Food and drink amounts for a 2:30 PM Cake and Punch/dessert reception?

Here is a list of the non-alcoholic drinks we are currently planning:

1-gallon sweet tea

1-gallon unsweet tea

1-gallon lemonade

1-gallon diet lemonade

1 gallon Dr Pepper Punch

1-gallon sparkling punch

2 gallons coffee

4 gallons ice water

4 2liter DP

4 2liters Coke

4 2liters diet coke

4 2liters diet DP

Again, does that sound like a good amount? Should we add more of something or less of something else? I want a good variety, but not too much leftover.

Also, our crowd doesn't drink much alcohol, so they will probably be drinking mostly from this list.

I don't like milk but I feel like people like milk with dessert. Would that be an option? And maybe more of the teas, I would prefer tea over soda. Also, are you doing alcohol at all or no?

For the food, I really don't know. It sounds good to me, so long as people don't take more of one thing than another.

Back on the milk thought, what about doing chocolate milks and strawberry milks? Im getting nutty now lol.

Edit- I just looked at the food list again, I think that should be fine for 40 people. But I'm not an expert...

Edit again- Maybe more coffee? And a decaf option possibly? Just an idea. Also maybe hot tea?

With so many desserts, you could probably back off to 6 dozen per type, especially with those veggie/cheese trays you mentioned.

I would also back WAY down on types of beverages, but have more of the kinds you do serve. I'd keep the coffee and ice water definitely, but I would look really hard at your sugary drinks selection and cut it down to one sugary and one sugar-free equivalent. So Coke & Diet Coke or punch and sugar-free punch. I would personally lean toward the punch, but if soda's a particular favorite in your crowd, go for it. But right now it looks like you're trying to have every single guest's top favorite drink on hand and that's just a headache you probably don't need.

Thanks for all the tips! I will try to figure out what drinks people would prefer once we get closer to the date and we've sent out invites and gotten responses haha. But we will definitely cut down on drink options!

I will look into other types of appetisers too, but do you have any suggestions? I would prefer things that don't require a warming tray since everything else is cold and I wouldn't want anything to go bad. I will have to ask the caterer if they have any other options for those.

I would remove the Dr Pepper and add 7up or Sprite instead. Also, add hot tea. I'd also choose sweet tea or lemonade, not both. I'd also remove the Dr. Pepper punch or sparkling punch. Just have one and choose between the lemonade and sweet tea. You just have too many options. I would also not have more than 4 dozen of each dessert.

For non-sweet options that can be kept cold, how about just a cheese tray and fruit and veggie tray? I'm not sure how many options you want to have, but just off the top of my head, there's also bruschetta, pinwheels, shrimp cocktail, cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches (we make these on Hawaiian rolls a lot for bridal showers), deviled eggs, pita chips and hummus, chips and salsa...

Well, Dr Pepper is FH's favorite, so he might kill me if we didn't at least have some of that, hah. and I know a lot of our guest list likes it. I removed the lemonade, though, and I will probably remove Dr Pepper Punch since we don't really need both that and regular DP. Although I might see if they would let us taste test that, and if it's better than DP we could take that instead... It's just hard to figure out what everyone would want, but I guess we can't make everyone happy.

Hmm, okay. I am getting mixed responses on the desserts. Originally I had 4 dozen of each (enough for 1 of each per person), but then my mom said I should have enough for 2 each per person, and someone else said 6 dozen of each (so 1.5 per person). AHH... I don't mind having a little extra, but I don't want a ton of leftovers, and I certainly don't want to run out either...

With the amount of variety you have, I think 1 per person will be more than enough. I think on average people will have 2 desserts and that still leaves with a lot extra. I think you could even scrap one of the cookie options.

ETA: I agree on removing a couple sugary drink options too. I think diet lemonade can be scrapped unless you know that's popular, and one of the punches and one of the other diet sodas.

That looks like a nice selection of dessert options! If you want to add some salty/savory things, consider some salted nuts of various types. There are some really awesome almond flavors out there like sriracha lime, smoked hickory, etc.

I agree with Rebecca. I think you could cut back to 4 dozen on everything, except maybe the chocolate covered strawberries. I would stick with 6-8 dozen on those. At that time of day, I don't think you need a ton of non-sweet options, but at least some cheese and crackers to balance the sweetness. Maybe fruit & veggie trays, too.

Imo i think i would pare down the drink list, and have more of each. 2-3 sodas, lemonade OR punch, tea, water, coffee. Let people mix in their own sweeteners for the tea and coffee.

Annnnd I just reread your OP and saw that you're already planning to have cheese & crackers and fruit & veggie trays. Sorry about that.

1.5 per person when you have that many options is reasonable. You could probably get away with 1 per person since not every person is going to try every item, but to be a little on the generous side, I'd do a little more. You'd probably still be good doing 5 dozen of each.

Know your crowd, too. If you have a lot of people with big appetites, definitely stay up around 6 dozen of each. If you have a lot of people who usually take doggy bags from restaurants, cut back a little. I know I'm leaning toward generous cake slices because both our families have some major sweet tooths. And I'm going to suggest my brother have a sandwich before the wedding so he doesn't steal anyone else's entree at the reception. (Not really. Or at least probably not really.)

I hear you on the fiance's-favorite-drink. I'm only not serving soda because fiance's second favorite drink is iced tea and we're going to serve one with a fancy flavor of some kind, hibiscus or berry or something.

Is there alcohol?

Per person, that is

1 cupcake

2 cookies

2 mini fried cheesecake bites

2 iced buffalo cookies

2 chocolate covered strawberries

2 brownies

2 dessert empanadas

which seems like a lot?? Unless these are all tiny? I would cut back a little bit (I would probably be able to eat 1 each at most! Some might have two, but other people might not have any of a specific item, so it would probably even out) and budget a bit more for savory things. In addition to your fruit, cheese and cracker, and veggie and dip trays, you could do pinwheel sandwiches or something a little more hearty, or something like chex mix just so people can cleanse their palettes a bit between sweets!

If I were there I would love some hot tea. I would not want lemonade, sweet tea, or soda along with so many sweets.

If you are nervous about running out though, just get that much, and bring some goodie bags. That way it wouldn't go to waste and you wouldn't be stuck with so much junk food the next day. My parents really enjoy when there is extra cake that they can take home and have the next day and remember the good times!

I would probably do 6 dozen of each except the strawberries. I would do 8 dozen of the strawberries. I would also cut out the iced buffalo cookies or the regular cookies. I think veggie, fruit and cheese and crackers is good. If you want another tray, do hummus and pita chips.

Drink wise, I agree with pairing down on the options and offering more of each option. I'd go with unsweeted ice tea, lemonade, coffee, water, dr pepper, coke, sprite and diet coke.

Sqwiggy, alcohol will depend on who RSVPs, as most of the guest list (at the moment) is family, and neither my family nor his drinks, and only a few of our friends do. If the friends who drink say that they are coming, we will probably consult them on what alcohol to provide.

Ooh I like the idea of providing baggies for guests to take home leftover goodies.

We will check with the caterer about the size of the desserts, maybe we can ask them how many of each they'd recommend.

Thanks again for these suggestions!

+1 for hummus and pita chips!