Thoughts on affordable wedding food

**shelly123** · 02-09-2012, 07:57 PM

My daughter 21 is getting married in August. We are thinking about doing the food ourselves. Since she wants an evening wedding (6 pm ish) we are thinking about what types of food to have. My husband and I will be paying for the venue and the food. I am trying to keep the total cost at no more than 5,000 for 125 people. The place we are looking at having both ceremony and reception at is charging 1000. This includes use of the facility for the entire day and also tables and chairs for the reception.
We are going with a buffet meal.
The options:
1. We are contemplating getting various trays ( cheeses, meats, dips and various salads from Publix), various desserts. Iced tea, lemonade, coffee, water.
2. or doing a pasta bar with 4 different sauces ( meat sauce, marinara, alfredo, pesto), garlic breadsticks, antipasto, and tossed salad. Various desserts, Iced tea, lemonade, water, coffee.

What do you think of these options? Any other ideas?

**Lady_V** · 02-09-2012, 08:12 PM

Congrats on her upcoming wedding!

Now, with that being said, I don't know where you are, but pasta may be a bit "heavy" for a hot August night full of dancing and merriment.

6pm is a "dinner" wedding, or so that's what has become the norm... people are going to be traveling before the ceremony and will be hungry after since it's a 'mealtime'. If she is not stuck on the time, you could even do a 7pm ceremony and get away with a much lighter fare, cheese/meat/veggie/fruit trays and a dessert bar.

I am sure others will have input too. - I got married on the hottest day of the year, it also happened to be August. We had a full out affair, there were several courses, but they were all 'light'.

**pat in east texas** · 02-09-2012, 08:37 PM

May I have the pasta, please?

**dancemommy** · 02-09-2012, 08:51 PM

Congrats!

Out of the two options listed I like the pasta bar. You could add some big salads or a big salad bar for a lighter option since it is August- I think it is a good idea though- and inexpensive.

Some other options: BBQ- you can maybe get it catered for cheap from a BBQ place- pork sandwiches and sides. We know a family that did "home cooking" they had catered fried chicken and trays of mac n cheese and green beans and fruit. It was good.

**shelly123** · 02-09-2012, 08:59 PM

The venue will only allow champagne toast no other alcohol, which is fine. I wanted to do a mocktail hour with light appetizers while photos are being taken of the wedding party. Then a meal which would start around 730 pm.

I want to be able to make most of the food ahead and pay someone to help assemble during the ceremony.

I want it to still be sort of elegant, but within reason.

**Brat** · 02-09-2012, 09:47 PM

We did a pulled pork for one that I helped with..Got the pork on sale and cooked it the week before and just had to buy buns ..I made 20 lb of potato salad and we made baked beans..Don't remember the cost but we feed 150 that night..At another one we got boneless hams and waffered them and had potato salad and beans too..Both of them we had a small wedding cake and the rest was sheet cakes ..

**Ali Lee** · 02-09-2012, 10:59 PM

Go to 'Home' in the left hand corner of FV. Type in search 'frugal wedding food' --pages from FV will come up & click away... Good Luck ..ps I did 2 of 3 dau's food for their weddings & the 3rd one I did her cake... It can be done!

**Contrary Housewife** · 02-09-2012, 11:49 PM

7:30 is kind of late for dinner. Folks will either eat ahead of time, or be starving when the buffet line opens. I would be tempted to keep it to non-alcoholic drinks (mock-tails sound fun) and snack type foods, like a cocktail party. That would be option #1.

**mndtrp** · 02-09-2012, 11:57 PM

We had a similar budget, and our venue was roughly the same price. We had a taco buffet, which I cooked all of prior to the wedding.

**known2him5** · 02-11-2012, 09:36 AM

We borrowed roasters from family and friends -- and did turkey breast, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans, hot rolls for a December wedding.

For an April wedding we did cold cuts, cheeses, raw veggies/dip - this was an outdoor, casual wedding.

**ladykemma2** · 02-11-2012, 03:34 PM

pasta for hundred people is a nightmare

roast turkey sounds good in the roaster ovens.

bread and butter
tossed green salad with italian salad dressing, croutons, purple onion, cucumbers, mandarin oranges, grape tomatoes for color
roasted pork loin with apricots, juices de-glazed from pan for sauce
green veg in season
roasted or steamed root vegetables with herbed butter or herbed olive oil
glazed baby carrots
wedding cake
sweet and unsweet tea, ice
punch or something for toast
nuts, mints

roast beef, same menu as above

beef bouginione (spelling?) same menu as above

all of these are sams warehouse food and are menus i have cooked for 100-250, including my sisters wedding. roaster ovens and pre-cooking are your friends

**mndtrp** · 02-12-2012, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by ladykemma2

pasta for hundred people is a nightmare

I agree. That would be might difficult to pull off.

Originally Posted by known2him5

We borrowed roasters from family and friends -- and did turkey breast, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans, hot rolls for a December wedding.

This was our original idea, but I was running out of time to get things done, and turning the turkey into turkey tacos was easier.

**oheoh's momma** · 02-12-2012, 07:25 PM

pasta for that many would be a nightmare and it is gonna be HOT. The Wedding is at 6.. I would stop a grab me a something before or on the way...cheese crackers, trays ect... I think would be the way to go

**Uniwolf** · 02-12-2012, 07:51 PM

I did our oldest DD1's wedding 3 years ago, it was all finger foods (her choice) with lots of fruit as well. Lets see I think we did little smokies in BBQ sauce, meat pinwheels, stuffed mushrooms, shaved meats, cheese slices, and cubes, crackers (about 6 or 7 different kinds), and just about any kind of fruit that you could imagine, with 4 or 5 different dips for them. And a veggie tray.Then we had sweet and unsweet tea, punch, bottled water, and fruit punch. It was all served buffet style. Good luck to you. I will say that I bought alot of stuff ahead of time, (just about anything I could) and froze what I could, made up what I could ahead of time as well. That way there was not as much going out all at one time for both energy or $.

**shoiji** · 02-12-2012, 08:17 PM

Having sliced turkey breast or sliced pork in its own gravy sounds good with a nice salad bar, maybe a rice salad with some dried cranberries, fruit, what ever veggies are in season that could be grilled then warmed up

Remember that sometimes it is just about assembling the simplest ingredients to get some elegant dining.

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