Take out catering?

I found a place in Santa Barbara that does the type of food you are wanting, and they seem to be pretty reasonable for catering, and their reviews are good.

http://www.garlicmediterranean.com/catering

If that doesn't work for you, sometimes you can find people that actually work for caterers or even door dash that do the setting up, or are willing to work extra for you on their days off. I never would have thought of Door Dash, but I met someone who works for Door Dash and his job is to pick up the large orders and take them and do the set up. He actually used to be a chef but he makes more money doing this, and apparently does a nice job at it. Think outside the box and you will find something, just don't get discouraged.

Or, you can maybe find a catering/pastry/cooking school and see if any of the students want to make a little money by setting up and serving for you.

eta: oops, just saw someone else posted the same idea and it is working out for you. Glad to hear that.

@cantwaitforthedate thanks a bunch, but it seems that’s in the Bay Area (up north) and I’m down south. I’ll check out door dash too

Oops, I put in Santa Barbara area, and have no idea why it gave me that. Sorry I didnt pay more attention. Hopefully you found something that will work.

I think this sounds like a perfectly acceptable idea, but as Celia mentioned, you need to have somebody in charge of orchestrating this all (a DOC or a catering coordinator, or maybe both). You won't be there to make sure the food gets to the area in time, to let them in, to show them their tables, etc. The staff will probably not know what dish is which or where it all goes either. This is where the coordinator comes in and directs everybody and makes sure everybody knows their jobs. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment I’m so happy for you! Can you please share which company did you use? I came across a similar situation and would love any recommendations

View Quoted Comment Any local restaurant you love should be able to provide catering. One of the first weddings in my family that featured a full meal, because they were all cake and coffee up to that point, was catered by a local casual Asian restaurant (teriyaki, egg rolls, fried rice, etc) and guests gushed over how delicious it was all night and years later. Guests snacked on leftovers while socializing and dancing and were encouraged to take home leftovers. Since then, various couples in both of our families have gone that route for catering because the food is cheaper and something that appeals to everyone, while being a larger quantity so they get more bang for their dollar.