KIds getting married, want to cut costs and think that I will have time to cater - is there an easy way round this or do you think I should just tell them to out cater - ideas and receipes please
melp6,
Oct 6, 3:16am
BYO plate!
margyr,
Oct 6, 3:21am
It would be easy enough to do, but check the venue has enough oven space etc. Are you going to do finger foods or a sit down meal? You can hire a play centre or school or rugby team to do the serving and dishes on the day so that you have time to enjoy the wedding.
catzwhiskaz,
Oct 6, 3:30am
They want a dinner but not formal, have thought of local clubs for fundraisors for kitchen duties but just unsure of quanities of anything.Country Green salads give you kg for so many people so can work those out easy enough its just the other stuff - meats prob need 10-15 chickens - how many hams etc?????
buzzy110,
Oct 6, 3:33am
This is a very difficult question to answer. What sort of venue is proposed and will they allow self catering? This is the first question. And now here are a few fish hooks you may not have considered.
Firstly will they marry somewhere else and then travel to the reception. This will involve you in having to set up at the reception venue, going home to get ready for the ceremony then rushing back to get the food going or supervise. I presume you do want to be included in the wedding photos which will probably be taken somewhere else and how about separate transport for yourself because you will need it.
Secondly, how much money do you think you will save if you have to hire all the crockery, glassware, cutlery, platters, serving ware, tables, covers and so on and so forth?
Will the meal be sit down or smorgasbord?
If you are self catering how about the bar? Will there be someone reliable to man the bar who doesn't want to be part of the celebrations?
I'm sure I could think of plenty more but I don't want to put you off because you may just have those small problems sorted already.
cookessentials,
Oct 6, 3:39am
it all depends on whether you feel confident in catering for 170 people, also bearing in mind that you want to spend time with guests etc. Had you any thoughts on the "types" of food you were thinking of preparing? There are some caterers that will come to your home to cater ( which is what we had as far as canapes and drinks in our grounds while photos were taken and then a sit down dinner at a local boutique hotel,however we only had about 30 people) 170 is quite a number for out catering,especially if you are wanting to keep costs down. You can do some wonderful wedding "breakfasts" on a budget with simple, good tasting food. We also have a parties/weddings/gatherings thread which has some brilliant ideas and recipes.
buzzy110,
Oct 6, 3:39am
Here are a couple of ideas for cheap and simple weddings that I have encountered in the last couple of years.
1. Have it outside in a park setting and held as a picnic. Everyone brought their own picnic and the bride and groom provided the venue. Worked well but there was no music, no dancing and the whole event lasted about 2 hours tops. I didn't rate it as an 'event' but it was very personal and touching.
2. Find a venue that allows self-catering. In this case it was a waterside and very secluded park which could be controlled. the guests were asked to bring a plate and caterers were hired to take the food and present it. They provided all the plates, cutlery and stuff. People took their own drinks but non-alcoholic drinks and ice were provided. Music was hooked up and as the families of both bride and groom were exceptionally talented in many areas, they provided excellent entertainment throughout the day. It was wonderful.
margyr,
Oct 6, 3:40am
3 Hams, some nice crusty bread rolls too, seafood? dessert do some choc logs 3 or 4, pavs, big bowls of fruit salad buy tinned and then add some fresh fruit on the day. Probably cheaper to make your salads, you can prepare the coleslaw, potato, macoroni, kumera, etc the day before and then just put it all together on the day with the dressings. Roast taties? a couple of 10kg bags, use those big tinfoil trays you can get and make a couple of cauliflower cheese up and freeze these can with a little dolling up go straight on the table. In those trays you can also cook some lamb slice layer it in the tray pour over gravy and freeze then just heat and freshen gravy on the day.
suie1,
Oct 6, 3:41am
Cold meats & salads, choc eclairs, fudge slices, meringues for dessert If you want hot meal you could have a spit roast or do a curry.
catzwhiskaz,
Oct 6, 3:42am
Hi, beach wedding then back to hall unless raining.We have the hall for 3 days so setting up is day before.Just wanted smorgesboard type - is the parties weddings and gatherings thread in this section
cookessentials,
Oct 6, 3:51am
I shall bump it up for you
cookessentials,
Oct 6, 3:55am
You willfind all sorts of great recipes...the Thai Chicken balls are really tasty and the recipe makes 50.
cgvl,
Oct 6, 4:37am
Have done several family weddings: 2 things to remeber if its summer, then BBQ with salads goes down a treat especially if you can con a couple of the men to do the bbq'ing. we do meat patties, breakfast sausages, bacon and if you can afford it venison cut into ribbons and quickly fried. dont bother too much with steak or chicken. Winter time we borrowed crockpots and did a really nice beef casserole, hot potatoes and peas, with salads. Had corned silverside as an option as well. Other is what we did for ours recently: sandwiches, mixed savouries or filled breadcases, cheerios or similar if you like and a selection of cakes, slices, cream filled treats and fresh fruit.
cgvl,
Oct 6, 4:41am
depends on what time of day it's to be and how much time and effort its going to take and who is helping. The more helping the easier it is. Have catered for a sit down dinner: did Ham, chicken drums marinated, hot beef. Vegies were boiled potates, peas and a selection of salads. followed by cheesecake, fruit salad, trifle and cream.
eternity04,
Oct 6, 11:03pm
What you could do is ring some caterers and ask for some sample menus for 170 people. You don't have to book anyone, you just need to tell them the type of food you want and see what they come up with. You never know that they might end up being cheaper then doing it yourself. You also have to think about if you want everything cold, or a mix of hot and cold. And will there be any vegetarians?. Some catering places might be happy enough with you buying the food and them just preparing it for you. You never know until you ask them. Catering for 170 is going to a big thing, so I think all the help you can get is going to be worth it. Good Luck...Jan
duckmoon,
Oct 7, 2:46am
When we got married, I phoned a number of caterering firms - and kept getting prices from $50 - $80 per head (ouch).
There was one caterer who was good at answering my questions - and I said to her "when I go out for dinner, I pay ariybd $30 per person - why can't we do that for this meal?".
Anyway, she said "we can't do $30, but can do $35 per head" and we talked about the menu.
catzwhiskaz,
Oct 7, 4:00am
thanks everyone - need to check with both families to see who wants to put alot of effort in to help - too much for just 4 people who work full time.thanks for the ideas and I have checked the other thread
jen51,
May 19, 2:13am
Have a spit roast with a selection of breads, salads etc to make their own gourmet buns. Yum. See if you can get hold of some chocolate fountains with chopped fresh fruit and marshmallows for dipping. Wedding cake also.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.