How to Cater Your Own Wedding on a Budget, What You Need to Consider
How exciting, there's going to be a wedding, yours! If you are considering catering your own wedding reception because you are on a limited budget, you are certainly in lock step with many other couples in today's economy. Not sure if you can do it? If you do your research, plan well and get family and friends to help, by all means you can do it! This article will discuss some preliminary thoughts to consider before making the decision to cater your own wedding.
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Catering your own wedding is not just about the food that will be served. It involves deciding how many people to invite, choosing the theme, time of day, location, tables, chairs, linens, decorations, any equipment you may need to rent or borrow and of course the friends and family members you will need to help prepare, set up and then clean up after the event. It would be wise to ask and get a firm commitment to help from the people you will need before proceeding with any other planning. However, be sure to assign the final decision making and organization to the one person you can be sure to rely on, yourself.
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The linchpin will then be to decide how much money you can afford to spend. Jot that down, then add ten percent more to that figure as a cushion. Consider the following. On average and depending upon where you live, the cost for food alone for a no-frills reception (consisting of finger-sandwiches, cheese and fruit trays served buffet style) will run from $12 to $18 per person. Therefore, to serve 100 guests your food budget would need to be between $1,200 to $1,800. On the other hand, if you want to cater a more formal sit-down reception, you could easily spend up to $75 or more per person.
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Once you have committed to cater your own wedding, and have your budget set, it is time to plan the menu. You may already have a good idea of the food you want to serve. If not, however, do a Google search using the words "buffet for a crowd" and you'll find lots of recipe ideas, with yield, ingredients to purchase and preparation instructions. If you want to research further, visit a local catering business, your local library or check the larger online booksellers where you will find books on yes....How to cater your own wedding! I have included some valuable links for you in the Resources area at the end of this article.
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Finally, it goes without further mention that you would be wise to prepare and refrigerate or freeze as many of your menu items ahead of time. Reserve the easiest of things to prepare for the actual day of the reception. Most importantly, remember that YOU do not want to be involved in the final stages of the set up and clean up. After all, as the bride to be you will be preparing to walk down the aisle to begin your life of wedded bliss!
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Resources
- Photo Credit Bing open source image files
