Let’s talk food.
What are your options?
Plated Dinner: For plated dinner, guests remain seated for the entirety of dinner service. Guests will have pre-selected their meal choice with their RSVP, which you have then relayed to the caterer, and the meal is delivered to the seated guest at their table. You will often have 2-3 meal choices - a beef, chicken, or fish, and sometimes a vegetarian or vegan option, which you have then worked with the caterer to personalize to your tastes (i.e. steak with a garlic butter or prime rib with a horseradish mustard). Contrary to popular belief, plated dinners can be one of the more cost effective dinner options for weddings. By having numbers ahead of time and knowing who will get which meal, this will expedite your dinner service and could lower costs, as the caterer knows exactly how much of each food they need to have on site.
Buffet: Food is centrally located, and guest tables are released to the service area when it is their turn. Guests can choose what dishes they want to eat as they move through the line and receive a serving of the foods that they want. The caterer should provide employees to staff and replenish the buffet, moving your guests quickly through the line so that everyone is served in a reasonable time frame. You can get creative with your buffet by having multiple food stations around your reception area, allowing guests to visit different locations depending on their preference and the food options. For example, having a raw bar in one location, a macaroni and cheese station, meat carving station, and separately an area for your sides like potatoes and veggies. This is also a good option to separate allergens if, for example, some of your guests are gluten free or allergic to shell fish (only if the allergy is non-airborne though).
Self-Service: This is very similar to buffet style, however, guests are allowed to serve themselves. Be careful with this style of service - often guests will take more food than if they were served a controlled portion and you can go through more food faster. Contrary to popular belief, this option can be one of the more expensive dinner services, as your caterer will need to prepare more food than a plated dinner so that your guests don’t go hungry.
Family Style: Individual dishes are placed on the table with your guests. Each table receives a bowl or plate with portions of the foods for guests to share and serve themselves. This style can be fun and more intimate than others, however, it is very hard to keep foods warm this way, so make sure you consider this when planning your menu.
Cocktail Style: This option has no formal seated dinner. Instead, guests have many finger food options that are often scattered around the venue, allowing guests to roam and graze.
What you need to know.
Don’t forget Banquet Staff: As you consider catering options, make sure you plan for waitstaff. Does your caterer offer staffing to serve guests, replenish food stations, turn over dinner service (think move the buffet tables off of the dance floor), bus tables, and clean up after dinner service? This can be very important, because you don’t want to be picking up plates and emptying trash cans in your suite or dress. You also probably want to leave the venue after your wedding, and not clean up after the party.
Bundle: Some catering staffs also offer bartending, dishware rentals, and dessert services. Some venues offer catering. Ask if you can bundle some of these services for a discount. Ask if there are discounts for working with preferred vendors, or fees for working with outside vendors.
Restaurant Spaces: Depending on the venue size you need, restaurants can be a great option. Catering is incredibly easy and efficient when the staff can work out of their kitchen and home court.
Food Cost: Ask your caterer about lower cost options. If it’s going to break your budget, your guests won’t care enough that you served a very expensive cut of beef to justify it; go with a more economical cut. Roasted veggies are very flavorful and can be done in large batches, helping to save money rather than sides requiring more time or effort, like individual baked potatoes. Build your own bars have become very popular in recent years and are great options for guests to personalize their meal to their tastes (think taco bar or burger bar). And inquire about kid and vendor meal discounts. Some caterers will prepare dishes for these demographics that are more basic, and cheaper, than the rest of your wedding meal menu.
Smaller Menus: Limiting your guests’ options will save you money. Prep for 3 dishes is far less expensive than prep for 15.
Late Night Foods: An easy way to cut the food cost is to not do late night foods, or provide your own snacks for late night (check with your venue and/or caterer to ensure they allow you to bring in your own snacks). You can plan to serve baskets of bagged chips, pretzels, and popcorn during the late night when people want a quick snack on the dance floor with their drinks, rather than serving another prepared dish or bringing in another vendor for late night.
Also, also your caterer if they box up the leftovers. We have worked with several that box up the leftovers for late night snacks. Once vendor, a mobile pizza oven, makes 12-15 pizzas AFTER the end of dinner service and leaves these for late night snacks. Another food truck fries all of the leftover chicken after dinner service and boxes it up. If your caterer will do this, this is important to factor in, as you are potentially catering two meals for the price of one.Think seasonal and local: For our area in the Northeastern US, strawberries in June are much more prevalent, tasty, and cost effective than strawberries in December that must be shipped in from warmer locations. Seasonal salads using local greens can be a great option as a start to the meal, allowing you offer less sides.
