Food Truck Reception

I'm having a food truck reception can't tell you how it goes since I have 2 months to find out xD I did have a few friends attend a wedding with a food truck and they enjoyed it.

Im having a grilled cheese food truck after the reception so they can take a snack to go lol

I have never had this but would consider the number of guests you have before doing it. I once went to a food truck fest and I waited in line for 3 hours to get food because it takes a while to make individual meals. I think it would be great for a smaller wedding.

I've heard of one bride who did this. She had 3 trucks all at the same time and a small guest list so people weren't waiting on line long.

I'm having one with 3 trucks (my wedding will be 180ish people), one grilled cheese, one Southern/Mexican fusion, and one meat/veg on sticks truck. I considered a dessert truck as well but it seemed too messy and I'm just going to do donuts and small desserts instead. A friend echoed the same sentiments to me and so I decided that it sounded fun and I was going to do it. I'm going to have them do a limited menu and have 2-3 options per truck and also plan on asking them to have upgraded plates/flatware vs the usual stuff. I'm also going to ask them to have 5 of any given thing ready at a time and if I have to eat a bit of that cost that's fine.

I imagine it isn't too different from a buffet as my guests won't walk far at all to the truck. If it rains we'll need to negotiate some other plan but I'm not worried.

EDIT: I'm also having a 3pm wedding that is relatively casual and a cocktail hour buffet style and with stations beforehand with non food truck apps.

I've researched food truck receptions and I've also seen a couple. Typically everything will be served on their usual disposable plates etc so there's a lot more trash than catering, which uses real flatware are silverware. This can also "dress down" an event. If you want a more formal feel a food truck won't be right for you.

A lot of food trucks will offer one or two options and make a buttload of them, instead of the whole trucks work (usually 5+ options)

Depending on guest count, expect lines just like a buffet would have. Food trucks can only make and store so much food at a time, so when your guests inevitably take everything they have to offer at one time they will have to make more and your guests will be waiting.

It *can* be cheaper, but it might not necessarily be enough to make mention. It's just a different set-up, and you need to decide if you want that.

Thanks @Alecia! If you're ever in Memphis, TN I highly suggest finding Say Cheese and El Mero Tacos trucks, better than any local catering I've had!

My food truck wedding will be a buffet line, they cook on the truck and bring it out to the line. The staff replenishes as needed.

@Polly I'll be in Memphis early next year. Maybe I can track those trucks down!!

@Kayla V Best way to track them down is, I think, to follow their Instagram and/or twitter.

Also, my third food truck Stickem is very good as well but these other 2 are like best of Memphis good. El Mero does a fried chicken taco with a smoked cheese grits side with an egg on top that is to die for (and that is probably going to be on the wedding menu sans egg since cooking all those eggs would be hard).

This is so cool

@Hailey I really like that idea! I never even thought they could do that.

I'm considering a food truck reception, but I am concerned about the flow, things taking time, even with multiple trucks, and the possibility of making the wedding appear less formal than it is (not that it's super formal, but still not crazy casual). There isn't a whole lot out there about people who have actually done this type of reception, but there's some good input on this thread already. One option I am going to look into is that my venue provides a waitstaff upon request (for an additional fee), so FH and I are trying to figure out a way of utilizing that option somehow with the trucks. But I'm still on the fence about the whole thing, even though I am food truck obsessed.

@veeismeee I agree! My wedding isn't going to be super formal, but I don't want people to get a casual bar vibe either. But, I'm really thinking about looking into this further now after everyone's suggestions. To me, I'd rather spend money on food that I know is going to be really good instead of throwing away a bunch of money on a caterer who will be serving typical blah wedding food.

One of my friends is doing this and I love the idea. I would imagine it won't be too much of a wait, especially if people are coming and going at their leisure. Also if it's something the companies have done before they will come we'll prepared.

There are quite a few people that I've heard of here planning this. I have heard stories of smaller events going well. I would worry that in larger crowds there may be waits for food, and I've heard that a couple of times as well on here.

We are having a coal oven gourmet pizza truck do our at home celebration party as well as some hor devours. Ours is very casual since it's not my actual reception but it will be set up buffet style. His oven cooks pizzas every 90 seconds. We also have food for 3 hours in case anyone comes late. People that know seem excited about it. ETA: I did find it cheaper since he charges per pizza and not per person. We have a lot of young kids that may not eat a lot or whatever so it's saving us about $1000.

I was also thinking about doing this... but my venue requires their vendors but if I have the trucks on the road outside idk how they could tell me no