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What to do without a caterer?
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What to do without a caterer?
<font color="#ffffff">It's the party of all parties. Talk about table settings, cakes, centerpieces, menus, and more!</font>
We are getting married in October. Trying to save as much money as possible. We are getting/making our own food instead of a caterer. Buying our own alcohol instead of a bartender.&n
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Wedding Receptions
What to do without a caterer?
<font color="#ffffff">It's the party of all parties. Talk about table settings, cakes, centerpieces, menus, and more!</font>
We are getting married in October. Trying to save as much money as possible. We are getting/making our own food instead of a caterer. Buying our own alcohol instead of a bartender.&n
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Cat:336d8010-1fcd-4410-9356-c39e985527ecForum:07a34bc8-a0b0-4c8f-b527-89148578f938
Cat:336d8010-1fcd-4410-9356-c39e985527ecForum:07a34bc8-a0b0-4c8f-b527-89148578f938Discussion:b77f40da-384e-42be-933b-6cd26f826ee9
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What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/4/2010 12:09 AM CST
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We are getting married in October. Trying to save as much money as possible. We are getting/making our own food instead of a caterer. Buying our own alcohol instead of a bartender. Who watches over the food/alcohol if we don't have a caterer? We don't want to have a guest do it - they're supposed to be enjoying the day! Any ideas on what y'all have done or are doing?
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/4/2010 12:41 AM CST
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We are getting a lot of help from friends, and my fiance's p[arents will be watching over stuff. YOur friends will be glad to help.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/4/2010 12:42 AM CST
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Also you can always hire a couple people for pretty cheap, check Craigslist
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/4/2010 12:51 AM CST
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Thanks for the suggestions!
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/6/2010 10:45 PM CST
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Your guests are not supposed to be schlepping food back and forth and you should not be expecting them to. Hire serving staff.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/9/2010 10:20 AM CST
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I think it also depends on what you are serving as to whether you need someone to be constantly monitering food/bartending or not. We're having a DIY catered wedding, but as our reception is going to be in the afternoon ( probably 2-5 pm) we will be serving fingerfood hors d'oeuvres and a varity of both alcoholic and non alcoholic punches, rather then having a full bar. I'm going to ask a few of my family members to help me keep an eye so we can refill the trays/punch bowls as necessary, but that type of food will require minimum supervision so everyone can enjoy themselves.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/9/2010 2:18 PM CST
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It's actually a lot more work than it seems at first blush. Picking up dirty plates, empty glasses, trash, refilling food & punch, etc. should not be done by family members. That's embarrassing. Put the word out for a couple of people (could be daughters/sons of friends, people who know people from church, cleaning person that someone employs BUT SOMEONE RESPONSIBLE and pay them $50-$75 each. It's worth that, hands down, to not have family in their formal wear picking up dirty dishes.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/9/2010 2:40 PM CST
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I went to a wedding a few months ago where the grooms family basically became the un-paid wait staff because it's a lot of work to cater a wedding.
My suggestion, hire a caterer.
As the bride you won't have time to cater your own wedding, nor should you have to.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/10/2010 10:44 AM CST
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We have not completely set anything in stone, but we are also planning on DIY catering--my sister is still a college student, so we're probably just going to hire a couple of her friends to monitor the table/take care of dirty dishes, etc...They aren't people we know so they wouldn't otherwise be invited to the wedding and will only know each other and my sister so won't feel like they're missing out, but I know when I was in college I would have LOVED to make an extra $50 (or more, depending on how long they'll be needed and how much will be required of them) just by helping out for a few hours. Plus they'll get a free meal out of it!
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/10/2010 12:26 PM CST
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You hire a caterer for this. I couldn't imagine asking a "guest" to do this. I also wouldn't want an inexperienced college kid to be doing this at my wedding. The service has a lot to do with the success of the wedding.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/10/2010 3:56 PM CST
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I'd really hire a professional rather than depending on college kids to come thru.
Wedding isn't a time to gamble with the food. You have to make sure cold foods stay cold, hot foods stay hot, you need to make sure there is enough for everyone plus extras, you need to make sure the food is constantly in rotation so you are never out of anything.
That's a nightmare to pull off for something like a wedding. Weddings aren't like a family potluck or a bridal shower. They are a whole different level of planning and coordination.
You would be better off finding an inexpensive caterer who has done a million weddings before and you can trust to keep your guests feed and knows how to handle food properly.
Also you are better off hiring a bartender for the night. I don't know about your state, but in my state if I am providing alcohol and someone drives drunk and then kills someone *I* can be sued as the responsible party.
