Catering my own wedding

noseybonk

I suppose my biggest question is how much food. Once I calculate that, I will know if it's doable. I don't know how to calculate how much food!! Anyone done anything like this before?

Evansangel

Just thought of something.

Are you signed upto freecycle?

If you are you could post a wanted ad requesting an old fridge/freezer.

Then once your finished with it you can post it back onto freecycle to get someone to take it off your hands
Or let the venue keep it???

xxx

noseybonk

You're full of the bright ideas, aren't you! :-)

Can anyone think of any foods which I could store out of a fridge? (apart from bread). Maybe I should serve beans on toast.

Evansangel

You can store cake outside the fride, gateau you can (if you having it as dessert) as it needs to defrost.

All i can think of so far xx

wolfehouse

it is do-able (as a buffet) because i did it (years ago)
then again- i swore i would never do it again.

buy premade salads etc. and good bagettes/bagels/rolls
you can top them at the last minute with cream cheese and salmon or egg salad or tuna etc.
cheese boards etc are good.
biscuits/cakes/nibbles etc.

somewhere like costco is invaluable for this.

but it is a lot to take on if you are also the bride.

i like the idea on the weddings forum from someone who made up picnic baskets for each table...

lindaatno9

Instead of gateaux, you could go for those wonderful "large dessert cakes" from Asda or I think Sainsbury's may do them. They come with their own base and clear cover.
£1,400 sounds an awful lot for a caterer!

pukkamum

I ordered pastie's and peas for my wedding and they went down a storm, it cost me £80 for approx 30 people and everyone loved them!!!

Mojisola

Don't try to do it yourself unless you have an army of willing helpers - and even then I wouldn't do it!

pukkamum's idea is great - talk to local takeaways and see what they can offer. If that doesn't appeal, the picnic baskets sound a great idea.

Debt_Free_Chick

Agree completely with Mojisola. Accept every single offer of help that you get and don't get paranoid about others not doing it the way that you would have done.

What's the venue like - could you do a BBQ?

ThatElliottGirl

It depends where you are, but we found that most "proper" caterers were ridiculously overpriced too! I was all for sticking some sandwiches and sausages on sticks on a plate, but my mum pointed out that it would require a lot of work either the day before or on the actual day. In the end, we hunted around, and found a local butchers that would do us a buffet cheaply. We went for the posh version that's costing us a massive £4.50 a head, but the cheapest option was £3 a person, and you could always cater for less than your full amount of people, and bulk it up with some crisps and other snacks.

It might be worth checking your local paper or asking around for somewhere like that...I'm sure you could cater for 70 odd people, but I'm not sure you'd want the hassle and stress!