Help!

[thefrogprincess]

So all the caterers are way out of our budget. The wedding is at 2:00 pm so we don't need a fancy sit down dinner. I was thinking of just doing a bunch of appetizer trays but I can't find a place that is willing to customize even a little bit for me. HELP! I don't know what to feed these people!

 

[Allie]

The buffet need not be fancy. If no one will customize for you, why not do it yourself? Buy meat and cheese at the local deli, and arrange as you wish. THis can be something easy and great for the mother of the bride or groom to do. Just buy some rolls, maybe arrange fresh veggies on a plate, and you have an easy snacking buffet!

Hope this helped

 

[2005CFmom]

We went to a wedding this summer that had a "Dessert Reception" to follow. It stated this in the invitation so everyone knew to eat before coming to the wedding. There were several tables set up with different types of desserts...chocolate dipped strawberries(by far the most popular table), various pastries and cookies. They also had a "coffee bar"...serve-your-self coffee with bottles of flavored syrup and whip cream topping. It actually was a very nice set-up.

My sister was telling me about a wedding she went too this summer. They had a "picnic" lunch. Every table was provided with a picnic basket filled with sandwiches, chips, potato & fruit salad. I thought that was a very unique idea.

Hope you are able to find something!

 

[Allisa35]

Well, I don't know exactly what you are wanting, but like Allie said, just try to do it yourself. That's what we did. My mother-in-law helped us with that. We just bought meat from the deli along with different cheeses and she just had everything set up on trays. It certainly wasn't anything fancy, but it was certainly cheaper than getting a caterer. Hope it all works out for you and congrats!!

 

[JazzysMom]

Not sure what you had in mind, but here is a thought. WHen I married my first husband we had a HUGE wedding of 585 people not counting wedding party. The ceremony/reception were outside in the same spot. In order to afford this we bought the meat & liquor & asked family/close friends to make "dishes of food" instead of giving us any type of gift. The meat was bbq'd & ziti, various salads etc were available. Doing this allowed us to afford a DJ & then a live band in addition to the food & drinks. It was a very relaxed time, but it worked out great. We looked up how many pounds of food etc would cover the # of people expected & worked from that. Some people might not feel comfortable doing this, but since I have a large family it wasnt a big deal. Just a thought~

 

[Scarlett81]

If you have a BJ's or a Costco by you, you can get bags of frozen cocktail hors'doeuvres-very cheap. You can get pre-cooked and shelled shrimp frozen, mini quiches, little pastries filled with spinach and cheese.
You can get trays of pre-rolled deli meats, cheeses, cube cheese trays, veggies, and desserts at those places too. They have so much stuff there, and its all arranged very elegantly too. It might be a teeny bit more to buy everything already on trays, but the time you'll save and the money you'll save on trays will be worth it.
Have fun planning! Try not to get too stressed out.

 

[Diane]

Every idea i read on here is GREAT ! To add to it, since the wedding is at 2:00 most people will have already had lunch , so maybe you can do the desert thing like Teri mentioned. Or just serve cake , along with a few other goodies . Maybe you can have a cake table with all different types of cakes( and pies) and everyone can take what they like. Whatever you decide to do, just enjoy your day as much as you can , it goes quick !

 

[jenhum]

Check out www.theknot.com. They have message boards that are VERY helpful, and helped me save so much money on my wedding. Find your local city/state board and ask for ideas there and there will most likely be someone that can give you the name of a caterer who will work with your budget and preferences. There are girls on that site that have great budget bride ideas.

 

[anonymous]

If you want to do sandwiches - alot of people buy some beef or pork at a meat locker ( they will cut for you) add some bbq and buns. Have chips and baked beans maybe a salad - then have your cake. Put some family or friends in charge of different things if they will. Or have Hy-Vee or some grocery store do veggie trays or fruit and cheese and meat platters. Not sure of cost on these - but I wouldn't think too bad. Good luck!! Thank God my Mom helped me alot. We did the pork sandwiches, beans, chips, cole slaw thing. Church ladies in our town help with the serving etc.

Mother of 9yr old boy w cf

 

[Ratatosk]

For my sister's wedding we got a roaster and put roasts, bbq sauce and beef broth. Cooked it overnight and served bbq sandwiches on buns. Got cole slaw mix from the wholesale club (sams), big can of nuts and bag of mints.

You could also cook turkeys the day before, cut them up and put the meat in a roaster with the some broth.

We wanted to save money AND time. Then again. Remember to "olden days"? I remember going to afternoon weddings and just having punch, nuts, mints and cake in the church basement.