wedding
Site Admin
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Posts: 156
|
 Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:45 am Post subject: Yummy Yummy |
 |
|
|
Food can take a huge chunk out of your wedding budget. It's often difficult to figure out what's acceptable as it is an area in which expert's (etiquette or otherwise) opinions vary widely. It can also be difficult to choose what type of food to serve at your reception...especially when you consider all of the different varieties of food available to you.
If you are having your reception at a hall that offers food service as part of the package, choose your menu wisely. While you may dream of a steak and lobster meal at your reception, this will be quite expensive and is not really viable when throwing a wedding on a budget.
There’s nothing wrong with an elegantly prepared chicken breast for your wedding meal. Perhaps offer a vegetarian alternative like fish as well. Beef tends to be more expensive than poultry or fish, so be completely committed if you must have steak, you’ll pay for it!
Consider having hors d’ouevres if your reception hall will be catering. Almost always, these will be cheaper than a sit down meal, and guests can enjoy them just as much.
Here are some general tips for your wedding dinner catered by your reception hall:
• It's a myth that a buffet-style meal is less expensive than a served one. In reality, buffets require more food and more labor so their cost is higher.
• If you are working with a smaller group (say 40 to 70), piggyback onto another group's menu. This allows the hotel to buy in bulk and lowers your price.
• Whenever possible, order in bulk yourself.
• Consider other main entrees besides beef and chicken. Chefs can do a lot of things with pastas and the price is usually very reasonable
• Allow the chef to try out his new, original recipes with your group. Most welcome the chance to be creative and lower the price per serving in exchange for the group's feedback. Be careful that it's not something too exotic, though. Lamb or swordfish might not appeal to everyone in your party!
• Negotiate house wine price with dinner versus a specialty wine.
• Find out how the caterer/hotel taxes food. If gratuity is part of the taxed bill, the cost will be more.
For halls that will allow you to bring in your own caterer, the key here is to shop around. Check with a local family restaurant and see if they have bulk meals they will offer for your reception. Almost all will or at the very least, will try for the money.
At my first wedding, we did this. At just $2.15 a plate for 200 people, we got fried chicken and ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, butter, coffee, tea, and all the utensils including plates and napkins. All of our guests ate till they were full and we had food left over! It was very much worth the cost.
The truly frugal bride will probably want to do what we did at my second wedding, though. As I’ve mentioned – what is this, the hundredth time? – Family and friends pitched in a lot for us as a wedding gift.
My uncle has a business where he smokes meat for people. He smoked some pork butts that I got discounted from the local butcher. We shredded the meat and added barbeque sauce for pork sandwiches. The buns were bought at Aldi for $.29 a package.
My dad has a rather large family which provides me with 4 aunts along with 2 other ladies I consider family making 6 “aunts” in total. Each offered up a dish for my reception. One made macaroni salad, one made potato salad. We had coleslaw, a green tossed salad, green bean casserole, and baked beans. I bought huge bags of potato chips and all the utensils in bulk at Sam’s Club, and we had a simple, homemade, and very tasty meal.
Along those lines, you may want to explore a potluck reception. |
|
FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
