Feed Guests for CHEAP? | A Catering Q+A

[@kamifaye]

I'm Lebanese and I think this and other communal culture cuisines are best for events like this !!! Fragrant and spiced rice dishes (mujadara especially is so cheap but tasty- rice dish with cumin and fried caramelized onions with lentils) plus hummus, baba ganoush, mtabal, even ful madammas .. Top with parsley, chopped tomatoes, and olive oil and it's just gorgeous. Plant-based and traditional will always be the best affordable options as that's how our ancestors have done it for so long!! 🩷 Other cuisines like "cucina povera" from Italy is similar!! Simple plant-based ingredients to fill up a lot of people with little money

[@kamifaye]

It's also important in these cultures that family all cooks together to lessen the load 💗🥺 Women (but men should help as well!!) all come together, even neighbors, to cook these dishes- it's so much easier when it's all done together!!

[@dananeilland9629]

My sister and her husband gave us money early to pay for our catering. We only needed bbq and some accessories for 80 people max. My Mom made baked beans and potato salad because her's are my favorites. We had a wedding cake and a bride's cake, because I only wanted Mom's chocloate cake, and he wanted a fancy cake. My husband built planters and we grew some stuff, had a collection of vases and old crystal decanters for our centerpieces, and we gathered wildflowers on the way to the wedding to go in those. While there were some people related issues, our wedding was beautiful.

[@ainemeagher4830]

Oh my gosh your videos are a LIFESAVER for us bridges on a budget. Thank you Jamie!!!

[@briannahollestelle9002]

I hosted a bachelorette party last week and called the couples favorite bar and asked if they had anyone would like to bartend the event and found someone that way.

[@MarcandAngelaWilkinson]

I took your advice and we were able to cater our meat which was smoked pulled pork. The caterer threw in the buns and coleslaw basically for free. The rest of our food (except the cake) we bought at Sam’s and Costco. We did not serve alcohol - which was a huge savings! I’m a former preacher’s kid so guests expected a dry wedding. Here it is broken down for 130 people: $500 Caterer supplied Meat, coleslaw, buns, plates and forks for the cake, and extra napkins. $200 We bought at Sam’s and Costco - Potato Salad, Beans, various veggies and ranch dressing for dip for appetizers, metal stands and disposable chafing dishes and can burners for keeping stuff hot/cold. $50 Water, tea, and coffee (venue supplied ice) $75 plates, napkins, cutlery from Amazon, and napkin rings from Temu. $425 for 2 cakes one regular $3.00 a slice plus tax and delivery, one gluten free that my sister made for free. I was having a British Royal Wedding with American flare. So like all royal brides I had to have a cake. To make my main cake more like a dessert I ordered 4 tiers in 4 different flavors Fresh Strawberry with Fresh strawberry buttercream filling Tiramisu with Coffee buttercream filling French vanilla with French vanilla buttercream filling Chocolate cake with cookies and cream buttercream filling Gluten Free - chocolate with fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream filling. We ordered everything from Amazon or Temu other than the bridesmaid dresses, the invitations (Zazzle), and the guys suits.

[@Zoi28]

Wow that sounds perfect!!

[@morganrusso2979]

First live call tomorrow, so excited! Loving the master plan so far

[@nleem3361]

I used to help plan lunch for a group of about 120 people (men & women). I found that adding up the weight of the food to be about 1 lb total per person (include everything salad, rice, potatoes, protein, etc) would leave everyone satisfied. Also consider mix & match from different vendors, like main dishes from your favorite restaurant, and chicken tenders from Chick-fil-A, salads from Costco and other sides from yummy places too. Then get pretty bowls from dollar tree for things that don't come in nice trays. Then you just need to figure out who will do the setup, restocking and teardown.

[@carmanwillis7537]

I love your hair!!!!! Chef's kiss!! 😘

[@jlynndelgado]

How did you know I needed this video???? We are so in sync ❤

[@DogmaGirlAD]

Another option for the food is to pre-arrange for it to be donated (the church I had my wedding at also had a ministry to a local women's shelter and they were able to use leftovers from my wedding for a brunch they were having for the women).

[@idk6144]

To add commentary for one of the last questions about dessert set up, having it out before dinner also lets guests know to leave room for dessert. I’ve been to a few weddings where it seemed like it was just cake and then all this other stuff came out but nobody touched it because we were so full from dinner

[@nleem3361]

I was at a wedding last week. They cut the cake with dancing right away afterwards. The dj was great at getting everyone on the dance floor and keeping us on the dance floor up to the time we had to grab all our things and see the couple off with fun hand clappers and fun light noodles. The problem was that we didn't have time to eat the cake. My bf and I shoved a few cake bites in before running outside. The cake was amazing and they had other amazing desert options too. Just wish we could have enjoyed them. We're foodies, but we also love to dance and dj kept saying things like one more song, so we kept thinking it was our last chance to dance. We had a ball, and we were soaking wet with sweet and a little sad about missing out of desert. Also, the after party was a boar after so much fun with the dj. It's true what you say about djs setting the event tone and being a key element. My friend knew music was important for her, so she hired him as soon as the date & city were set.

[@Sky-Child]

😂 oh Jamie! There's no such thing as too many desserts!

