Save On Wedding Catering Service
March 31, 2008
If you’re not being able to pay for a wedding catering service to fully cater your event you can save with some low-cost ideas. If presented with flair, even the simplest of foods can be special. Don’t forget about the wedding cake and the beverages. As a rule of thumb, buffets are cheaper than sit-downs because of less staff needed by the catering service.Here are four ideas that can help save on the catering services.
1. Salad Luncheon/Reception
If the wedding is late morning you can provide a wonderful salad luncheon. It’s cheaper than a sit-down meal and you can offer a wide selection of salads with salads dressings, fruits and breads.
2. Hors d’oeuvres Reception - Deli/Party Trays Reception
This event is best placed between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM or after an evening wedding. Light finger foods should be provided, like fruit and vegetable platters, chips and dips, and crackers. You can also provide more substantial foods like meat and cheese trays, oysters, shrimp cocktails chicken wings and egg rolls.
3. Decadent Dessert Reception or Dessert Party
It’s appropriate between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM and after an evening wedding. An extensive assortment of rich desserts should be served, and beverages like coffee and tea.
4. A Simple Cake and Punch Reception
As long as it’s not during meal time you can let your guests serve cake. You can have a simple and elegant cake and punch reception. The planning should be for the mid morning, afternoon or after an evening wedding. You should make sure that your guests are informed in time that they will not receive a full meal.
There are a lot more ideas that you can find online about how to reduce the cost on the wedding catering services and still have an enjoyable event, just search on google and you’ll see.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Cut Your Wedding Catering Costs
March 31, 2008
Maybe you’ve got the details of the actual wedding ceremony worked out, but what about the reception? One of the major costs of the wedding reception will definitely be the food, so you’ll want to make sure you’ll have enough food for everyone without spending too much money. Here are some top ways to cut on your catering bill that will ensure that your guests enjoy your reception-and you save money.Don’t order more food than you need.
Most couples want to order an extra tray or two of hors d’oeuvres in case extra guests show up. This is fine (and usually a smart idea), but you should still make sure that you’re not order more appetizers than you actually need; use your discretion based on the guest list. For instance, if you know a number of your guests are vegetarian, you may not need to order as many appetizers with meat. Also, ordering two or three types of hors d’oeuvres will help to reduce your catering bill. If you buy more of the same dish, you can usually save money with most catering companies-different kinds of foods will increase the bill, so it’s important to keep it classy but simple at the wedding-even when it comes to food.
Caterers will also try to encourage you to spend more than you may need to on the actual meal as well. You may not need a five course meal if you’ve already purchased three types of appetizers and a salad, or three extra desserts if you already have a pretty large wedding cake. The time of day that you hold your wedding will give you a good indication of how much food to serve; if you’re having the ceremony in the afternoon or early evening, you may want to serve more food.
Pay attention to the types of foods you order.
There are some foods that are always going to be expensive, even if you only order small amounts. So, since you have to order a considerable amount of food, ordering dishes that aren’t so costly will help you to keep your catering bill reasonable. Certain seafood, like shrimp, lobster and salmon will definitely make your catering bill higher, so if you have to have them, try to use them as only one of the course choices for dinner, or purchase these foods as appetizers to save on costs.
Have food stations.
Food stations are a unique way to serve a variety of foods at your wedding reception, and you can be sure that everyone will find something they like to eat. This way, you won’t have to worry about people changing their minds about their meal choices once they arrive at the reception. A food station with different types of pasta is usually a hit with most guests, and can be very economical. You can also include food stations with other types of the ethnic foods, such as Mexican or Indian fare, to celebrate the cultures of the people who will be attending your wedding, or to acknowledge your backgrounds.
You may also be able to cut your catering bill by not requesting an elaborate setup for your food stations and tables. Using a single color for tablecloths, usually white, will cut down on labor costs. To add more color to your reception decorations, you may want to add elaborate centerpieces, so that you can spend as much as you need to on the meals for the reception.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
10 Awesome Tips For Finding Cheap Catering Services
March 31, 2008
When it comes to your catering services for your wedding, there are options to make it more affordable. Generally for larger receptions, catering companies will offer discounts on their own.Saving money on your food and drink can be very easy, but it really depends on how large your reception party will be and what you are planning to serve. I will explain how you can save some money on the catering for your party.
1. You can serve basic entrees where the meals are all inclusive and forego the extras like salads, soups and breads and bring these items yourself.
2. You can choose to go with appetizers instead of full entrees. Many catering companies will offer a variety of appetizers at a special cost.
3. Skip out on the extra services that many catering companies offer such as place settings or servers.
4. Avoid going to a professional caterer and opt instead to use a small restaurants catering services instead.
5. Picking up the food for your reception instead of letting the catering company deliver it can save you a great deal of money.
6. You can always make the food yourself and experiment with many different tastes or prepare all of your best dishes.
7. Tips are generally included in catering packages so you do not have to provide extra tips during the reception unless someone goes out of their way and/or far over the duties
8. Plan your wedding yourself instead of using a wedding planner
9. Limit your transportation costs by booking the services on off seasons or shopping around for the cheapest costs
10. The very last thing that you can do is elope!
These tips can save you a lot of money on catering because when you skip the extras and forego the delivery charges and set up etc. catering companies will give you good prices.
Of course, you can also opt out of full entrees and serve something altogether different. It can be very easy to get good prices on catering services. Perhaps the best way to do this is to simply limit the guests at your reception that you have to serve.
By turning your full reception into a private and intimate celebration, you can limit the amount of guests without offending anyone. Unless you can afford to invite all of your co-workers that you get along with, don’t invite any. It is just good etiquette.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!