Cater Your Own Wedding and Save Money

Where will you have the reception? And, what kind of kitchen facilities will they have? BBQ pits perhaps? Buffet or sitdown? What type of beverage service? And, finally, for how many people.

You'll need to "hire" a staff. Not necessarily an entirely paid staff - you might have some acquaintances who would be happy to help out. Notice that I didn't not indicate friends or family - those closest to you should be able to enjoy the wedding completely. However, neighbors or co-workers that normally would not be invited might be happy to help out. You do need someone very organized to be in charge.

Once you've decided whether it's sit down to buffet, you'll need to choose one person to be in charge of the entire food "process." This includes finalizing the menu details, organizing the purchase and storage of the foods and other items (cocktails napkins to dessert forks to ice and everything in between. That person will supervise the preparation of the food, delivery of the food to the reception area, the serving and lastly, the clean up. She (or he) will need another assistant to help "supervise" if it's a fairly large or complicated meal. Then you'll need people to set your tables up, decorate and set the food out and serve or help serve the food, replenish platters, and clean everything up once it's over. Consider a professional bartender if you're serving mixed drinks - that will save you money because he/she will pour liquor more judiciously than letting your guests make their own. Or, at least one or two people to make and serve the drinks. (Hint: a professional bartender will almost always place a "tip" jar nearby - I for one hate that at a private function so you might want to request he/she not do that.)

Check out your kitchen facilities to determine what you'll need to bring to make sure you'll have everything you need. Here is a fairly complete checklist for a gathering where everything is already prepared - just needs to be kept hot or cold.

Serving platters with large serving spoon, ladle or fork (Sharp knife it you need to cut serving pieces - best if you can have this pre-cut)

Serving bowls for dishes like green salad, potato or macaroni salads, again with the proper serving utensils (Punchbowls are great for really large bowls)

Portable two-burner tabletop "stove" to keep dishes hot - I've seen both single and double burners at my local Walmart stores.

Ice - lots of it. To keep potato (& like dishes) cold, set your bowls/platter atop a bed of ice - be sure to allow for drainage. You can also use pre-frozen blocks of ice and set your food on that - however, it won't keep food as cold. I suggest placing the food right on top of foil which can be layered directly over the ice. (Hint: You will find decorative foil at florist supply stores - make that your top "showy" layer, with the heavier tinfoil just below directly above the block of ice. Again, be sure to allow for drainage.)

Tin foil "casserole" dishes - in a variety of sizes (Hint: Check out your local dollar or 99-cent store.) Decorate these with the colored and embossed foil-they come in dozens of colors and designs. Or, you can cover them with colorful linen napkins which will help keep the heat in. These can be placed directly over the burner on very low heat - watch how you cover these - I would suggest NOT covering them if you're going to have them on the "stove."

Plastic bags - heavy duty ones for garbage, other sizes for mis'c. uses and ziplock bags in two or three sizes for wrapping the leftover food in.

Plastic wrap, tin foil, paper towels, extra paper napkins

Extra knives and cooking utensils

Cutting board or carving board (you might need more than one)

Liquid soap, sanitizer

Large bowl for washing dishes in there is no sink available

You might consider borrowing, renting or buying the following -

A large coffee urn (check with your church as they use them a lot; also the facility where you're holding the wedding might have them)

A chocolate fountain - very easy to handle and very impressive looking (Hint: Have someone "assisting" the guests to avoid anyone "double dipping" and to keep things from getting messy.)

Chafing dishes with the necessary sterno, heat candles or lamps, etc.

Ice chests to keep foods and liquids cold

Baskets to hold bread, rolls, etc (Remember to cover them to keep them from drying out until serving time.)

