Wedding Reception Food On A Budget

April 18th, 2008 · No Comments

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Cheap wedding reception food Perhaps the largest expense of your reception is food. Let’s look at some viable options for feeding you and your guests without having to mortgage your house.

Food can take a huge chunk out of your wedding budget. It’s often difficult to figure out what’s acceptable as it is an area in which expert’s opinions vary widely. It can also be difficult to choose what type of food to serve at your reception - especially when you consider all of the different varieties of food available to you.

If you are having your reception at a hall that offers food as part of the package, choose your menu wisely. While you may dream of a steak and lobster meal at your reception, this will be quite expensive and is not really viable when throwing a wedding on a budget.

There’s nothing wrong with an elegantly prepared chicken breast for your wedding meal. Perhaps offer a vegetarian alternative like fish as well. Beef tends to be more expensive than poultry or fish, so be completely committed if you must have steak, you’ll pay for it!

Consider having hors d’ouevres if your reception hall is organizing the catering. Almost always, these will be cheaper than a sit down meal and guests should enjoy them just as much.

Here are some general tips for your wedding dinner catered by your reception hall:

It’s a myth that a buffet-style meal is less expensive than a served one. In reality, buffets require more food and more labor so their cost is higher.

If you are working with a smaller group (say 40 to 70), piggyback onto another group’s menu. This allows the hotel to buy in bulk and lowers your price.

Whenever possible, order in bulk yourself.

Consider other main entrees besides beef and chicken. Chefs can do a lot of things with pastas and the price is usually very reasonable.

Allow the chef to try out his new, original recipes with your group. Most welcome the chance to be creative and lower the price per serving in exchange for the group’s feedback. Be careful that it’s not something too exotic though. Lamb or swordfish might not appeal to everyone in your party!

Negotiate house wine price with dinner versus a specialty wine.

Find out how the caterer/hotel taxes food. If gratuity is part of the taxed bill, the cost will be more.

For halls that will allow you to bring in your own caterer, the key here is to shop around. Check with a local family restaurant and see if they have bulk meals that they could offer you for your reception. Almost all will or at the very least, will try for the money.

The truly frugal bride would probably ask family and friends to pitch in and help with the wedding reception food. Maybe each guest could bring a different dish? For more details on this, please see our article on potluck wedding receptions.

This is an extract from our eBook ‘Planning The Perfect Wedding On a Shoestring Budget’, it’s packed with ideas to help you plan your perfect wedding without having to remortgage your house! If you would like to download our eBook, please click here.