How to Cater Your Wedding (Part 1 – What Is Involved?)

Self-Catering Your Wedding?

Where do you begin when planning how to cater your wedding?

Picture yourself at the beginning of a journey.  The road is going to meander, rather than proceed straight down a high-speed freeway.

Begin your journey here with an overview of what will need attention along the way.

These are the most common questions that are asked about  catering your own wedding.

1. Do you really save money?
2. Is much planning involved?
3. How much help will you need?
4. Can you find outstanding recipes to serve your guests that taste fantastic but are mindful of the budget?
5. Where can you find a venue?

If you want first-hand knowledge of how to plan for catering your own wedding, you have come to the right place.

Why Do I Think I Can Help You Plan to Cater Your Wedding?

• Did I help a friend self-cater her reception?  Yes
• Was I a bride who self-catered my own reception with 100 guests at picnic pavilion on a lake without a kitchen? Yes
•  I had so much fun doing those two that I started a part-time business and have over twelve years of experience helping clients planning their self-catered wedding receptions for 25 to 300 guests
• Am I a professional caterer. No ……But I have helped out a few clients who decided that  they didn’t want to cook.
• Have I been an on-site coordinator for many of my clients’ receptions? Yes
• Plus. I have even taught classes to brides (and their mothers) about how to cater their own weddings based on my book Frugally Fabulous Wedding Receptions through the local adult education program.

Planning to cater your wedding might feel overwhelming.  

 So, let’s get started

Are you curious about the average cost of a wedding in your area?

Here is a link to a site where you can look up specific cost break-downs by State or specific large metropolitan areas.

 https://www.valuepenguin.com/average-cost-of-wedding

Are you one of the 25% of couples looking for ways to save money on your wedding?

Setting a budget, and then tracking the various costs can be tedious.  This piechart shows the various costs associated with a wedding. 

But, I have created an interactive worksheet that can help you with this task.

The Detailed Reception Budget Worksheet

1.  Start by entering your total wedding budget.
2.  As you update with estimated or actual costs the worksheet will recalculate the totals to help you determine if you are on track.

This can be used to help you determine what areas might be viable for adjusting, if necessary, to stay on budget.

Receive this interactive worksheet with your copy of the Cater Your Wedding Planning Guide. 

This is just one example of the 18 great tools included in the Cater Your Wedding Planning Guide.  Order soon to take advantage of the Website Redesign special of $2.99.  Read more details here.

Of Course You Want to Serve Scrumptious Food For Your Self-Catered Wedding 

The food and drinks you serve your guests will have a definite impact on the budget.  And, when you purchase and prepare the food, the total can be significantly less.

And, my clients discovered that their guests LOVED the home-cooked food that was served.

• A variety of recipes; all of which can be prepped and/or prepared from several days to a month prior to the event, are being added to the Recipes section.
• But in the meantime, these recipes are available in my free eBook.  If you haven’t ordered your copy yet just click here and scroll down to the order form.  Cater Your Own Wedding Recipes
• I am also including some of my client’s personal recipes that were very popular.
• Plus, you can add and save your own personal favorites.

I am so excited to be able to share this software with you!

Aside from the actual food preparation the menu planning, recipe adjustments, and creating a shopping list were some of the most time-consuming tasks I encountered when working with my clients.

Plus, the software will be available for you to continue to use after the wedding.

However, right now we are focused on providing information and helpful tools to help you make decisions as you plan to cater your wedding!

Are you trying to decide which is more appealing? 

1. Find a venue that includes professional catering
2. Rent a venue or use a private home and have a caterer of your choice provide the food
3. 100% Self-Catered – rent a venue or use a private home and provide all the food yourself

Comparing food costs at this point might be beneficial.  

#Step 1. Find catering menus on websites for local caterers and restaurants.  Select a meal option that looks appealing.

#Step 2. Open the Recipe Software (click here if you haven’t signed up yet) and choose a few recipes that are the same or similar to the foods in step #1. 

Or, find a similar recipe online that includes the food cost.  This is a fast and easy way to determine the general costs, depending on who does the cooking.

Another Option

Several of my clients had a Pot Luck reception which not only saved money; it gave friends and families an opportunity to be even more involved in the celebration.

I suspect that some of the relatives even had their own contests to determine which of their recipes were the most popular.

