Hire Wait Staff

Hire a catering company. The catering company can also make the food. I wouldn't want the stress of making the food; it would be much bette to just relax and get ready instead of cooking.

View Quoted Comment Thanks And, but I would rather self cater because of cultural preferences and religious dietary restrictions. I'm just looking for someone to serve at the reception.

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Caterers know how to handle religious and dietary restrictions without giving anyone food poisoning or stressing anyone out.

View Quoted Comment I am aware they caterers can handle the religious aspect, but it's the cultural part. I'm Jamaican and I have a kosher diet. Most caterers that I have looked into don't have foods that I associate with a Jamaican wedding.

I think because of the complicated laws regarding preparing and serving food, you will not be able to find professional servers to serve food that wasn't professionally prepared. Professional caterer absolutely know how to accommodate religious and dietary restrictions, plus serve the food. It would be way easier to hire a pro than to have to spend your wedding day in the kitchen. But if you are adamant that you are going to do it yourself, you can post the server gig on craigslist. I have taken wedding related jobs through CL before but to be honest they were usually a disaster.

View Quoted Comment My family has cooked enough for 200 people on a yearly basis. I'm not worried about food poisoning. It's more about having food that I like to eat.

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I know most caterers have a menu that you chose from but a lot of them will make any dish you request. You just have to let them know what you want, let them work up a quote, then do a tasting to make sure they can actually make it how you want.

I think you will have trouble finding servers and a venue that will allow unprofessional, unlicensed catering. And for good reason.

View Quoted Comment I have a tight budget. Self catering would be more affordable for me. I have people who will be able to cook for me. I also have family who would be willing to serve as well, but I prefer that they can also relax on my big day.

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Like I said I think it will end up easier if you go with a pro but I understand being on a budget. All the people that I've helped through CL were on a budget. I usually do decor set up and take down and serve as a make shift DOC and only charge $50-$200 for the whole time of the event depending on various things. I'm not sure what a going rate for servers is but in my town there are always college kids that can use a little extra cash willing to work for cheap! I don't know how safe CL is in your area but it may be worth a try. Just remember you are taking on ALL of the legal risk if you do this.

View Quoted Comment I can name 4 caterers/restaurants in my area that can do this without Google. Imagine what I could do with Google?

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OG Gretchen is absolutely right. Check with your venue that you are allowed to self cater. Many places simply cannot allow it due to their insurance policies. A lot also require licensed bartenders if alcohol is being served.

View Quoted Comment You do realise that for 200 people, you need at least 10 people? At $15/ he for 6-8 hrs? Yet, self-catering is cheaper🤔

If you’re absolutely set on doing this then check with your venue to make sure that they allow it. Possibly post on Craigslist looking for servers.

View Quoted Comment This seems like it couldn’t possibly go wrong...

The venue I worked at after high school made you put a cc on file at the time of booking and if you violated the terms of the contract they could charge up to a $2500.00 penalty. Really steep considering the venue cost was $5000.00. If I saw that people were serving their own alcohol instead of a bartender I would call the owners and they would charge the card on file immediately. Not always the whole amount but at least $250.00. Read your venue contract very carefully. Once you piece it all together it will probably be more affordable to just use a pro that is all set up than to build a team on your own.

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Yea when you are hiring strangers on the internet you never really know what you are going to get. There is always a reason someone is willing to work for cheap. It might be a college kid that undervalues how much their time is worth, or it might be somebody with a history that prevents them from having a real job, you never know.

View Quoted Comment I think you're being mean. I only asked about wait staff, not caterers. I didn't ask about if you thought it would be a disaster either. I am in the early stages of planning, and you are being very negative.

View Quoted Comment Never said it wouldn’t go wrong but OP seems dead set on self catering. I personally know that even the local community college students where I am won’t touch self catered food. I don’t support self catering but I also cannot force OP to get a caterer.

They aren’t being mean, it’s realistic. Most venues won’t allow food from an unlicensed caterer plus you’re adding so much work for yourself and family leading up to the wedding