Wedding Planning Information and Advice
5 Tips for DIY Wedding Catering
by Tannen Morgan
If you are planning to self-cater your wedding reception, you're going to save a lot of money. However, it could potentially be time consuming and stressful if you don't do the necessary planning to make it a successful endeavour. The good news is that you can easily meet this challenge, and with a little creativity and foresight, it will be a fabulous day.
Here are a few helpful tips to ensure that your DIY wedding catering runs smoothly and successfully.
Wedding Self-Catering Tip #1
Buy your food items in bulk. Shop for wedding food in bulk from a store like Costco or even a wholesale market. This includes all the little ingredients which you might need like spices. You'll save money by buying in bulk instead of making trips to your local supermarket. I highly recommend planning your menu and then a detailed shopping list so you are ready to go.
Wedding Self-Catering Tip #2
Solicit help from family and friends days in advance. Armed with a group of helpers, you can knock out a lot of the food prep work that can be done in advance, saving you tons of time and reducing stress levels all around. Also, you don't want to have to be serving food yourself on your own wedding day. Keep this in mind as you plan and organise the execution of the catering.
Wedding Self-Catering Tip #3
Model your menu after a professional catering menu. If you're having trouble coming up with menu ideas, take a look around at what other caterers and venues are offering as a wedding menu. When you shop around for caterers, get their menus. Even if you don't use them, you can use their menu for inspiration and planning purposes when you work on the food you'd like to serve at your wedding. It will also help give you ideas for combinations of appetisers with main courses and so forth.
Wedding Self-Catering Tip #4
Go for less expensive food items. Lobster, fancy steak or some other high-priced meal option will increase your costs. Safe items for the budget include pasta, chicken, and seafood that is in season. Serve vegetables and fruits that are in season too to save money. Out of season food items will tack on money to your bill.
Wedding Self-Catering Tip #5
The key to DIY catering is to nail the presentation. Get serving dishes that are multi-tiered. Decorate the tables. Garnish dishes for a professional look. The better it looks, the more professional it will look. Nobody will be the wiser about how cheaply you did your catering.
For more great tips on wedding planning, check out Bridesmaids & Weddings
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