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Wedding food on a budget

tlavaquetlavaque member
First Comment
in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
My fiance and I are paying for our wedding 100% by ourselves and on a shoe string budget.  He wants the whole formal affair but doesn' get the cost associated with it.  Right now we are trying to figure out food.  I have found a couple caterers, but he wants to do the food ourselves seeing as it might be less expensive.  Does anyone know of an easy dinner idea that will work with a semi formal buffet style wedding? 
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Re: Wedding food on a budget

  • ckonidakckonidak member
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'd say to check with your venue. A lot of the venue's that we looked at did not allow us to self-cater because of health and food regulations. :-( I'd make sure to sit down with a detailed budget with FI, this way he can honestly grasp the numbers and think about how much a formal dinner can cost.

    That being said, know a lot of girls here that (depending on the guest list size) have a local restaurant cater. We had an Italian restaurant that FI and I LOVE cater for our E-party, and the per person cost wasn't that bad. Maybe check with local places that can do it on the cheap for you? Our RD is being done at a local brewery. They do catering as well and are only $11-20 per person depending on what entree's are chosen.

    Good luck, and also, I'd bounce this idea off your local board, they may be a lot of help!
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  • SD3194SD3194 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would try and avoid doing the food yourselves. Not only are you risking the chance of a food borne illness but it's also going to be alot of stress for you. I'm sure there are catering companies in your area that will charge less than $20 a person.

    I've been to two weddings where the bride's family made all the food and it was great. However, both were backyard barbecue type of weddings.
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  • Sue-n-KevinSue-n-Kevin member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 25 Love Its First Answer
    edited December 2011
    Not sure if it's available in your area, but there are several gourmet grocery stores around here that also do catering. I found the prices to be more competitive than a standard "caterer", mostly because they are already ordering good food to sell, and not just "catering". They tend to be more willing to negotiate. Some even have chefs onhand.

    I probably wouldn't try to do the food yourselves, even if you are fabulous cooks, or anyone in your family is, the amount of work, plus bringing in chafing dishes, servers, etc, is really a pain. Plus, you'd need your venue's approval, which many won't allow.

    Good luck.
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  • casies683casies683
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    It would be a lot of work, but if that's what you guys want to do, an italian theme might be OK. Different pastas and sauces, salad, breadsticks, etc...
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  • crystalw5crystalw5 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    my caterer is debbie cole, it's barbeque, she's charging only $5.50 per plate, she is a catering complany out of taylor, tx. she will travel to austin.
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_wedding-food-budget-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:63aed921-8790-4bd5-adcb-780cfc792f0fPost:9aaa7547-12cf-4253-b737-0208ab284a4b">Wedding food on a budget</a>:
    [QUOTE]My fiance and I are paying for our wedding 100% by ourselves and on a shoe string budget.  He wants the whole formal affair but doesn' get the cost associated with it.  Right now we are trying to figure out food.  I have found a couple caterers, but he wants to do the food ourselves seeing as it might be less expensive.  Does anyone know of an easy dinner idea that will work with a semi formal buffet style wedding? 
    Posted by tlavaque[/QUOTE]
     <div>It seems most venues in Portland don't allow for outside food or drink. Are you hosting at a venue or a private location? I've found the website <a href="http://lotsofinfo.tripod.com/" rel="nofollow">http://lotsofinfo.tripod.com/</a></div><div>to be helpful in large menu planning. </div><div>
    </div><div>PS: If you do self cater, I think it'd be better to try and do all cold or room temp buffet items, as you won't have to worry about food safety and quality compared to warm foods.</div>
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  • LizdcLizdc member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am probally getting food from whole foods catering menu. It means not cooking but since it is far away from my venue that I have to pick it up. Then have it set up at my reception. I am having a small destination reception and I am veg so it is really the only reasonable option. We are also picking up beer, champagne, soda and lemonade. It will be cheap but would have been cheap to cook it all ourselves. However it would mean me doing all the work in someone elses kitchen. I will have apps, sides, entrees, and a extra desert assortment on top of the cake I am having made here. Right now looks like food will be about $15 a person plus the drinks I am getting. I see as in between catering and DYI. I am thinking about looking for a server for the day by taking an ad on craigslist and paying them 10-15 an hour for the day but I may not.
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