So I covered my a** and went with a venue that has its own liquour license and a bartender. Then if anythign happened it was covered under their liability insurance.
Make sure you know your state laws before you DIY alcohol. You may end up finding out it is way more expensive once you find out all the red tape you have to jump thru.
Again, a wedding is not a family BBQ. While it might be fine to BYOB to the family BBQ, it may not in your state be okay to do it at a party with over a 100 guests.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/11/2010 8:16 AM CST
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Kathyp
Your guests are not supposed to be schlepping food back and forth and you should not be expecting them to. Hire serving staff
It would be nice if we had unlimited funds to hire evryone we want to, and the best caterer. but that is not in our budget.
Sorry to offend you, having my family "shlepping around"
We simply cannot afford to pay for catering, and we have 10 hours in our venue before the wedding to prepare and get everything ready. Our families would not have it any other way, they want to help. It isn't burdensome to fill up a couple of trays.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/11/2010 8:26 AM CST
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In Response to Re: What to do without a caterer?:
Kathyp Your guests are not supposed to be schlepping food back and forth and you should not be expecting them to. Hire serving staff It would be nice if we had unlimited funds to hire evryone we want to, and the best caterer. but that is not in our budget. Sorry to offend you, having my family "shlepping around" We simply cannot afford to pay for catering, and we have 10 hours in our venue before the wedding to prepare and get everything ready. Our families would not have it any other way, they want to help. It isn't burdensome to fill up a couple of trays.
Posted by pamela2010
You didn't come on here and ask for suggestions about what to do instead of asking family members to help out. The OP did. Obviously you are comfortable with your choice so I suggest you stop being so sensitive about it.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/11/2010 12:53 PM CST
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I think Pam makes a good point. If her family offered, and they're having fun with it, she should not be looked down upon. I hope none of her guests feel the same way KathyP does, as I know that kind of mentality is quite common. Just try to ignore that stuff I guess.
I think DIY catering can be done in a classy way, and it can also bring the family together. Who knows, her family may be full of women who love to cook and all have a favorite dish they want to make, and it's a family bonding thing like Christmas or Thanksgiving is. Sounds fun.
For convenience sake, and because we have some extra money to play around with, we went with a venue with in-house catering and an open bar. Our entire wedding, including honeymoon in wine country, is costing us less than 8000, but our original budget was 10K. Go us!
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/11/2010 3:15 PM CST
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Why am I the one being singled out here? If you read all the posts you will see that most of the posters agree with me and feel that serving staff of some kind or anoher should be brought in. If Pam or anyone else says her family is willing to take on the task then go with it but it does not appear that most posters think that is the way to go.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/11/2010 3:39 PM CST
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I reccommend if you are going to do Craigslist to ALWAYS check references....food is NEVER something you just want to leave by chance. That is kind of a big deal at weddings...After all the weddings I've been to, I will never remember which kind of decorations somebody had, or what kind of cake it was, but I will always remember the times where the food portion was unorganized or if the DJ sucked...again, totally up to you, but always "hire" or ask for help from somebody you can trust and know if you are doing this yourselves, or please check references to make sure they are qualified to be doing tihs portion of the food...If you don't, even though you are trying to save money, you might wish you had spent the extra to get it done right.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/12/2010 10:37 AM CST
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I wouldn't hire anyone from Craigslist to cater a wedding. But I do agree a caterer needs to be hired.
Everyone can pick on Kathy if they want. I agree with her so pick on me too. I would be embarrassed if my family was schlepping around food at my wedding reception.
I am not rolling in money by any means. We didn't have a lifestyle of the rich and famous wedding. If I couldn't afford to have a meal catered, from anywhere, not necessarily expensively, I would wait until I COULD afford it.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/12/2010 11:30 AM CST
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how about your sister's best friends who aren't invited but know you and would love to hang out? Or your next door neighbor? Or a woman at work who loves weddings but knows she's not invited?
We self-catered my older sister's wedding. The 'wait staff' was my younger sister's two best friends. Both knew older sister, but would not have been invited. Both were professional waitresses, but did the gig as a favor to the family.
I once catered a friend's baptism party. The guests were all family, so I knew I wouldn't have been invited. but it was fun to be there.
Think outside the guest list.
