Aside from the cost of hiring your venue, catering for your wedding guests is going to be your biggest expense.
While that is all fine and dandy if you have a large wedding budget or a generous parent footing the bill. If you are strapped for cash, spending a huge amount of money on wedding food is not realistic.
For couples of a tight budget, there are various ways the costs of wedding catering can be dealt with. You could cut down on your guest list, reduce the amount of guests joining you or go DIY and cater your wedding yourselves.
If the idea of catering your own wedding doesn’t scare you too much and sounds like something you could do, then have a read of this. To help your cater your own wedding DIY style, we have put together a handy guide full or tips and advice below:
Set a budget
Even though you are dealing with the catering yourselves, it is still crucial to set a budget. Otherwise, you may end up overspending and paying out more than you would have done if you had hired a professional caterer.
Work out a budget that you can afford and is large enough to cover the costs of the food and equipment you will need to buy. No matter what, make sure to stick to your budget.
Get inspiration
There are plenty of DIY wedding websites and blogs offering advice, ideas and tips for catering your own wedding. So, make sure to have a look at a few of these for inspiration.
Spend an evening with your bridesmaids or groom going through DIY wedding recipe ideas that you have found online. Write a list of all your favourite dishes and sides – you can use this to choose which dishes to serve.
To get inspiration for layout have a look on Pinterest and Instagram for DIY wedding catering photos and ideas.
Rope in friends and family
Doing the catering for your wedding is a big job and so, you are going to need a bit of help to pull it off. Ask close friends and family members whether they would be willing to make a couple of dishes for you – most people will be happy to help.
If you have a friend who is a trained chef or baker, perhaps you could ask them to make the dishes for you, for a small fee.
Hire what you need
Unless your wedding venue is willing to provide crockery, cutlery, catering tablecloths, etc. then you will need to hire or buy the bits you need yourself.
Shop around and see where you can get the best deals from. Before hiring what you need, work out whether it is cheaper to hire or buy the bits you need.
Be organised
The most important thing to remember when doing the catering for your own wedding is that it is crucial you are organised.
Make dishes in advance and freeze them. Get friends to make dishes and arrange for people, to take the food to the venue on the day, clear away the plates and deal with the clean up. Perhaps you could employ a small team of people to wait on tables and clear plates for you. Have a look online for local waitressing companies.
With some creative thinking, lots of planning and some helping hands, you can successful cater your own wedding.
