Q.
I am getting married next April in an afternoon wedding, and my fiance and I are trying to figure out how to save on catering. What do you suggest we serve in order to save money?
A.
Timing is everything, and just by having an afternoon wedding you've already saved yourselves some bucks. The key is planning to have the wedding reception meal at a time of day when your guests do not expect a full, seated, serious meal. If your wedding ceremony is at 1, 2, or even 3 p.m., you can have a tea reception. At a tea (starting around 3 or 4 p.m. and lasting 2-3 hours, tops) you'd serve tea (naturally) plus finger sandwiches, scones, and mini pastries. At a cocktail reception (starting at 4 or 5 and lasting several hours), the focus is on the drinks and passed hors d'oeuvres. Your wedding guests will probably be able to tell by the timing that no major meal is being served, but make it easy on their stomachs and note it on your wedding invitations: "A tea [or cocktail] reception to follow."
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nicoleceline
As a catering manager I would like to point out one thing. I recently did a wedding where it was the cocktail hour type meal. The bride and groom wanted hors d'oeurves and we pmade the menu out for her and took care of everything. Problem was: the guests didn't get the memo. My staff and I had to hurry to grab two plates for the bride and the groom before everything vanished. Plus, hors' doeurves have the chance of costing more. And some guests will try to have more of one thing than another. One of the only ways to counter this would be to have servers, but most caterers charge a lot to have the full service thing. My suggestion on saving money on catering is to go with something that goes a great distance. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to be good. One our most popular requests is pot roast or a King Ranch Casserole. We generally serve them with salad, vegetables, and a drink. Ask the caterer to set up a buffet line and maintain it. That costs less than having servers. You have the salad and vegetables for the vegetarians and something filling for everyone. That would be my idea. Skip out on the cocktail hour-as popular as it is, it gets expensive very quickly and doesn't last long. Also, ask the caterer for what they recommend for a certain budget and a certain amount of guests. Most have standard rates but if you ask around, you'll probably find one who works with tight budgets or at least can offer suggestions for those budgets. That's what I'm doing with some of my friends (two of whom are getting married, one in October and one in November). I may not be catering for them, but I'm helping them be creative with food on their REALLY small budget. Always look around and get started on it early!
nicoleceline
As a catering manager I would like to point out one thing. I recently did a wedding where it was the cocktail hour type meal. The bride and groom wanted hors d'oeurves and we pmade the menu out for her and took care of everything. Problem was: the guests didn't get the memo. My staff and I had to hurry to grab two plates for the bride and the groom before everything vanished. Plus, hors' doeurves have the chance of costing more. And some guests will try to have more of one thing than another. One of the only ways to counter this would be to have servers, but most caterers charge a lot to have the full service thing. My suggestion on saving money on catering is to go with something that goes a great distance. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to be good. One our most popular requests is pot roast or a King Ranch Casserole. We generally serve them with salad, vegetables, and a drink. Ask the caterer to set up a buffet line and maintain it. That costs less than having servers. You have the salad and vegetables for the vegetarians and something filling for everyone. That would be my idea. Skip out on the cocktail hour-as popular as it is, it gets expensive very quickly and doesn't last long. Also, ask the caterer for what they recommend for a certain budget and a certain amount of guests. Most have standard rates but if you ask around, you'll probably find one who works with tight budgets or at least can offer suggestions for those budgets. That's what I'm doing with some of my friends (two of whom are getting married, one in October and one in November). I may not be catering for them, but I'm helping them be creative with food on their REALLY small budget. Always look around and get started on it early!
AmThomps85
Ask a friend or family member to caiter. My fiance and I have a close friend who is a professional chef, he offered to caiter the reception at cost [of food] as a gift to us. Same goes for the cake. Although we are hiring a professional to do our wedding cake for our first reception in our home state of AZ, my aunt will be baking one for our second reception in WA where I grew up.
CrimsonIris
Also, do some research to see what is in season. Strawberries are going to cost a lot more in January than in June.