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Catering my own ~150 person wedding: ideas & opinions
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Hi r/Cooking !
Mid 2015 I'm getting married in the UK at a big hall-type-place that allows whichever caterer we want. I've been put off by high prices from some and am musing about whether to do it myself, since I'm a reasonable cook, and I figure for those kinds of numbers you benefit from economies of scale if you do it right.
So i'm thinking, thai red curry + rice, and another option, possibly a simple starter, and two simple dessert options e.g. sorbet & fruit salad. The venue apparently doesn't have on-site cooking but our house is <1 mile away.
Does anyone have any ideas or tips for doing this? Completely avoid it? Any food suggestions, e.g. I'm thinking wet food like thai curry since it's easy to do in one huge pot and you essentially chuck everything in and leave it.
Another idea i've heard is to get a local restaurant to cater it, give people a very limited set of options, and have the restaurant bring it over when it's ready, where we'd plate it up.
My hope is that we can feed and get people drunk for <£50pp, which would be hugely easy in a restaurant, and so I figure should be easier still when you've got massive economies of scale. But we'll see.
Thanks for any suggestions, tips, advice, warnings!
Top Comment:
Have you ever cooked in a volume situation before? I mean, just the rice alone...Assume each person eats a quarter cup (uncooked), that's over 40 cups of rice. Do you have the kind of cookware to make food in that kind of volume? You would need pots that combined to have a capacity of 7.5 GALLONS. Just for the freaking rice.
Don't do this. Just. Don't.
Self-catering, or how to get all your guests to wash dishes at your wedding
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Since my last post was a hit, I decided to share the only other truly awful wedding story I have. Warning, it’s long, but it’s worth it.
It’s June in the Southern U.S. The bride (a relative of mine) and groom have gone all out, renting a gorgeous and expensive venue for their wedding. Beautiful ceremony, lovely pictures, etc. The buffet line and tables have been set up on the screened porch of the building. Food looks great, I serve up my plate and go sit down. My BF at the time, now my husband, has gone to the restroom. There were only a few restrooms available for guest use so it took a while for him to get through the line. He then comes back to the table with an empty plate. When I asked why, he says there’s no more food.
Okay, no problem. I find the bride’s mom and whisper that she should probably ask the caterers to put out more food. She gets a peculiar expression on her face and says there is no more food. What was on the buffet line is all that they have. Period.
It then comes out that the bride and groom blew most of their wedding money on the venue and the bride’s (admittedly beautiful) couture gown, so they decided to “self cater.” A family friend who was a chef volunteered to make the food. They wanted a certain “opulence” so they purchased top-of-the-line ingredients (good cuts of meat, artisan breads and cheeses, etc.) which meant they ended up with only enough to feed about 3/4 of the guests. The rest went hungry.
Whatever. Dinner is over, we are starting the reception thing, when the MOH starts coming around and asking some of us to come with her into the kitchen. We go. There is no AC so this kitchen is about a zillion degrees. She shows us stacks of plates and cups and then tells us we need to wash them. ?!? Apparently part of self-catering is you rent the dishes and glassware, and if they aren’t returned clean at the end of the evening you lose your deposit. But since the bride and groom are pinching pennies at this point, they haven’t hired anyone to clean up. So I and about nine other guests spend most of the reception in the kitchen, elbow deep in soap and water. We miss the first dance and the cutting of the cake, which turns out to be for the best because (wait for it) they hadn’t purchase enough cake for everyone either.
The couple divorced three years later. I declined my invitation to the bride’s second wedding.
UPDATE: To everyone who is telling me they would have refused to wash the dishes or left when their BF didn’t get any food, that’s great. I now know that’s what I should have done. But I was 21 when this happened, had only been to a couple of other weddings, and had been raised to believe family helps family. I am much more assertive now, but I can’t go back in time and basically being told over and over that I was a pushover when I really only posted this story because I was trying to give everyone a laugh is a bummer.
Top Comment:
That is INSANE. Imagine inviting a bunch of folks then having the gall to tell them 1/4 of them will DELIBERATELY be left hungry. Including cake!
Catering my own wedding. Cheers folks
Main Post: Catering my own wedding. Cheers folks
Top Comment: I do!
Delicious and affordable catering companies around Minneapolis?
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I’m planning a summer party and don’t know where to start with caterers. Looking to serve appetizers only for about $20 - $25 per person.
Any recommendations a within the Minneapolis radius?
Thanks in advance!
Top Comment: Brasa comes to mind for me
cheap catering
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what are some cheap catering options? i looked at Olive Garden and they are $12.50/person. Qdoba is $9/person but i’ve heard that they don’t give you much food (is that true?). are there any other cheap catering options out there?
i’m expecting 250-300 guests. do you think we could do a pot luck or self-cater for that many people? if we do so, will it be more expensive than a caterer?
i’d really appreciate any advice and help!!
EDIT: our venue allows any type of catering, including self catering. our wedding is not a black tie event so we do not need a three course plated dinner. Olive Garden is within of our budget and our number one option right now. i’m simply asking if there are cheaper options that i’m missing.
i understand that cutting our guest list would allow us to afford a nicer dinner. however we would rather cut costs in other places before cutting family and friends out of our special day.
Top Comment: Potluck - no. Self cater - hell no. I'll take a leap and say that you don't have the needed experience, knowledge or equipment to self cater for 250 guests or more. There's a good chance it would end in disaster. Chipotle caters. So do Panera, Cracker Barrel and lots of other chains. Start looking at web sites or even signs as you drive by the restaurant. If $12.50 per person exceeds your budget, you need to cut your guest list.
Underrated Wedding Caterers?
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Hi!
My fiancé and I were hoping to do Brasa for our wedding next September, but they already have TWO weddings booked on our date ☹️
Do you guys know of any similarly priced (~$15 to$20/person buffet) caterers that aren’t too well known? Any locally owned caterers in particular? We are expecting about 200 people at our wedding. The reception will be in St. Paul.
Thank you!!
Top Comment: Not sure if they still do it, but Babanni's catered my wedding and it was fantastic. It was so nice to have food that wasn't the standard wedding/convention fare.
Catered lunch recommendations
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Hi friends! Several year E/A here- I've just started a new position at a brand new mfg company in this town. I commute so I'm not super familiar with the catering options just yet. I've been tasked with feeding approx 45ish people for lunch once a month. My budget is $400. The group doesn't mind pizza on occasion but looking for some different, on-budget suggestions besides Panera box lunches.
Top Comment: What kind of town do you live in? I just mean like, a large city with tons of options, mid size city with chains, etc? $400 for 45 people is probably a little low, that less than $10/pp. Consider local restaurants that can do buffet options (like a taco bar, for example) or grocery stores.