I do encourage you to have someone who is not a guest, though. If you are using guests (like your parents or sisters) make sure they know what's expected ahead of time. I was once 'expected' to break down tables afterwards and I was not happy about it.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/12/2010 11:55 AM CST
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We had a caterer (this consisted of a friend who is a chef and two helpers for him). But the rest of the stuff, dirty dishes, trash, etc., we hired the youth group from my parents church to do this. We donated $300 to their group, and they got probably 15 kids together to come out. With adult supervision of course. It worked out really well. My mom still had clean up to do the next day (we helped a little, but we had honeymoon plans), but they rinsed all the dishes and stacked them in one place, cleaned up the bulk of the trash etc.
And it was kinda cool- the mom of one of them came to pick up her son, and gave me a card. It was a kid that I used to baby sit for, and she was thrilled that he was helping me out during my wedding.
But I suggest to have someone, or a group of people be in charge. And be organised about it.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/12/2010 12:02 PM CST
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Why is everyone hating on KathyP? The OP specifically said she did NOT want her guests doing work or bussing tables.
Personally, if I am invited to a wedding and expected to wear a fancy dress and heels, I don't want to be schlepping food either. I'm lucky if I can keep food from my own plate off my clothes, never mind carrying trays in heels. If you are having a more casual affair and your family and friends have OFFERED to assist w/ catering or food preparation/serving, GREAT! Take them up on it. But I totally agree w/ KathyP that you should not expect them to do so.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/12/2010 3:07 PM CST
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I was planning on doing the same, DIY catering. I did decide it might be cheaper in the long run for me to hire a caterer because my venue wasn't going to let me in before 10am and I wanted to save money by doing a luncheon. I couldn't work out the cost to be much less than hiring a caterer, so for a little more I did give up the idea. My mom was honestly much more insistent that we hire someone....if not I'd be doing it myself though. I think finding someone that you know to do the staffing is a great idea. I was planning on hiring my sister's college friends- two of whom had waited tables for all their college "careers" and a third who is super organized (I am not) and I still think they would do a fantastic job. However, think about how much it's going to cost you to hire friends rather than professionals. In my case, I would have paid them $50-75 a piece ($150-225) and paid for one of two nights at our B&B because they'd be coming from out of town. In addition to paying for three more meals, it was cheaper for me to use the caterer's staff. If you contact some caterers to be your backup, ask if they offer staffing separately and see how much it costs. But think carefully about it and weigh your options. I really sat down with a spreadsheet and calculated out so many costs and decided what would be worth what. I am only spending about $250 more to have it catered than what I thought it would cost me to DIY.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/13/2010 5:14 PM CST
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In Response to Re: What to do without a caterer?:
Kathyp Your guests are not supposed to be schlepping food back and forth and you should not be expecting them to. Hire serving staff It would be nice if we had unlimited funds to hire evryone we want to, and the best caterer. but that is not in our budget. Sorry to offend you, having my family "shlepping around" We simply cannot afford to pay for catering, and we have 10 hours in our venue before the wedding to prepare and get everything ready. Our families would not have it any other way, they want to help. It isn't burdensome to fill up a couple of trays.
Posted by pamela2010
Pamela,
Must be a Seattle thing! My family is also preparing the food for my wedding. I have aunts that have called to volunteer. Maybe we just have wonderful families that understand that Budgets are limited. Good for you, be thankful for your wonderful family.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/18/2010 3:44 PM CST
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I dont think there's anything wrong w/ asking your immediate family members & close friends to help. I'm more than sure they would be more than happy to--you prob won't even have to ask--just mentioning to them your situation, more than likely they will offer to help! Most friends and family just wanna make this as easy and stress free for you and your groom as possible! I'm From texas and i've been to many weddings that have friends and family serve. One of my cousins got married last yr--the grooms parents and grandparents helped. It was a very nice wedding! best wishes to you and your FI! 
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/18/2010 11:31 PM CST
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My FMIL has volunteered to handle the food for a picnic style wedding reception at a local park as her wedding gift to us. It is a small, casual wedding with only our closest family and friends. I doubt taking out a few fruit bowls, veggie trays, and platters of deli meat from the fridge will really be too big of a task for her to handle.
If you diy, choose food that can be made the beforehand and just be set out from the fridge with maybe one thing that has to warm. As far as someone to watch it, do you (or your friends with kids) know any good babysitters? Perhaps s/he with a few friends might be willing to make a few dollars watching food instead children. I would choose a recommended babysitter over a random person from craig's list.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/19/2010 9:15 AM CST
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We aren't having a caterer per se, we have a friend that is bringing a huge comercial size grill and he's cooking the meats on that. As for the rest of the food, I'll go buy it ahead of time and get it in the serving bowls ahead of time.
