Self catering and cleanup for a backyard wedding??

Many people on WW are not a fan of self catering, so this won't go over well here. I would get a caterer as it avoids the possibility of food poisoning and will also make for less stress day of. You don't want your guest to get sick at the wedding. As far as the plates, I would ask the caterer what their policy is.

You're talking three years away. Save up so you can hire someone, but don't start planning until 2017.

Self catering can be dangerous and irresponsible. Hire a caterer is my advice.

Caterers have different policies, some do, some dont... because liability-you just have to ask

Because I am bored at work

Several of us here have self-catered successfully without killing anyone or making anyone sick. Self-catering for 45 is definitely do-able, just make sure you are aware of proper temperatures and handling.

For clean-up, you'd have to either hire someone or hope that people volunteer to help, but I'd hired someone if you can afford it - especially since you want real plates.

If a catering company won't serve on dishes you provide, you could cater from a restaurant rather than a catering company.

It's not just the sick, it's the stress.

I would think the main drawback of this plan would be the stress. Do you really want you, your mom, your aunts etc. doing dishes on your wedding day instead of enjoying themselves?

I would just save up and hire a real caterer. It's too much work and stress and by the time you're done you probably won't save that much by DIYing it. BBW can be delicious and appropriate for a backyard wedding, and some brides here have had it catered (with real plates) for around $10 pp. I would DEFINITELY not ask my relatives or friends to wash 45 plates on our wedding day.

Edited for spelling

Hi Courtney, welcome to WW! I did this for 55 guests and posted about it here: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/back-and-self-catered-tips-and-advice/1b3df9d48673174c.html

When I first posted asking for advice about doing my wedding this way, I was totally criticized for it, but our wedding was great and I wouldn't change a thing. Don't be offended by those who are warning you; they really are looking out for you. There are a few of us who have done our weddings this way and everything worked out. Stick around, this is a great community. :-)

Are you planning to self-cater, or hire a caterer? You mention a caterer in your question. Self-catering means to cook all the food yourself. I would highly recommend AGAINST doing that. For 45 people its not outrageous - we've had parties at our house about that size. However, it is VERY difficult to keep a large amount of food hot or cold correctly, plus unless you have some catering staff you will need your friends and family to work during your wedding serving food, refilling food, cleaning up, taking out trash, etc. which is unfair to them.

Also- Change your avatar! The rings are associated with trolls/spam and it will help you get more responses.

There are a lot of different places that cater for relatively inexpensive (Dickys bbq, Chipotle, etc) to relieve stress from you all. Just imagine wanting to look your best, hair done up, make up flawless, while also running around like a nut making sure food is made, things are set up correctly, etc.