College students trying to make it work

Honestly, depending on where you order the apps from, you could be looking at close to the same price for a plate of food. We're doing a buffet meal and paying around $20pp. There are two meat options (they are able to have both) but if we'd gone with only one protein, it would have been $14pp. We have a late wedding so we're going straight into dinner from the ceremony and cutting appetizers out altogether. If you went with some of the heavier appetizers and get a wide variety, you're looking at close to what you'd pay for an entire plate. I remember the pricing sheet for appetizers through our very reasonable caterer was like $2/devil egg, $4 for 7 layer dip in a tiny cup with one chip, $4 for some kind of specialty meatball, etc... If you got those things only, you'd be looking at $10pp already. Might as well skip it and give everyone enough food to fill them up. For the alcohol, be sure to look into the venue restrictions. Any alcohol we have must be served by a bartender. To cut costs, you could do one or two signature drinks and then the juices, soda, tea, etc. You could also look into beer and wine only.

As long as you host your event at a non-meal time and are providing appetizers to hold people over instead of trying to replace a meal, this option should be much more cost effective than a dinner reception.

It could save money but it depends on how many appetizers per person, what kind, the length of the reception, etc. I would suggest getting quotes for each. I picked a small restaurant as my venue where they waive venue fees if you meet their minimum food and beverage ($2000). I was quoted about $40-50 for drinks and apps and $50-60 for drinks and buffet dinner. I opted for the buffet dinner.

Other ways I’ve cut costs:
1. Wholesale florist for my DIY floral arrangements (cost: $200 for 8 centerpieces)2. Simple cupcakes and a small one-tier cake from a local bakery (cost: $120)3. Dress is from Still White (I hate feeling pressured by sales reps trying to sell me anything I’m not 100% sure about).4. I also found it would be cheaper (for me at least) to rent my ceremony/reception decor rather than buying. (cost: $150)
This has taken me months of research and not settling for the first thing I see.

View Quoted Comment

This.

You can't replace a meal with appetizers, but if you have a mid-afternoon reception, cake-and-punch options are often more affordable.

I like your Idea i would ask venue about signature drinks (maybe 2) ad keep your reception short 2 hours because appetizers won't hold people over especially if there's no variety and it's around meal time.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the responses everyone. I forgot to mention that the caterer is a close family friend who owns a catering business. All we'd need to source really are the ingredients to prepare the apps/dinner depending on which route we go.