can get the food warmers at any party store to keep things warm, and I've used them before and they work great. Also, our food is great to put in a crockpot, which is also super easy and helpful. My advice is to take a look at your venue and see what they have to offer as far as accomodations (fridge, stove, microwave, etc.) and sort of plan your menu around what you can realistically do with what you are working with at the venue. It really isn't that difficult to make your own food if you are reasonable about it and plan it out carefully! Good luck! I'm sure it will be perfect!

mandctaft · February 2012

We are doing our own, but its nothing extravagant. Basically picnic foods. We're going to have pasta and macaroni salads, baked beans, salt potatoes, meatballs, sandwich trays. The beans, meatballs, and potatoes are just going to be served in roasters. Everything else we're doing two days before hand and just refrigerating. I'm hiring a couple of my brother's friends to keep things restocked.

iloveu4ever · February 2012

That is what we are planning is some deli sandwiches, macaroni salad, baked beans, mixed nuts, snicker salad/fruit salad, and cake. And probably pickles. My mom is using her slow cooker for the baked beans and we are gonna ask about bringing a cooler for the salads and sandwiches.

[Deleted User] · February 2012

I would not go the DIY route for catering simply because it is such a last minute thing that needs to be prepared. I would check with your local supermarket deli and see what they offer in the form of party platters and sandwiches along with prepared meals. These can be delivered or picked up and set up elegantly without alot of expense or fuss and will save you alot of stress and aggravation.

iloveu4ever · February 2012

As far as my reception location goes they do let you bring your own food. It is alot of money for caterering.

bridesally2012 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_diy?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:1ce8ccae-0a39-4385-9557-e3be89a8eb72Post:058115a1-cb17-44d6-974c-ba7c00762acb">Re: DIY</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: DIY : Not to poke my nose in your business too much but I'm a little curious about your logistics. I'm a chef and quiche is one of the things I treat like a delicate little baby. Are you going to heat the quiche up somehow? Cold quiche isn't really all that appetizing, it's meant to be served warm. If you plan on serving it room temp, it will likely take an hour or two for the chill to wear off. It's not all that safe to have quiche just sitting on the counter for 2 hours going through a lot of temperature fluctuations. Would you want to eat scrambled eggs that have been sitting on the counter for two hours? Pretty much the same thing. Is it possible, maybe the night before, to get all the shells ready, cut the ingredients and scramble all the eggs? That way someone can just assemble and bake them the next day and have fresh quiche. I'm not sure how many quiche you need to make so this might not be the ideal approach.
Posted by StephieDee[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I say make your own food! Be awa re that it will take a lot of time and so you won't be able to spend 4+ hours in the salon on the day of your wedding, but if you prefer homecooked food go for it! My sister had a (homecooked) pig roast and potato salads
+ beans for her wedding and everyone commented on how delicious it was and how the whole wedding was one of the most fun they had ever attended.</div><div>
</div><div>Also I love cold quiche. I regularly make one just so that I can enjoy it cold for the next several days.</div>

DIY

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