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Step 1
Plan ahead. The first thing you have to know is how many you’ll be feeding. This will give you an idea of how much food you’ll need and what kind of foods are possibilities for your meal. Many things can be done ahead to save time and work and kitchen craziness right before the wedding. Get a ball park figure and aim a little higher and you are good to go.
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Step 2
Enlist the help of loved ones. Write a list of the people you are sure wouldn’t mind helping out (probably family members and closest friends). Think about how much you want to spend and then divide it by the number of guests for a cost per person estimate. If your helpers will be willing to pay for what they bring, your budget will go a lot farther. Don’t forget to involve those who are willing but not financially able (the more hands you have the better).
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Step 3
Think about types of food. Large groups are more easily fed with buffet style or finger foods. Sit down dinners are always more money and work and less suited for do it yourselfers unless it’s a very small wedding. A key is to keep the menu simple-–one main dish with two variations is enough. Choose a theme to prevent a table full of mismatched dishes.
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Step 4
Choose foods that stretch to save money. Italian can be very inexpensive yet delicious. You could have a simple salad (stick to lettuce and use tomatoes, cucumbers and radishes sparingly as garnishes), soup (tomato based vegetarian is inexpensive and good), breadsticks (buy in the dairy section and save) and pasta with red (meatless or with a little ground meat for flavor) and alfredo sauces is a wonderful filling meal that most people will enjoy.
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Step 5
Have a pow-wow with your helpers and see who can do what. Have a list of every food you want to serve ready ahead of time. Break each dish into buy ahead, do ahead and last minute preparations, so that everything will get done on time and as easily as possible. Don’t forget to list the things needed to serve the meal, get the tables ready and so on on the wedding day. Don’t overburden anyone either financially or with too big a work load.
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Step 6
Plan a thank you gift or party for your helpers after the wedding. Hand write cards to each one, thanking each one for the particular dish they made and their time and hard work. Make sure they know how all their efforts helped to make your special day more wonderful.