Talk to your vendor: We’ve mentioned it several times, but it bears repeating. Your caterer is the professional and can help walk you through the options. Find a caterer that you feel comfortable working with, as they should be able to give you creative options that fit within your budget, or that can honestly guide you to what a realistic budget would be for what you want. They want you to be happy and they want to serve a meal everyone will enjoy.
Don’t believe everything on Google: A quick google of “cost effective wedding foods” will bring up a bevy of returns. Please take these with a grain of salt.
Many recommend DIY or potluck - this can be a fine option if you do not have a specific dinner esthetic that you want to stick to (i.e. no theme or flow to the meal) and if you are ok with the potential that there will be 30 of the same casserole or side. There is also no control or monitoring of allergens for those with food allergies and aversions like gluten free, vegan, nuts, eggs, etc. Plus, you will not have anyone to serve the meal or clean it up (see above bullet points!).
We really advise that you or a close family member do not plan to cater all of the food for your wedding. It is a guarantee that the loved one who is catering will NOT be able to enjoy the day. They will spend most of the day prepping, cooking, cleaning, running, and serving food, and that doesn’t include the days of lead up to plan, prep, shop, and store all of the necessary supplies. Don’t put that stress and work on someone that you want to also attend the wedding (or on yourself) because they won’t be able to do both.
We have also seen recommendations that serving just appetizers will be cheaper. This is not always the case. Remember, appetizers are small bites, and thus require more time and effort to prep. They may actually be more expensive from the labor perspective.
Extra Costs: Some vendors will require you to rent equipment if they do not have it - chaffing dishes, ovens, fryers, etc. When reaching out to caterers, ask if they have this equipment or would they require you to rent, as this can quickly increase your costs.
Also consider the additional items you need to accompany what you are serving. Finger foods are great, as your guests will only need a napkin. But, if you are serving items that require small forks and plates to consume, these require more supplies and will produce more garbage to dispose of. Individual, pre-prepared appetizers are so cute - but they require more effort, prep, and supplies to achieve that cute display your guests will see. If you are serving wedding cake, ask about a cake cutting fee. These extra costs can add up, so would it be more cost effective to get individual desserts for your guests (cupcakes, cookies, tarts, etc.) and only a small cake topper for you and your new spouse to cut?
Consider a Food Truck: Food trucks can be more economical, and if your venue doesn’t have a great kitchen space, food trucks are already set up as a commercial kitchen space to get the food out to your guests. Even if you don’t want dinner to be a food truck experience, food can be prepped and cooked in the truck and served to your guests as a plated or buffet style meal. And don’t just think savory for a food truck; dessert from an ice cream truck or sweet truck for a cool experience for your guests and less of a hit to your wallet.
Where to Start:
For most couples, the two biggest costs are their venue and the food. So, where should you spend your money? Start by figuring out what is important to you and your soon-to-be spouse.
Do you want your guests to have an amazing meal and have the opportunity to try new things they may have never tried before? Plan to spend more on a luxury catering menu.
Do you know that the bar will be the biggest hit based on your guest list, and really the food is to just soak up the alcohol? Then opt for a more carb heavy menu that you know everyone will enjoy (pasta bar, pizza, lots of breadsticks, etc.), and maybe invest in more late night snack options.
Are you vegetarian and meat isn’t a priority, but you know your guests will be upset if not given the option of a meat? Then serve one economical cut of meat and pack the rest of your menu with items that are flavorful, seasonal, and fit into your lifestyle.
Is your heritage or culture important to you, and you want to serve something specific because of it’s meaning? Start with that dish(es) and build your menu from there, seeing where you can cut to save money, or splurge to best accomplish your desires.
Are sweets not really your thing? Maybe you forgo the traditional cake and go for something fun, like custom flavors of cotton candy. You can lean savory with dill pickle or jalapeno. You can also do flavors that you know your guests will love - root beer float for some childhood nostalgia or caramel apple to celebrate the season you are getting married!
Your Key Takeaways:
Spend your wedding budget on what’s important to you! Don’t focus your planning around what is truly note worthy for your guests, in fear that they will forget your event as just another wedding dinner. Their presence at your wedding is because they love and care about you and your new spouse, and they want to spend the the day celebrating with you. The bar, meal, and dessert are an added bonus for them, and not bonus stress for you.
