diy Catering

There are lots of ways to host a small budget wedding while still treating your guests right, having a dry wedding and self catering are not advisable ways to do that. It is much better to host a small wedding well. Look at cutting your guest lists and having it at a restaurant (this is what I did and I could not be happier) but also look at less expensive catering options like Italian or BBQ.

View Quoted Comment

So, what is the option that fits in your budget venue rental wise and allows you to self-cater? They won't allow you to bring in a caterer but they will let you self cater?

If its a problem with finding the right venue keep looking. We thought about settling for something that just wasn't going to work for us, we ended up getting married 8 months later than we were originally looking at, but we found a much better venue that was better suited for our guests. Also, I think you need to reevaluate your budget if you plan to have 200 guests.

Where are you planning on storing all the food before/during the ceremony?

In addition to all that has been said, alfredo sauce is a bad option as it does to keep and reheat well. Honestly, any reheated pasta is gross. Alfredo is also dairy based, which would exclude anyone who is vegan or has a diary allergy. Another danger of self catering is allergies. You are not a pro and can easily cross contaminate dishes. Anyone with a major food allergy could not safely eat.

Also, serious question, have you ever cooked for 200 people before?

I hate to break it to you but yes this is awful. If I attended at wedding with 200 and found out the bride made the food. I'd leave shortly after "I do"

This is a joke Right? Back to back posts asking about poor hostong, people confirmed that yes, poor hosting. And you go on and on about how it is not poor hosting. Then why ask?

100% convinced that these are "fake" posts and personally not responding to anymore of your posts.

We're getting olive garden catering for our wedding. The price per person is about $14 at this point, and we'll be having appetizers before hand from the store. That way you don't have to worry about cooking the morning of your wedding.

Our wedding altogether will cost less than $5,000

It sounds like a ton of work.. Self catering isn’t fondly looked upon in the weddingwire community.

@HulaHoop, I already owned four crock pots at the first time we decided to throw a huge party (you can see we like to host events!), and they went on clearance at Walmart for $20 apiece right when we needed them. I happily purchased 11 more since I knew I could at the very least sell them for what I paid. Since we have continued throwing large parties, we just store them in our basement along with all the other party supplies that we've purchased in bulk. We've got the space although adding in all the wedding DIY stuff has made for a bit of a tight squeeze. On the plus side, we already owned enough linens and overlays and runners and chair covers so we didn't need to worry about that expense!

The venue we use has an industrial kitchen with walk in fridge and freezer attached to the hall, so it had plenty of outlets and we tested them in advance to make sure we wouldn't overload the breakers. I pretty much did the food alone for 250 guests (apps and snacks, two hot main courses (one vegan/gluten free), side dishes, and dessert) while my fiance was setting up the rest of the hall- hence the 22.5 hour workday I would not recommend it for a wedding, but we did throw one hell of a party.

I am not completely against self catering, but I would generally recommend you don't. You are probably a great cook! Cooking for any number over about 20 becomes another issue, though. If you grew up putting together spaghetti dinners at your parents lodge (or something similar) then you know what you're getting into. Tons of running and coordinating. The menu you've mentioned also leaves a couple people (you, your mom) stuck in the kitchen on a day you should be enjoying.
If it's a money issue, there are a ton of inexpensive options. Most grocery stores can do some catering.

This is just too much for a wedding to do solo. You're going to be so stressed out trying to cook all the food, prepare and handle any last minute details. Not to mention trying to get ready day of. Cut the guest list to what you can afford to properly host, or do a cake and punch reception.

Also spending $220 on crock pots is interesting to me. I'd never buy crock pots in bulk, and i use one weekly.

Hi,

I’ve been to several weddings like this. I come from a Haitian background and it’s common to do in our culture. Never got sick. The food was always good. I personally will not be doing that route because it is labor intensive and I rather my family not have to worry about that. It’s your day so do what you like!

Yeah, I definitely read some good points on time and health concerns and we just decided we'll find a caterer. I think a lot of people thought we had this decision set in stone, which really we only had a conversation about which to do because we've been to both types of receptions.

Good idea! Make sure to add shrimp to the menu.

View Quoted Comment OMG! That’s hilarious. I’m dying.

That's good. Now you, family and friends get to enjoy your wedding day! My mother and MIL both wanted to self-cater my wedding, I told them no. They both got pampered and were able to relax instead of cooking.

It's poor hosting not to have properly catered food and alcohol.

I plan on doing something similar! Instead of doing it all ourselves though, we plan on having the main dish catered, i.e. chicken, pasta, whatever you may choose, they we are going to make the sides ourselves, i.e. salad, vegetables, rolls, etc. Just by doing that small bit ourselves will significantly cut the cost!

So, Allie you're "hosting" a potluck, dry reception?