Planning Food for Your Wedding Reception

Many people serve some sort of food and drink at a wedding reception. Planning food for your reception can seem like a tough job. However, there are some simple rules of thumb that you can use when it comes to planning food for your reception.

Hors d'oeuvres

If you are not having a sit down dinner or a luncheon, you should plan for different hors d'oeuvres. These will help your guests enjoy the reception. These need not be large; rather they are more like elegant snacks. For a two-hour reception, many wedding planners suggest that you have eight different types of hors d'oeuvres to choose from. You should assume that each person will take three portions total. This will help you gauge how many you need, while providing a variety for your guests. This is a great option if you are hosting a short reception (no more than two hours) and expect many people to attend.

Buffet luncheon

Some people prefer to host a sandwich buffet luncheon. This can be a great way to provide food at a wedding reception, especially one that is meant to be casual or semi-formal. And it allows guests to easily choose what they would like to eat. The rule of thumb is to take what is needed for 24 people and then multiply it properly to get the final numbers. For 24 people, you will need:

*4 pounds lunch meat (serve ham, turkey and roast beef)
*2 pounds cheese (many people get Swiss and American; cheddar is also popular)
*4 quarts salad (potato salad or pasta salad -- or even ambrosia salad)
*1 pound of chips (I actually think you can get away without the chips)
*72 slices of bread (have white and wheat available)
*2 dozen rolls (also, have white and wheat)
*4 dozen cookies (or brownies)

If you expect 48 people to attend, then you would multiply the above amounts by two, and multiply them by three to feed 72 people.

Sit down dinner

This depends on what is ordered. For a sit down dinner, you should have RSVP cards included in invitations, with the appropriate choices (most wedding receptions offer a choice between chicken and beef, or beef and fish, with a vegetarian option thrown in as well) available so that the guests can choose their preference and you can make sure you have it. Make sure that there are a few extra of each option, just in case.

Cocktail party

A cocktail party needs to consider drinks. If you use a bottle of spirits with three liters of juice or drink mix, you can get about 30 servings. Each person will probably have between 1.5 and 2 servings.

For other drinks, here are some average servings:

*Champagne bottle yields 6 servings (72 servings in a case)
*17 servings in a 26 oz bottle of spirits (25 for 40 oz.)
*Also consider non-alcoholic drinks such as soda, ginger ale, water and lemonade or non-alcohol punch. Use 4 to 6 oz cups as a serving, and count on about two servings for each guest for a wedding reception lasting two hours.
*For every 10 people, figure 11 pounds of ice