Help me design a self-catered breakfast

redheadbride15 · May 2015

Because our venue/hotel does not have any nearby food options, we are providing breakfast the morning after our wedding for our guests. We are planning to self-cater to stay in budget, and I don't want to have to get up early the day after my wedding to do any cooking, so I'm trying to think of simple, cold, ready-to-go options. Everything also needs to be able to be bought 2 days ahead of time and stored either in the fridge or counter (so things like fresh bagels or fruit salad aren't really an option). Here are my ideas. Would you be happy with this? Other ideas/suggestions?

Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges)
Yogurts
Mini muffins (I think these will stay fresh enough for 2 days)
Cold cereals: Cheerios, granola, something sweet
Milk (skim and 2%? Is this adequate variety?)
Orange juice
Coffee and decaf (we'll have access to a Keurig machine)
Hot tea (assorted tea bags)

TrixieJess · May 2015

redheadbride15 said:
Because our venue/hotel does not have any nearby food options, we are providing breakfast the morning after our wedding for our guests. We are planning to self-cater to stay in budget, and I don't want to have to get up early the day after my wedding to do any cooking, so I'm trying to think of simple, cold, ready-to-go options. Everything also needs to be able to be bought 2 days ahead of time and stored either in the fridge or counter (so things like fresh bagels or fruit salad aren't really an option). Here are my ideas. Would you be happy with this? Other ideas/suggestions?

Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges)
Yogurts
Mini muffins (I think these will stay fresh enough for 2 days)
Cold cereals: Cheerios, granola, something sweet
Milk (skim and 2%? Is this adequate variety?)
Orange juice
Coffee and decaf (we'll have access to a Keurig machine)
Hot tea (assorted tea bags)

Find a local caterer who can do a brunch. How many people is this for? Do not do this yourself. Is there a restaurant or a diner that can do platters? You need to budget for food. What you are describing is not hospitable. If it was for you and your maids getting ready, maybe, but for your guests? No. Is this your reception? You need to reallocate funds from your budget for food and beverages.

ShesSoCold · May 2015

TrixieJess said:

redheadbride15 said:
Because our venue/hotel does not have any nearby food options, we are providing breakfast the morning after our wedding for our guests. We are planning to self-cater to stay in budget, and I don't want to have to get up early the day after my wedding to do any cooking, so I'm trying to think of simple, cold, ready-to-go options. Everything also needs to be able to be bought 2 days ahead of time and stored either in the fridge or counter (so things like fresh bagels or fruit salad aren't really an option). Here are my ideas. Would you be happy with this? Other ideas/suggestions?

Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges)
Yogurts
Mini muffins (I think these will stay fresh enough for 2 days)
Cold cereals: Cheerios, granola, something sweet
Milk (skim and 2%? Is this adequate variety?)
Orange juice
Coffee and decaf (we'll have access to a Keurig machine)
Hot tea (assorted tea bags)

Find a local caterer who can do a brunch. How many people is this for? Do not do this yourself. Is there a restaurant or a diner that can do platters? You need to budget for food. What you are describing is not hospitable. If it was for you and your maids getting ready, maybe, but for your guests? No. Is this your reception? You need to reallocate funds from your budget for food and beverages.

Did you read? OP specifically said this is for the morning AFTER the wedding.

OP, I think it sounds fine. Not super duper great, but fine. Maybe other posters will have good ideas.

TrixieJess · May 2015

ShesSoCold said:

TrixieJess said:

redheadbride15 said:
Because our venue/hotel does not have any nearby food options, we are providing breakfast the morning after our wedding for our guests. We are planning to self-cater to stay in budget, and I don't want to have to get up early the day after my wedding to do any cooking, so I'm trying to think of simple, cold, ready-to-go options. Everything also needs to be able to be bought 2 days ahead of time and stored either in the fridge or counter (so things like fresh bagels or fruit salad aren't really an option). Here are my ideas. Would you be happy with this? Other ideas/suggestions?

Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges)
Yogurts
Mini muffins (I think these will stay fresh enough for 2 days)
Cold cereals: Cheerios, granola, something sweet
Milk (skim and 2%? Is this adequate variety?)
Orange juice
Coffee and decaf (we'll have access to a Keurig machine)
Hot tea (assorted tea bags)

Find a local caterer who can do a brunch. How many people is this for? Do not do this yourself. Is there a restaurant or a diner that can do platters? You need to budget for food. What you are describing is not hospitable. If it was for you and your maids getting ready, maybe, but for your guests? No. Is this your reception? You need to reallocate funds from your budget for food and beverages.

Did you read? OP specifically said this is for the morning AFTER the wedding.

OP, I think it sounds fine. Not super duper great, but fine. Maybe other posters will have good ideas.

Sorry, I missed that, I read it as the morning after the wedding as in the same day, after the wedding. Not as in the day after. I'm still getting used to the fact that people make weddings more than one day affairs elsewhere.

ETA: Why do you have to cater breakfast for people after your wedding? Shouldn't you be enjoying wedded bliss with your H?

redheadbride15 · May 2015

Nooo, this is definitely NOT the reception!

I wanted to have breakfast with family and friends the next morning in part because they're all coming in from out of town and this will mean more time with them, and I also wanted to provide breakfast at the venue for the convenience of the guests so they don't have to drive 20 min across town to the nearest food. It's intended to be very casual. I'm not entirely sure how many people to expect yet - we have about 40 guests staying at the venue, though I suspect that they won't all come. I'm planning to get an informal head count beforehand just by chatting with the people who are staying there.

How about melba toasts with flavored cream cheese (smoked salmon, chives, veggie)?

TrixieJess · May 2015

Is there a grocery store that does prepared platters? If there is, you could pick up from there first thing in the morning. This way it can still be fresh and you have one less thing to worry about before the wedding.

redheadbride15 · May 2015

@TrixieJess - that's a great idea, but the wedding location is very rural and it's a 30+ min drive to the nearest grocery store so it would end up taking probably 1.5 hours to do that. I'd rather worry about it the day before the wedding than the morning after! I also considered having a bakery deliver, but given how remote it is the delivery charge was very substantial.

TrixieJess · May 2015

Is there a restaurant? A small diner? I know most small towns usually have at least one small place, could you see if they could prep something for you?

If not, could you get eveyone to meet you at a time that would ensure that you could pick everything up the day of?

lachattefatale · May 2015

If you have an early riser in the family, you could have some make-ahead french toast or breakfast casseroles on hand for them to pop into the oven. I think you could do breakfast sausages in a crockpot overnight, and pop-n-fresh biscuits or cinnamon rolls cook in just a few minutes with minimal effort. Otherwise, coffee and cold stuff sounds great.

redheadbride15 · May 2015

TrixieJess said:
Is there a restaurant? A small diner? I know most small towns usually have at least one small place, could you see if they could prep something for you?

If not, could you get eveyone to meet you at a time that would ensure that you could pick everything up the day of?

There is a general store in the town, but it's closed on Sundays. It's also kind of sketchy whenever I've been in there, so I'm not sure I'd trust the quality of anything that comes out of it. There is no restaurant or diner unless you drive 30+ minutes (hence the reason why I'm offering the breakfast in the first place).

@lachettefatale Biscuits are a good idea - there is an oven in the kitchen at the venue that I have access to, and I could probably bake some Pillsbury biscuits and/or cinnamon rolls in 30 min or so. I could do this in place of the muffins.

justsie · May 2015

redheadbride15 said:

TrixieJess said:
Is there a restaurant? A small diner? I know most small towns usually have at least one small place, could you see if they could prep something for you?

If not, could you get eveyone to meet you at a time that would ensure that you could pick everything up the day of?
There is a general store in the town, but it's closed on Sundays. It's also kind of sketchy whenever I've been in there, so I'm not sure I'd trust the quality of anything that comes out of it. There is no restaurant or diner unless you drive 30+ minutes (hence the reason why I'm offering the breakfast in the first place).

