Which is cheaper to have a cater?

At least the venue catering will likely be warm, cooked on site and kept to food sanitation standards. All of the goes out the window when you ring your own food in.

I'd go with the $14. You could even call around to some local, non chain restaurants.

We're going with $17 PP with food from our favorite restaurant. $14 PP is only $100 outside of your budget; if the food is good I would say go for it and avoid delivery charges!

In all honesty, if you don't have a lot of money to spend on a reception, have a nice cake, punch, champagne party in the afternoon rather than serving what is essentially a fast food meal.

We're having a restaurant cater and it will be under 2,000 for 150 people. It's buffet style, which cuts down on the price

It can be done if you really get out there and do your homework. Search your area for restaurants and ask if they cater. I just looked up one in my area and they offer one entree, one side and one salad option with rolls, cutlery for 12 pp/ 2 entrees 14pp you could do a luncheon for either 11pp/13pp.

I support Miss Manner's wedding etiquette philosophy which is not promoted by the wedding industry at all: the guest list should have priority over the arrangements. You start with who can reasonably be expected to be invited to the wedding and then you look at your budget. Brides that have more limited budgets should not feel shamed into cutting the guest list or eloping. I think that you are starting in the right direction. Look into all your options in your area as far as catering. And yes you can do an afternoon finger foods wedding between meals just give your guests a heads up as to what to expect.

$14/pp sounds like an amazing deal! Then again my wedding was in Palos Verdes, CA.....

I'm sorry, I just can't let it go. *Caterer. And $14pp is a ridiculously good deal!

I would kill to have $14/pp. Im in Southern California and the cheapest I could find is $40/pp.

I am at 1900 for 100 ppl it's a awesome restaurant, food testing is a good idea I do believe prices have a lot to do with locations some areas are higher than others it's your day you make that call

Start looking at not so fancy restaurants. Were talking chain restaurants here, not local steakhouses. If you absolutely can't cut the guest list any more that is. $14/person is really, really cheap and trust me, I'm going cheap on food. Also, not everybody from you list will be able to make it so there is a chance you can go pricier and still come out on top. Also you may want to make sure that your venue will allow outside caterers if they offer that service already. Mine won't.

You really have to do your homework but you can be 1-2 entrees for under $15.00.

I'm having my catered by a fun gourmet produce grocery store with full on bakery and catering kitchen. They are not cheaper than a restaurant, but they do well to work with your budget. We're at $60 pp.

Take the 14dlls per person and run!

People say wedding food is not memorable anyway but I guess people will remember the really bad ones. Lol KFC really? Seriously though, 14/pp sounds like a great option. I'm kind of embarrassed how much it's costing at my venue :/

You have a year -- a full year -- to come up with the $2K it will cost you to feed your 150 guests with a $14 PP catered buffet, but you are looking for something cheaper? What's cheaper? I can't get behind these take-out/fast food restaurant suggestions that are supposed to represent wedding fare. That's all I'm going to say about that. With a year in front of you, can you budget enough to put a bottle of wine on each table? If you can't do that, then cut the guest list and face the fact that you cannot host 150 people properly. You can host a ceremony that will be followed by a non-meal time, brief reception of socializing, wedding cake, and punch. Will people travel a long way for that? Probably not -- so work on saving your money during the next year so that you can at least host your 150 guests with a catered buffet. If you want to have a great wedding -- a wedding at which you aren't worried about the amount of food your guests are served -- cut your guest down to 100 people. As far as your caterer is concerned, at $14 PP ( which is unheard of in my area), your food budget will consume $1400. You'll have enough left over to give each table a bottle of wine. If you insist on inviting 150 people, you will have $13.33 to spend per person. You will host a better event if you cut the guest list. With your budget, I'd cut it down to 50 people. With your $2K, you'll have $40 PP to spend. Quality over quality wins every time.

14.00 won't even get you a glass of wine in much of my area.