It is no surprise that one of the most expensive parts of a wedding is feeding all of your guests, so how are couples able to keep the catering bills from getting out of control while still offering their guests a good meal? We have compiled some tips and tricks to help you keep your costs low while maintaining that elegant reception dinner atmosphere.
Hand Pass That Seafood
If you want to serve shrimp and other pricier cocktail hour hors d’oeuvres, have wait staff serve them to guests instead of allowing a free for all. Guests will on average, consume 40% less this way but still be satisfied enough until dinner arrives.
Skip the Buffet but Go for Themed Stations
If you have room for dinner and a bit of a show, price out themed stations, where guests can build their own appetizers or entrees. This both cuts the cost of a traditional buffet as well as the waste and gives your guests the opportunity to create unique new things they may not have tried before.
Ask Your Chef What will be in Season
This is another great way to save some serious cash. By designing dishes designed purely around what is in season, the cost per plate will be much lower. Why waste your money on a certain fish if it is one of the most expensive on the market and there is something cheaper to be had? Plus, your guests will like the added touch of locally sourced ingredients where possible.
Save Money on the Cake
If you do not need an incredibly detailed cake, it will be much cheaper. Frosting, for example, is cheaper than rolled fondant and fillings can be the spot to save some money, too. Guests also do not need several dessert choices or a dessert buffet and dessert is one spot that you can really save some money. Guests are not likely to look forward to an expensive or beautiful dessert; most times they are happy with what is served as long as it tastes great. Lastly, by doing as many of the cake decorations as possible by yourself, you can save a ton of cash. You can easily pick up some discount wedding sparklers from an outlet store and stick one in each piece of cake. This will completely distract your guests from the “plain Jane” frosting and decorations on the rest of your wedding cake.
As you can see, using some creativity can save you tremendously on your catering costs. Ask yourself this: why pay more for your catering and wedding cake when you could spend that money on other fun things for your wedding?