@lachettefatale Biscuits are a good idea - there is an oven in the kitchen at the venue that I have access to, and I could probably bake some Pillsbury biscuits and/or cinnamon rolls in 30 min or so. I could do this in place of the muffins.

If there is a kitchen that you can use I'd make some breakfast burritos and then reheat them right before everyone starts coming down. Much more substantial as a meal.

jacques27 · May 2015

Do you have a Costco membership or similar? Do you know someone who does who would let you use it?

Our Costco has HUGE muffins for super cheap and the dozen would definitely serve two dozen people. I think mini-muffins would be more likely to go stale. You could also get whole fruit (bananas, oranges or clementines, grapes). You could also get a big bag of granola and buy large cartons of vanilla yogurt (and disposable bowls and spoons). If you're into baking or have a neighborhood bakery (as opposed to a specialty niche bakery that just focuses on one kind of item), you could bake ahead of time/buy loaves of quickbreads (banana, applesauce, zucchini). Or do something like a blueberry bundt cake.

TrixieJess · May 2015

lachattefatale said:
If you have an early riser in the family, you could have some make-ahead french toast or breakfast casseroles on hand for them to pop into the oven. I think you could do breakfast sausages in a crockpot overnight, and pop-n-fresh biscuits or cinnamon rolls cook in just a few minutes with minimal effort. Otherwise, coffee and cold stuff sounds great.

The crock pot is a great idea! Could you get a couple of them? I know you can do cinnamon rolls, biscuits and other baked goods in them.

redheadbride15 · May 2015

Thanks for all your ideas! I think I can definitely work with this. The kitchen in the venue is an industrial/restaurant-style kitchen that the caterers use. I'm seriously intimidated by it, so the less equipment in there that I have to use, the better!

I didn't know you could bake in a crock pot! I'll definitely look into that. I have one, and my stepmother and aunt both have one too - that makes 3 that I have access to. I find that less intimidating that the monster oven!

I'm going to try out a few baked goods from the grocery store an/or bakery this weekend and see what stays fresh after 1.5 days. Quickbreads are a good idea, or coffee cake.

No Costco or anything similar nearby, unfortunately... this is the middle of nowhere in NH. There is a shopping center about 30 min away that has a Shaws (grocery store) and a Walmart, but not much else. 45 minutes away is a town with a bakery and some caterers - this is where I am getting dinner & cake for the reception the night before.

lachattefatale · May 2015

If you try to bake anything in the crock pot, read up on it first. Things don't rise much, and nothing gets browned quite like in an oven. But you can do a *ton* of sausages in one crock pot if you pack them in upright, and hash browns might be a little soft done in a crock pot, but they'd still be hot and yummy. Those breakfast casseroles I linked can probably be done in crock pots, too, but those might not stretch as far. Sausage+hash browns+fresh fruit would feed a lot of people out of 2-3 crock pots. How many people are you trying to feed, anyway?

redheadbride15 · May 2015

@lachattefatale good advice!

I expect probably ~30 people, maybe 40 max (there are 39 guests staying in the venue and I don't expect all of them to come to breakfast), including 5-6 kids and a handful of vegetarians.

esstee33 · May 2015

Crock pots are the bee's knees for this sort of thing. I've made breakfast casseroles bunches of times and also steel cut oats overnight in the crock pot -- super easy and good for a crowd.

redheadbride15 · May 2015

esstee33 said:
Crock pots are the bee's knees for this sort of thing. I've made breakfast casseroles bunches of times and also steel cut oats overnight in the crock pot -- super easy and good for a crowd.

Oooh, crock pot oatmeal is a great idea! There are lots of oatmeal lovers in my family... I can have some yummy toppings like raisins, nuts, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc.

southernbelle0915 · May 2015

MORE PASTRIES!! They're easy, they don't require heat/cold, and you can buy them the day before.

Think danishes, cinnamon rolls, bagels, coffee cake, donuts, breads.......

Also, the yogurt from Costco idea is a good one. Whenever we host a brunch, I just put yogurts in a bowl filled with ice. It works well to keep them at the right temp.

Help me design a self-catered breakfast

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