Part 5 The Potluck includes the unique planning tools I have created that to ensure that all aspects of the Potluck are well organized.

Bar Service at a Self-Catered Wedding

Some Drink Opservations

• The majority of my clients served wine, beer, water, and punch or soft drinks.
• A few that offered mixed drinks usually set up No-Host bars and the guests didn’t seem to have any problem with that because….well, there was always a line of people waiting to order a drink. And yes, they were tipping the person tending bar (probably one of the most demanding jobs) so be sure to set out a tip jar,
• If you know that you have a large beer-drinking crowd attending the reception… plan doubling the quantity indicated in the Rule of Thumb. The same applies to wine.

The rule of thumb for the drinks is

• Beer – 1 beer per hour per beer drinking guest 
• Wine – 2 glasses of wine per hour per wine drinking guest
• Soda – 2 sodas per hour per soda drinking guest
• Water – 1 bottle per guest (the H20 drinkers will drink the non H20 drinkers water)

750ml bottle of wine will provide 6 servings

5 magnum bottles will provide 10 – 12 servings.

I have included links to several sites that can compute how much beer, wine and/or liquor you need based on the length of your reception and guest count in Part 3 The Food and Drinks

How to Find a Rental Venue

The internet is going to be your best friend in locating a venue for your self-catered wedding.

Part 2 The Venue includes an abundant amount of information and suggestions for search terminology to find venues.

Meanwhile, please be aware that there could be a challenge or two.

For example, one of my clients had a reception for 250 guests in a National Guard Armory. 

Unfortunately, the kitchen was literally a bar, with a tiny sink and a two shelf pizza oven, located on one side of a large open room.  

The reception was perfect, the drinks flowed and the food was fantastic…how did we make that happen?  Keep reading,,,,you will find the solution.

More importantly, let’s talk some more about the food

Here is what readers of a popular wedding planning site responded….. “It was the food and bar that guests seemed to care the most about and complimented the most, followed by the ceremony itself and the venue”.

When it came to planning, the budget and “everything going smoothly” seemed to be the biggest stressors for the site’s readers.

Here is the questionnaire our clients use to help them define their food preferences.

This list is just to provide possibilities for you to consider.  At this point, the thought of determining your menu might seem overwhelming.  Not to worry….you will get there.

Simply review the list and then rank each item by how much it appeals to you.  1 is low – 5 is high.  Then note which items are the most appealing.  This will be the starting point for determining your menu.

Wasn’t that easy!

Now you have a better idea of what sounds appealing

In the meantime, there are two things to consider as you think about the question. 

1.  The first is that the cost of a full meal could actually cost less than that for serving only appetizers.

This is due to the fact that you can serve several economical “filler” dishes such as salad, rice or potatoes, bread, and vegetables, to accompany your entrée(s); which will be the most expensive item.

The cost of appetizers tends to be higher due to the expense of the ingredients….meats, cheeses, dairy products, etc.

2.  But, even more importantly….appetizers can take more prep time and all the presentation usually takes place on-site, when the timing is crucial.

Does the time of day and season affect the cost of a self-catered wedding?

The Time of Day

Will determine the type of food you serve; one of my clients had a morning wedding specifically so she could have brunch with a Krispy Crème Donut “Wedding Cake”.   While appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, and cake would be appropriate for a mid-afternoon wedding, a full meal, or extensive appetizers, is appropriate for a late afternoon or evening wedding.

Different Seasons

Might affect two considerations you could have. One of the most important could be the weather. If you have a summer wedding, obviously you can plan for your guests to go outside if they choose.  On the other hand, a winter wedding could require more room.

The other seasonal consideration will be the fresh fruit and vegetables that are more abundant during certain periods of the year. We encourage our clients to use what is readily available to lessen the impact on the budget.

How does the location of the reception facility affect our plans?

If the wedding ceremony and reception are not located in close proximity of each other, you will need to consider the travel time for the guests to reach to reception after the ceremony. And consider the interval of time the guests will be at the reception while the bride, groom and family members are being photographed.

Beverages should be available when the first guest walks through the door of the reception facility. It is a good idea to have snacks or appetizers available during this period of time if there is more than an hour delay before the bride and groom arrive.

And these don’t need to be elaborate…just something for the guests to munch on as they wait.

One other thing that impacted the time…..NONE of my clients had formal “receiving lines”.  Instead, they visited the guests at their tables during the reception.