Baskets to hold the utensils (Hint: They look nice wrapped in heavy linen napkins tied with a colored ribbon or pipe cleaner)

Here are the main items you'll need for the buffet table and individual tables -

The serving platters mentioned above for the buffet table

Heavy duty paper plates or china (Hint: Use dishes with compartments to keep the various entrees and side dishes separate)

Individual utensils (Consider placing these on the dining tables - its easier for your guests to serve themselves if it's a buffet)

Grated cheese, pepper mills if necessary

Creamer or cream, sugar and sugar substitute at the coffee "station" or on each table

On the dining tables - napkins, utensils, salt/pepper/butter - maybe even bread and butter plates so your guests will have more room for the main dishes on their plate, drinking and/or wine glasses, pitchers of water and iced tea, possibly carafes of hot coffee, bottles or carafes of wine. (Hint: A nice touch would be having one or two people circulating, picking up dirty dishes, pouring more wine, water, etc. for your guests.)

So, next up is the menu...in another article I'll suggest specific appetizers and a menu for a buffet lunch or dinner. A couple of cold appetizers and one or two hot appetizers would work well but you don't have to have any appetizers at all. (Hint:" the children invited will appreciate some potato chips.)

A nice green salad would be an excellent side dish - offer several varieties of dressings - ranch, oil and vinegar (Hint: I would serve this separately, not already made up), blue cheese and thousand island. I would make the salad mainly the greens with tomatoes and croutons, salt and pepper, and have nearby, little dishes with - crumbled blue cheese, chopped egg, sliced mushrooms, sliced red onions, sliced or chopped zucchini, shrimp, etc.

A nice potato salad and a macaroni salad would be good. Perhaps a "basic" macaroni salad and a"baked potato" salad or a "German potato salad" for a contrast.

For the entrée you might look as pasta dishes since they're easy to make and easy to serve. Manicotti or cannelloni would be very easy to serve since they're cooked in individual servings (Hint: Cut these in half before serving for easier serving).

For meats, you can offer sliced meats such has ham or tri tip for sandwiches. (Hint: Place the mustard and mayonnaise on the dining table so it's easier for your guests to make up their sandwiches. Chicken breasts would also be easy to cook and serve. Shish kebob would be easy to serve - you'd need an area to cook or barbeque these. These last two dishes would also have to be kept warm.

One or two additional side dishes would round out your meal - pilaf perhaps and a bean dish. You might want to add some vegetables to this. A friend of mine makes a green bean and sausage casserole which is very popular at buffet dinners. My friends enjoy a broccoli and ham dish wish is simply stir fried with a little butter and seasonings.

With pasta you might serve garlic bread and French bread or rolls should accompany any other meal.

Drinks might include a selection of "adult" drinks (Hint: Offer one of two specialty drinks to make it easy for the bartender and less expensive). Then, perhaps wine and/or beer, soda and bottled water, perhaps iced tea and/or lemonade and coffee. If you have a lot of kids, kool aid will be less expensive than soda. Pitches of ice water will also be less expensive than bottled water but you'll need to borrow or rent the pitchers.

Dessert, of course, is your wedding cake. You might want to place the wedding cake on a separate table along with nearby table for the cake plates, cocktail size napkins and forks nearby. The coffee can be self serve on that table also. (Hint: At some wedding cupcakes are served instead of wedding cake and you might choose to do a candy buffet also. If it's summer don't use chocolate candies if you reception is outside.)

It would be nice to thank your "catering staff" in a couple of ways - whoever makes a toast mentions them and thanks them. And, consider giving them a small gift - a goodie bag with something thoughtful in it or with a gift card to a local restaurant, dinner theatre, the movies, etc.

Be creative when thinking about where to buy the items you'll need. My dollar store is really, really cheap on plastic utensils but I think a little high on plates and napkins. The local party store beats them on the plates, napkisn, placemats, etc. Not sure on the glasses and styrofoam cups. Check out the prices for renting some nice linen tablecloths and napkins - very elegant and might not be than expensive. Also, check out pricing for glasses and dishes - again, real glasses and china would be very impressive.

Your local grocery store will be a huge help in determining the amounts of food you'll need. And, remember better to have a little extra than to run out! They might prepare and deliver some dishes for you and this might be a good value.