When you’re planning a wedding, budgeting for food is surprisingly challenging. Catering often costs more than couples expect, so this one spending category can easily bust tight budgets. Fortunately, if you use the right approach, you don’t have to break the bank. Here’s an overview of some affordable catering options for your special day.
DIY Catering
Typically, the lowest-cost catering option for any wedding reception involves the do-it-yourself approach. It’s far less expensive to purchase ingredients for menu items and put in the time to create meals than to hire someone to do that for you. But it does require quite a bit of planning and is usually easier to manage if you choose meal items you can prepare – either wholly or mostly – in advance.
Usually, cold foods work well for this option, as you can get them ready the day before and bring them out when it’s time to dine. If you want hot meal options, consider dishes that can cook in slow cookers, as it’s reasonably easy to time when they’re ready, and the slow cooker can keep everything warm while guests are serving themselves.
Potluck
An alternative to DIY catering is to go with a potluck meal. With that, each guest or household in attendance would supply a dish to serve as part of the meal. Again, it’s an affordable catering option, as you may be able to focus on a specific aspect of the food. However, you’ll want to coordinate what everyone brings to ensure it goes together and that you have a variety of dishes present.
It’s also critical to note that this means asking guests to do more than they would typically. Some guests are likely open to the idea, but others may view it as an imposition. Additionally, this may not work well if many guests are from out of town, as preparing a dish while staying in a hotel isn’t usually practical. Since that’s the case, it’s best to only explore potluck catering if you feel your guests are receptive to the idea and able to participate.
Cocktail Reception
One of the most affordable catering options, if you want to avoid cooking yourself or asking your guests for dishes, is to choose a cocktail reception. With these, the caterer is typically providing a variety of hors d’oeuvres and not a sit-down meal. That’s usually paired with drink offerings, suck as select cocktails, beer, and wine.
In most cases, the drinks are part of an open bar, so it’s critical to ensure that the cost of one doesn’t offset any catering-related savings. By limiting the drink options, you can usually secure some savings when designing an open bar, so keep that in mind if you explore this option. For example, offering one or two signature cocktails and a limited number of beers and wines usually keeps things under control, as you get to dictate what’s available to guests.
Food Truck
If you’re looking for a low-cost option for meal service during a wedding and are open to being a little unconventional, consider hiring a food truck to cater your event. Food trucks function as mobile kitchens, so they can make serving a hot meal practical at nearly any location that they can reach. Plus, food trucks offer a wide variety of cuisines, so it’s easy to find one that suits yourself, your soon-to-be spouse, and your guests.
One reason that meals from a food truck usually cost less is that they have their own kitchen, and staffing is generally minimal. Just keep in mind that meals won’t come out altogether. Instead, guests may need to order in succession, so this may work best for more casual receptions where people can choose to dine whenever it suits them.
You can speed things up with a food truck by choosing a set, limited menu. When there are fewer dishes to choose from, the food truck has an easier time with prep and can focus on select dishes instead of their typical variety. They can even prepare some of the meals to ensure they’re ready once it’s time to dine, allowing guests to order and receive their entrées essentially right away.
Buffet Style
For a more traditional catering experience that costs a bit less, consider buffet-style dining. With this, the catering company creates large containers of various meal components, and guests serve themselves from them.
The benefit here is that the food is typically ready all at once. But guests will need to handle their own plating, which can lead to some challenges. Unless you hire servers to dish out the food, there’s a chance that popular dishes will run out quickly since guests can choose to take large portions. Still, it’s a choice that’s more affordable than a served sit-down meal.
Food Stations
Food stations are similar to buffets, but they focus on a single dish. For example, you may have a pasta station or taco bar. You offer the base of the dish and a range of toppings, allowing guests to design their meals to their liking.
Some of the savings here involves the fact that guests create their own meal, limiting what you need to spend on service. However, even if you hire servers to dish out the meals, that’s usually less than having sit-down dinners brought to tables by waitstaff.
Brunch
If you’re flexible about the time of day for your reception, consider holding it in the late morning and serving brunch instead of a traditional dinner. The benefit here is that many breakfast foods are lower cost. Pancakes, waffles, and omelets can be quite affordable, even if you offer proteins like shrimp or ham as part of the meal.
Plus, most guests won’t expect an open bar early in the day, so you can save on drinks. You can offer coffee, orange juice, and similar classics and pair them with limited alcoholic options, like only offering mimosas.
Cake and Champagne
For a short wedding reception with a limited guest list, consider offering just cake and champagne for a toast. You can celebrate briefly without breaking the bank. Just make sure that attendees are aware that it isn’t a traditional reception and time it where guests can either dine before or after the event with ease to avoid them ending up hungry.
Do you know of any other affordable catering options that couples should consider? Have you tried some of the catering options above and want to tell others about your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Read More:
- How to Budget for Your Big Day
- 3 Things You Shouldn’t Skimp on for Your Big Day
- How to Cut Costs and Still Plan Your Dream Wedding