What resources do you have for help when you cater your wedding?

FRIENDS & FAMILY

If you have friends and family you have resources. The key is how you utilize those resources.  When friends ask what they can do to help….take their names!

• Some of our clients did the majority of the work themselves with a little help from a few friends and family members.
• Others delegated the responsibility to handle the various aspects of planning, shopping, cooking, set-up, coordination during the event, and clean up afterward, to various friends.
• Many just had friends help with the cooking.

Yes, I have created a schedule to ensure that you are not stressed trying to determine when to prep and/or cook each menu item!

Plus, if you have helpers you will see exactly who is preparing what, and when.

Part 6 includes the details about this segment of the planning.

How much help will I need before the day of the function?

This answer is dependent on your guest count, how many dishes you are preparing, and where the dishes appear in the preparation schedule.

• Several dishes can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. Others will need to be prepared from two to four days prior to the function.
• If you can delegate the preparation of each specific dish to one or two people, it will make short work of the recipe list.
• However, the preparation schedule is spaced so it can be accomplished by only a few people.  Yes, I have had clients prepare all the food singlehanded.
• The quantities of food involved will necessitate a longer preparation time than normally anticipated; this is very different from putting together a family dinner for twelve.
• Part 6 – Organizing the Food Preparation goes into much more detail

How many helpers will be needed to get the food and buffet ready?

We found that 1 person for every 20 guests worked well.

If you have this many on hand for two-and-a-half hours before the function, they will be able to get the food arranged on platters, the buffet tables set up, the chafing dishes filled with water and lit, the beverages iced down, the coffee made and all the other endless tasks that need to be done.

The Reception Task List  (included with the Cater Your Wedding Planning Guide) will ensure that all necessary preparations are completed in an orderly and timely manner.

Remember to allow time for everyone to get to the ceremony if it is in a different location.

Should I hire someone to work on the day of the event?

It is one thing to do the prep work, but on the day of the event, you want to be able to enjoy yourself. And you want your friends to enjoy the celebration also.

But how do you do that and still have a function that runs smoothly?

One option is to determine which areas friends can handle, still feel like they are participating, and have a good time.  Bartending and cake cutting are two of these areas.

However, having friends oversee the food during the function is a little more imposing. This is where we suggest that if it is financially feasible, you find a few capable people and hire them to manage the kitchen.

What will need to be done?

1. After the food is initially arranged on the serving dishes, the backup food platters, bowls, and chafer inserts will need to be set-up to replenish the buffet as the guests serve themselves.
2. And more importantly, after everyone is done eating and the function moves forward, the buffet serving pieces need to be removed, any leftover food bagged and all the serving pieces washed and dried.
3. The rental pieces need to go back in their containers and your serving pieces need to be packed and ready to be loaded into your car. This task can take up most of the “party time” of your function.
4.  Also, after the buffet service is complete, the guest tables need to be cleared of dishes and silverware, whether disposable or rented.
5. Setting up the glasses for the toasts will need to be done at some point.

Where to look for that someone?

• Do you have a favorite waitress at a local restaurant? Ask her if she and a few friends would be interested in making some extra money. You can ask them what they would charge to help you for a minimum of four hours.
• Call your local Technical Trade School or Junior College and speak with the head of the Culinary Department. The students in the culinary program are already familiar with handling food, and more importantly, they love doing it.
• Recruit from the local college Home Economics Department – it is probably called Food Sciences, or something similar, now.
• Contact the local college employment department and have them enter a temporary job that would be posted for the general student population.
• Ask friends if they know of anyone who might want to pick up a little extra pocket change.
• Check with local temporary employment agencies.

The hourly price for additional help will vary depending on your location.  And please plan on giving them at least a 15-20% gratuity as they are going to be working very hard.

Will they know what to do?

Remember the Detailed Task List mentioned earlier?  This list provides instructions for every step of prep prior to the reception and the various duties that need attention during the reception. If you have someone who can read and follow directions, you can relax and enjoy your guests.

But if hiring helpers isn’t an option, what do you do?

