How to Cater Your Own Wedding

The first hard and fast rule to follow is "Keep It Simple". But, for this wedding, we also wanted elegant ... and inexpensive ... and easy to do. Hmmmmm ... yes, it can be done!

Instructions

1. Finding place to cater a large wedding or affair, that will allow you to provide your own food, was the first hurdle. We checked out the church hall first. Some churches have rules against liquor and dancing, so ask the right questions and see if the church has a written contract already for you to see. Some church halls are simply too small.

2. Check your community buildings. Many towns or neighborhoods have them and will rent them out for special occasions. In the country, 4H buildings are rented during off seasons. These buildings have kitchens, but are sometimes hard to decorate, if you are looking to do upscale. Our Middle school was new and designed with a cafetorium instead of a regular old cafeteria. It was built to be used for lunches and staged events. We rented the kitchen, the up to date round tables where perfect and it even had a stage area for dancing. Most country clubs or lodges would only let us rent their facility if we used them or another professional, for our catering.

3. Once this hurdle was jumped, the rest just took careful planning and NOT waiting until the last minute for anything. My daughter had an actual photo of what she wanted the cafetorium to look like. We had a definite plan and no last minute decisions. We knew exactly what to do and had everything with us when we went in to decorate. Since it was a school, we had to wait until lunch was over and the room was not being used. Talk to the people in charge ahead of time, to know what to expect. Don't assume that their policies are going to fit your plans. Get everything in writing.

4. Agree ahead of time who from the wedding party is going to be in charge of what. The bride may want to tell everyone what to do, or she may want someone else, her Mom/ his Mom, or a wedding planner (see related article on Using a Wedding planner) so she doesn't have the added stress (highly recommended!).

5. Months ahead of time we set the menu. If was fun to experiment with dishes and share them with his family since we were all just getting to know each other. The final menu plan was Boneless Ham (presliced at ¼ inch. It was easy to fix, and easy to know exactly how many slices were needed.) Chicken (a specialty from his side of the family - provided 3 servings per pound). Garlic roasted potatoes (red potatoes were quartered, oiled and seasoned ahead of time so they were in the over during the wedding. We had friends who took everything to the school that wasn't prepared and left it there Friday night. One stipulation to renting the school building was we had to hire their janitor (yeah!) and one of their cooks. This lady was at the school while we were at the wedding and she put everything in the ovens for us. It was sweet! We also served green beans, corn, Caesar salad and rolls. Everything that could be done ahead of time was done at the school Friday night. Large containers of raspberry ice tea and ice water let guest help themselves to drinks.

6. It was the "extra" things that made the day special. We had a chocolate fountain running for the guest while we finished up pictures. A drink fountain provided punch and a coffee bar with our own barista was fun. Our guest were cared for while they waited for the bridal party. Friends from our church and family filled in to make sure everything was ready and I wasn't away from our guest that day.

7. The wedding cake, nuts and mints, which I also made, was the dessert. The cake, which was over a foot tall in three layers, was made weeks ahead of time and kept in a freezer. Special pans were easy and inexpensive to get from Cake specialty shops online. We had decorations and supplies all delivered to our house when possible. With the right tools, the cake was not difficult to do (search for related article on decorating your own Fondant Wedding Cake) the mints were even easier. It all just took time and planning ahead.