Go Green Weddings: What to Do with Wedding Reception Food Leftovers

Weddings no matter how small or large - are filled with items that are only used once or sometimes are never used at all. Many "green" weddings look to target these areas in order to cut down on waste, to recycle, re-use or re-sell, and to save money. One area that is frequently overlooked is reception food leftovers.

Bridal magazines suggest discussing with your caterer what happens to leftover food or food that you have paid for and is not served when some guests don't show. There are three options. The first is seeing if you get a refund. The second is to make arrangements to donate the food to a shelter. The third is to ask the caterer for the leftovers.

Ever go to a wedding and notice there are some unclaimed place cards on the place card table, and some empty chairs at the tables? Unfortunately, at a wedding of about 150 people or so, there often are about ten people that cannot attend at the last minute. Some unexpected reasons for absentee wedding reception guests include car breakdowns, illness, travel issues, or just plain no -shows. Every wedding has at least a handful of these missing guests where you paid for a meal but the guest is not there to eat it, so the kitchen has extra, unserved food that you paid for. If you are already paying for these meals, you should get the use of them and not let this food go to waste. Especially with a buffet, make arrangements and provisions to get the leftover food from guests that never showed or food that was never used (for instance, if it is a buffet with a carving station, you paid for a certain number of whole meats. If they use 2 ½ rounds of beef, you pay for three, but that other ½ of a big steam round of beef or ham or turkey or whatever you bought is still good and is a lot of meat to go to waste. No one has touched it (other than the staff who prepared it) and it is cooked and ready to eat, so if you have indeed already paid for it and there is no refunds, ask for it! If you paid a price per head for your reception, the costs can add up pretty quickly.

Have a friend or family get the extra food and freeze it when possible, and you can either:

1) Have meals prepared for lunch or dinner after you return from your honeymoon - save some money on your food budget and make sandwiches or whatever is applicable from the extra food from your wedding

2) If an elderly friend or relative was unable to attend, have them over (or go to them) and share a private wedding feast with them.

3) Have a gathering when you come home with the prepared foods

4) If you don't get much of a chance to eat at your wedding, it is worth it to have a goodie basket of extra rolls, veggies & dip, cheese and crackers and the like to snack on set aside for you at the reception, after all, you likely miss a lot of food between having your picture taken and visiting people at the tables. The if you paid for it ask for it rule applies to other items as well - wine, liquor, appetizers, etc., Everything likely freezes reasonably well, you can save money on your food budget and eat great prepared meals when you return from your honeymoon.

What you need to know about keeping reception leftovers:

Plan on having appropriate storage and means to bring leftovers home. Some caterers will pack and prepare this food for you to take, others require that you provide a means to pack and transport leftover unused food.

Some brides arrange to donate leftovers to a homeless shelter. These arrangements need to be coordinated in advance between you, the caterer, and the shelters.

Make sure your catering contract spells out these details regarding reception leftovers so there are no misunderstandings. Make sure you specify each type of food item you wish to take. Does this include the vegetables? The leftover cake? Desserts from a dessert table? Foods that were out during the cocktail hour or on buffets? Just the entrees? Are there any foods you do not wish to take or that will not freeze well? What will happen to these foods? Are there any foods the caterer would exclude? Do you want to take the left over cheese and crackers? Fruit? Different courses? Make sure to provide proper packing for any leftovers you are able to keep.

Have someone count how many people did not show so you know what to expect.

If it is too difficult to arrange to take food home, make arrangements to bring supplies so that guest can take home leftovers. Some older relatives may appreciate the extra food. Families with children who did not attend may appreciate having some food or extra cake sent home with them.

If you purchased liquor by the bottle, find out what happens to any extra liquor and decide what to do about it in advance.