1. Recruit one friend to oversee the set-up, another to oversee the reception, and finally, one more to oversee the clean-up.
2. Many times you will have friends tell you “Let me know if you need any help”. Keep a list of everyone that says that to you….and take them up on it
3. But, let the people that you have put in charge of the three areas take it from there.  You are going to be busy celebrating with your friends and family.  The Cater Your Wedding Planning Guide will be their operations manual and includes all the lists, schedules, and worksheets they need to organize their area of responsibility.
4. Pass on the names of volunteers, but let the coordinators work out when and what they are going to do.

More about The Detailed Task List

I created this list to provide directions for everyone involved on the day of the event.

It will provide the  information needed to complete every task.

Unless a person has coordinated the flow of several large functions they have no idea of what is involved. Because we have literally been there with our clients, we know every step leading to a stress-free event.

Here is an example of the Schedule my clients used when friends were helping cook.  It was very beneficial in helping them remember who was doing what.  And when.

Consequently, my advice is to get as many people involved as possible.

Yes, this is probably going to involve more work than you anticipated.  But, with all the planning tools, it will be manageable!

Plus, we have found that friends like to be a part of your special occasion. The most successful, least stressful events we have seen are those where a large number of people were involved in making it happen.

The attitude was the focus on celebrating a very joyous event.  The sense of community felt during these occasions is wonderful, and it filtered down to the guests.

Additional Planning & Organizing Tools

• My goal is to help you not only to save money but more importantly, to have the energy and peace of mind necessary to be able to celebrate with your guests, whatever the occasion may be.
• And to make that happen I have created specific tools to guide you through every step.  There are 10 additional key posts focused on providing you with priceless information and tools for planning to self-cater your wedding.

In one of my classes, a mother of the bride who had previously planned a DIY wedding for her older daughter was almost in tears as she described not remembering much about the reception, except the level of her exhaustion and stress.   As we went step by step through the planning process for her younger daughter’s reception she would have “ah-ha” moments as we addressed areas she remembered as being stressful.

She called me a short time after the reception that we had planned during class; she was so happy and excited because everything had gone perfectly.  She described the reception as splendid.  And although she had some busy moments, she was not stressed, because she knew that we had planned for everything.

Meanwhile, Here are Some Observations from Those Who Have Already Walked Down the Isle

• “Table linens! I stressed for weeks over the color, pattern, texture, and material. I couldn’t decide what would look best in the venue, what color napkins to go with them, how they would look at night with dimmed lighting, etc etc etc. In the end, NO ONE noticed the linens!
• “Decor. I DIY’d most of our ceremony and reception decor but in the end, while everything looked beautiful, no one remembers what was or was not on the tables.”
• “Little details. My father-in-law said it best, “No is one going to remember how the table cards are going to look.” And it’s true. They remembered the food, the atmosphere, and the day”.
• “When it finally came down to the finish line about getting those small details (like table numbers and cocktail straws), I realized there was no point in worrying about it. I had everything else that I really wanted in place and all the rest didn’t matter.”

Comments about a few other areas

• “What others would think of my wedding and how it would stack up against their expectations. Between blogs, Pinterest, and other engaged friends, it was easy to lose sight of what was really important to my husband and myself and what wasn’t.”
• “Oh, everything — and then I realized that none of it was a big deal.”
• “Being a perfectionist, I stressed and worried about everything! However, in hindsight, nothing really matter. The day turned out beautifully and I am now married to my best friend!”

• “The event flow. I’m a control freak and kept stressing out that the schedule wasn’t going off as planned. About two hours of being late, I realized it didn’t matter and I was still doing what I was supposed to be doing- marrying the man I love. Going with the flow was hard for my personality but worth it.”

The biggest surprise for my clients was that they were able to really relax and enjoy themselves.

And they credited all the information, plus the planning and organizational tools, for making that happen.

Remember  “When it came to wedding planning, the budget and “everything going smoothly” seemed to be the biggest stressors for the site’s readers.”

And now you have access to the tools to help you cater your wedding, save money, have a stress-free day and build beautiful memories …without breaking the bank.

This is just the first of 11 modules of planning and organizational information that will be useful in planning for all aspects of your reception.

The additional modules cover 

2.  The Venue

3.  The Food

4.  Renting or Using Disposable Dishes and Serving Pieces?

5.  Planning a Potluck

Coming Soon

6.  Organizing the Food Preparation

7.  The Room Set-Up

8.  The Buffet

9.  The Big Day

10.  Clean Up and Getting Out of the Door ….On Time

11.  More Ways to Save Money