Opinions

[OctoberBride06]

I know when you think of having a dinner at a reception, you think a nice fancy sit down dinner... Well....

our budget is small, ($5000) so we decided not to have a dinner, and I am getting some feedback that we should move the wedding back an hour then, from 6pm to 7pm because alot of guests are coming from out of town, and they won't have time to eat when they get in,

well I called to see if I could change the time and I can't, so now im gonna feel bad because of this, and I am trying to come up with some cheap ways to feed roughly 150 guests

and I was thinking of pizza, everyone loves pizza?!?! we would also have some salads, and vegtable trays, even some meat and buns, just in case people don't like pizza,

but Im wondering what people would think? that were so poor that we had to go with pizza? or were to cheap.. I don't know,
we have two young children, so we don't have time to save $2000 for a sit down dinner..

do you think people would care what kind of food is served, as long as there is food?

[WebLady]

The food is one of the biggest costs, so if your budget is small and you can't cut back on the guest list then how about an Hors D'oeuvre type buffet.

You could have some rolled meats (like ham and turkey), bread/rolls, cheese, maybe some meatballs, dipping veggies and a fruit tray. Many of these things you could do yourselt. I think somethink like that might go over better than pizza.

:goodluck:

[CindySue]

Im in the same boat you are Melissa! What Im doing is little chicken salad and tuna salad (and maybe something else) on croissant type sandwhiches. Im also have several different dips with chips and raw veggies.
I had looked into the 6ft subs from Subway, that might be an option for you.
Good luck!

[countrygirl]

Hey Melissa,

I too am getting married in Oct, congrats btw!! My budget is bout $5000 as well, so I am having to watch what I spend. We are doing a 'western/bbq dinner' as that is cheap, and will feed alot.

Is your dinner formal?

[OctoberBride06]

thanks for the replys, I was just thinking of easier things to do, becasue I didn't want to spend the night before my wedding cooking a whole bunch of food.

we were already planning on having rolled up meat and buns, and a few different platters,

I like the subway Idea, I should look into that
and I like the BBQ idea, me and FH were talking about that last night, but then we were thinking who would BBQ and how soon would they have to start (before the wedding?) so they would miss it? but I though it was a great idea last night, its just findin someone to do it?

are reception won't be to formal. our families like to party and have a good time, so I just think of it as a huge party, lol drinking, dancing, :D

[countrygirl]

thanks for the replys, I was just thinking of easier things to do, becasue I didn't want to spend the night before my wedding cooking a whole bunch of food.

we were already planning on having rolled up meat and buns, and a few different platters,

I like the subway Idea, I should look into that
and I like the BBQ idea, me and FH were talking about that last night, but then we were thinking who would BBQ and how soon would they have to start (before the wedding?) so they would miss it? but I though it was a great idea last night, its just findin someone to do it?

are reception won't be to formal. our families like to party and have a good time, so I just think of it as a huge party, lol drinking, dancing, :D

If you like it, shredded bbq beef sandwiched are good. You could do the meat a day or two prior, and then heat them up in crock pots the day of. That is what we were thinking, but went the bbq chicken route. It's easy, messy:D , but easy.

[OctoberBride06]

I would want to go with the chicken too! its so yummy on the BBQ, and my stepdad loves to BBQ, im just not sure he would want to that day!
and the reception starts at 7pm, so im sure if we fired up the grill then, people could start eating around 8pm???
I think I am going to look into it!!!
(now I want some BBQ chicken, lol)

Thanks!

[countrygirl]

I would want to go with the chicken too! its so yummy on the BBQ, and my stepdad loves to BBQ, im just not sure he would want to that day!
and the reception starts at 7pm, so im sure if we fired up the grill then, people could start eating around 8pm???
I think I am going to look into it!!!
(now I want some BBQ chicken, lol)

Thanks!

NO PROB BOB!!!

That is what we are here for!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Why would pizza be so bad if you are just having a party type reception and nothing formal??? I've heard of people serving Kentucky Fried Chicken at their wedding receptions!! Its whatever works for you. You could always check out Costco. Here in Canada they make the absolute best pizza and their pretty big!! Thats always an option! But really, these people are your family and if they judge you on serving pizza????Come on!! Good luck!! How many guests are you having at your reception??

[StaceyMc]

Check for BBQ caterers. Joe and I came across a guy at a fair. He and his wife will cater events and their prices were really great! If we weren't doing a formal wedding, we thought about doing BBQ.

[Jenn060306]

Definatly costco would be a great place to look for ideas!
You could get a couple queash (sp?), lasagnas, salads and buns. They have so many pre-made things. It would be simply heat and eat. You could also have little snackies like a veggie tray, fruit tray, cheese platter and a cold cuts platter. A couple of different desserts like brownie squares and butter tarts.

[Kacie_bride]

There is a vendor in the Houston area (I know that does not help you) that is called Cowboy Cookers. They are really cheap. They do barbeque, hamburgers, fajitas. Like Heather said, barbeque is really cheap. I think the Cowboy Cookers have it for like $4/person.

[usahgrad]

Ok, I may be repeating something because I kind of skimmed, but I have a very small budget too! So here's what we're doing for the wedding for food:

1. GFS (if you don't have one by you, check Sam's Club, Costco, or BJ's). We got meatballs and sauce and canned vegetables.

2. There's a little restaurant by us that makes chicken and jojos (potatoes) that are REALLY good. And in large amounts, the chicken is only 40 cents a piece! Look for something like this in your area.

Basically, if you stick with stuff that doesn't take "cooking" just preparing (like popping in the oven for a few minutes) that will make it easier. THEN, so we didn't have to worry about preparing, my mother in law talked to some people she knew at work and they're coming out to prepare and serve everything at a VERY reasonable price. I like this better than the hire some college kids advice because these are people who have to be at work the Monday after the wedding with my mother in law, so if it doesn't work out well, they have to deal with her.

Lastly, maybe you could look at skimming your guest list a bit. I know some people are burdened by the fact that they feel like they have to invite their mother's best friend's brother's ex-girlfriend's mom, but you don't. Also, if you're okay with it, don't invite guests. We made a rule that if we didn't see people outside of work, they weren't invited. We also didn't invite guests (we have more of a space problem then we do food price problem). Well, some people don't want to come because they can't bring a guest (which isn't a big problem to me because if all my wedding is to them is a date opportunity, then I don't want them to be there anyways).

Hope this helps and good luck! Money is the worst part of the wedding! :)

[Kacie_bride]

Another idea I have heard of is a pot luck reception.