My SIL works in a restaurant and she is going to have a couple of her friends that aren't working at the restaurant that night come and help with the food to make sure we don't run out of anything. Of course I'm planning on paying them for their time and trouble. But I also didn't want someone off of Craigslist to be helping with the food.
Same with the bar. Granted we're only having beer, wine, sodas, tea, water and coffee to drink but I'd just prefer not having our guests behind the bar serving themselves. So the food helpers have agreed to work the bar too.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/19/2010 10:18 AM CST
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We are getting fried chicken, cold sides, and rolls from Wal-Mart. Some friends of friends (who would not be otherwise invited) have offered to pick up food and set it up while the ceremony is going on. One lady even offered to make mashed potatoes/gravy/corn (cause you can't have fried chicken with taters and gravy which will be kept warm in roasters!!!! I purchased clear plastic bowls, spoons, tongs from a Dollar Tree for the colds and disposable chaffers from wal-mart for $10.00 each which comes with aluminum pans and sternos to transfer food from roaster to chaffers . . . . This is extremely cheaper than a caterer. I couldn't find one for under $1000 to feed 150ppl . . . This way food/drinks will probably costs 300-400 !!! I'm very excited and think this will work out GREAT!!!
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/19/2010 10:46 PM CST
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In Response to Re: What to do without a caterer?:
Why is everyone hating on KathyP? The OP specifically said she did NOT want her guests doing work or bussing tables. Personally, if I am invited to a wedding and expected to wear a fancy dress and heels, I don't want to be schlepping food either. I'm lucky if I can keep food from my own plate off my clothes, never mind carrying trays in heels. If you are having a more casual affair and your family and friends have OFFERED to assist w/ catering or food preparation/serving, GREAT! Take them up on it. But I totally agree w/ KathyP that you should not expect them to do so.
Posted by ALF72
Well, lets see...
Maybe because nobody will be "schlepping (who even says that) food around. And of course no one is expected to work for us, we have 18 year old nephews to help bus, and other family members that will help. We are not going into debt to have a nice occasion. Our friends and family are not a bunch of phonies and don't expect us to put on a 5 star event.
Good luck with keeping food off of your clothes in the future.
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/19/2010 10:48 PM CST
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In Response to Re: What to do without a caterer?:
In Response to Re: What to do without a caterer? : Pamela, Must be a Seattle thing! My family is also preparing the food for my wedding. I have aunts that have called to volunteer. Maybe we just have wonderful families that understand that Budgets are limited. Good for you, be thankful for your wonderful family.
Posted by akasparkles
Thank you! I think we are just more pracitical and less pretentious in the Northwest.
Congratulations on your wedding!
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
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OP-- I'm also getting married in oct & have tight budget. We're having our reception at an Elks lodge where a close friend of ours is a member. They have a bar & kitchen. They are allowing us to have a limited open bar so I dont have to buy glasses ice mixers--anything for drinks-alcoholic & non. Once we hit our monetary limit it will go to cash bar. The cost of renting the space is very inexpensive (we're having them cater for us so it took off about $100), less than $100 to have our reception & they take care of set up, clean up & provide a waitstaff (which is included in the price of the catering...our lodge told us that we could cater ourselves, but we'd spend more to rent the space & i can't remember if the waitstaff is provided--i think that it is.) If you havent found your reception location yet, it might be worth your time & pocketbook to check it out. I know that we in the long run will save money to do it there even if it was a cocktail only. Buying all the sodas, cups ice mixers and booze adds up. Anyway, if you have a place already, try asking a trusted person if they know anyone they can recommend to serve food/drinks & have any responsible friends/family that isnt a guest who could help out w/ whatever you might need. People are more helpful than not, plus almost everyone likes weddings. Offer them a free meal and some cash--your call on the amount, but make sure its fair. (put yourself in their position....I did it once to help out a friend of a family memeber with the understanding that i'd be compensated about $30 w/ a meal, for the reception serving (which would have been roughly $5/hr) and helping clean up. They gave me $10 and I didnt get to eat. Needless to say I was not very happy with the outcome. I will admit that if I knew the couple well enough, but not enough to be invited, I probably wouldnt have been so sour.) I hope this helps! Best of luck!!
J
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Re: What to do without a caterer?
posted at 2/21/2010 12:09 AM CST
on weddingchannel.com
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Joined on
11-19-2009
SEATTLE 6465942129585051
Posts: 502
First: 12/26/2009
Last: 3/8/2010
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I have decided to go to the local culinary school and see if I can get some additional hands for clean up and restocking.
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