[@colleeng5375]

Budget wedding here. I don’t think a cash bar is cheap at all. Neither my finance or I drink but our families love to drink and party. We want to be sober and enjoy our wedding but don’t care for it to be alcohol free. For this reason we are going to offer a cash bar so everyone can enjoy themselves but see absolutely no reason to pay thousands of dollars on alcohol. Please don’t feel pressured to offer a bunch of alcohol. We are saving thousands!

[@maryjaneching4879]

Your hair 😍😍

[@angelinasmouter3017]

Hi Jamie! I'm not even engaged yet and I'm stressing!😅 My boyfriend and I have started talking more and more about our wedding and I (being a hyper planner) have started doing research and budgeting for my own curiosity. However, I feel like regardless of what I do, I will get budget shamed. My side of the family has the mentality 'you only get married once and you should be having a nice large wedding. It may be a bit more expensive, but it only happens once!' My boyfriends family however has the mentality that 'you shouldn't waste so much money on one event. Cheaper and DIY is the best choice and is better'. So I feel that regardless, I can't make my wedding good for everyone. And people keep telling me to do what my boyfriend and I like. But my boyfriend and I can't agree! As much as I'm excited to diy decor, my boyfriend would rather we make our food ourselves but I know I will stress my whole wedding day if we don't have a professional do the food for us. I know him and I are not wealthy, but he is so terrified of debt that he doesn't seem to remember that I am someone who will be so stressed that I will struggle to enjoy my wedding day if I have to worry about food and clean up myself! What would you suggest?

[@angelinasmouter3017]

Ps. I started listening to Bridal Confessional, and they are so funny! If you haven't yet, you three should definitely do a podcast episode together! And if you already have, please let me know what episode

[@juliart9479]

First and foremost, definitely don’t go into any kind of debt for the wedding!!! Your bf is right to be scared of debt. I think most ppl who do regret it bc at the end of the day, it was only one day and debt can hang over you for months or years. If your family wants you to have something fancier, ask how much they are willing to contribute! They cant expect you to pay for a fancy party alone if you arent rich. If your boyfriend wants to make the food, maybe see if he can organize it? If his family wants to help out with it or otherwise plan the logistics then that’s great but it definitely wouldnt be fair for him to expect you to plan that if you were already anxious and overwhelmed by the idea. My cousin’s wedding food was prepared by the family and brought in aluminum dishes to keep hot and it was very simple and good! So it definitely can be done, but if you dont want anything to do with homemade food, you could try food trucks or doing a lunch wedding or early evening appetizer menu. Alternatively you could try to cut costs elsewhere so you could make sure you had enough for catering. If you are excited about diy, you could opt for a less-fancy venue and spruce it up with your decorations! Definitely decide on a budget (that doesn’t put you in any debt) before trying to decide on anything. Gotta know what you’re working with first!

[@Sky-Child]

I'm not Jamie but I am planning my own second wedding and have seen many - family and friends. Number 1 DO not go into debt. It will follow you for years and just isn't worth it. Number 2 there are other things you can DIY, not food. Personally I don't want to be cooking and cleaning up in a wedding dress!

[@Okay_Is_Wonderful]

It's true you won't please everyone & it's ultimately your decision as a couple. But that means finding a shared vision that handles both of your concerns. Has he thought through the logistics of diy-ing the food or is he simply dealing with sticker shock? Have you considered the difference between cheap & value in trying to be fiscally responsible? Are those family members insisting on a more lavish event contributing to the budget? "Just" feeding dozens of people isn't easy & you two will have limited time day of to handle this yourselves w/o help. Consider choosing a day/timeslot other than a Saturday evening to get traditional catering more in budget or get creative with your vendor/menu selections. Maybe split the difference & have dinner drop catered, but prepare your own trays for appetizers and/or desserts. There's other variables like your guest count & venue, but balancing the desires to minimize spending/debt and to not give yourself a panic attack on your big day _is_ doable. Tricky & full of compromise, but doable as long as you remember that it's not you vs him, but both of you vs the problem. Good luck!

[@hollynauss6359]

Jaime says don't do anything until you have a budget ( not just a total amount, but a breakdown of how much per category). Start there.

[@bropoke6799]

My fiance and i are talking about having our wedding dinner be potluck style, having a taco bar with my moms homemade salsa, or getting drop catering. We're only having 21 ppl total (us, guests and wedding party) and theres really not much reason for such a small wedding to have full on catering. We're also skipping alcohol to save money and will be serving soda, water, and lemonade instead

[@mortviolette284]

Food safety!!! The potluck style wedding needs to figure out how to keep foods at safe temperatures long enough that they can ensure people don’t get sick! Do they have adequate refrigeration? What about chafing dishes? This is critical.

[@BukeyBoy]

You sensed my need to hear about catering!! You’re awesome! My wedding is 11 months out 🍾🍾🍾 If you feel so inclined to do a detailed video about DIY (real) florals I’d be so thankful. Specifically the logistics of getting them in a store, not online. I feel like “wholesale” online floral retailers are so??? Expensive??? They’re way cheaper at a grocery store. Thanks!

[@saracobb1688]

We haveaby people in my family eho dont drink qt all or alcoholic so we have decided no alcohol at all. We dont want to feel responsible for ajyone drinking that has been sober for many years or deink too nuch and drive. We just started planning but trying to figure out how to say no perfume and alcohol. I have copd/asthma and many elderly people qt wedding mainly and many have breathing allergy problems.

[@thequeenofhearts4227]

You’re such a beautiful brunette 😍😍