Food Truck Reception

I would say your best bet is to reach out to the food trucks and see what they say. I'm sure they have catered weddings and events before and can recommend the best option. Also, you may want to ask their policies. I know my friend looked into a food truck for a party and they had a certain dollar amount minimum that they required you to meet before they would even come to the event.

Also, if you're worried about one truck running out before the other, maybe have one savory truck and one sweet? That way guests would order one or two dinner items from the one truck and then sweets from the other, might be easier to plan for.

I would reach out to them but two may be good to cut down on the lines. I'm not having a food truck reception but if I could I would because food trucks are awesome!!

My mom has a food truck- talk to them about the portion size that they are going to offer. If they do sandwiches, they could do smaller options so that people could get food from each truck (if that's what you want). Let both know that you are going to have two options and talk to them about if you want them to be able to feed all the people from each truck or if you think the people will split the trucks. As long as you are paying the agreed upon amount, they should be able to flex little things like that.

ETA- Spelling

I have been to a food truck reception. And yes, a lot of people did eat from both food trucks. It was like having a buffet. People wanted some of everything.

They shortened the menu from each truck though. Each truck was clearly offering their most popular, let's call it top 5 choices, including a vegetarian entree at each. I imagine they worked with the owner's of the trucks to come up with a menu to be able to feed the number of people they had but also knowing that people would eat at the other truck too. But the trucks were there for a few hours. So people ate for a while. I mean food truck food is GOOD usually. People chowed down! Lol. I saw most people at the trucks at least twice. And some people as many as three and four. Keep in mind, they were handing out smaller portions than if it were standard meal time on the street, but still with dancing and stuff...people ate.

ETA: grammar is hard on Monday mornings.

I am having two food trucks cater my reception - you're the first bride I've found that is doing it too!

Most of the trucks I contacted had a minimum. We originally were going to go with someone who charged a per person amount for three hours (for a total of $1300 for our 85 guests, I think), but we ended up finding two trucks that respectively charge $300-500 an hour and we are booking each truck for three hours. That "hourly" amount will be treated like a tab for our guests to order whatever they want. I spoke with both of them and I don't think there is any chance of us going over our budgeted amount; our 85 guests would have to basically eat two and a half full meals with some extra dessert or sides thrown in to top the budget. The one truck is sushi/hibachi and for the most expensive hibachi combination, it is $10 for the entree/side. Our Mexican/taco truck is even less per person, but I expect people will probably have food from both trucks and that is totally what we're hoping for! We are going to set aside some extra money just in case our guests exceed the minimum, but both trucks were very confident we wouldn't, especially once we told them we got a second truck.

Definitely talk to each truck and see what they recommend, but I would imagine people would eat from both. We have food truck nights where I live where like 7 trucks come to the fairgrounds and rotate each time, I see people grabbing something from 3 different trucks to eat.

You all are AWESOME! This has really helped me get over the anxiety of being more direct with my food vendors and tell them exactly what I need. We are so looking forward to a food truck reception and I think I now have a better handle on how to go about the finer details.

Food truck reception sounds so cool! I haven't been to a wedding with that before but I'd imagine it'll be a big hit. As for me, if I were a guest I'd want to try something from both trucks. I'm sure they will have a plan to help you maximize your budget while still ensuring your guests will get to enjoy all of the yummy food.

Hungry enough? No, probably not, but if they are different and offer different foods, they may want to try both. When my fiancé and I go to food truck parks, we get small selections to try the multiple places.

I would think that food trucks would be much like food stations..which we had 3 of them. Most people tried all 3 and some went back for seconds or thirds at one or two of them. Talk to both and hopefully they already have experience with multi-truck weddings.

Will people chow down? Watch a young man order dinner at a restaurant. In fact, watch him down a Denny's Grand Slam Breakfast or two quarter pounders with cheese. Yes, men, especially the younger ones who don't yet have issues with high blood pressure, IBS, GERD, Type II Diabetes, and/or food sensitivities, will grab as much as their plates can hold. Actually, make sure you have selections for people who have to be very careful about what they eat. Please be sure to have broiled chicken or fish and fresh veggie salads for those who have no choice but to manage their food intake.

I've never been to a food truck wedding, so honestly, it sounds a little odd to me (no offense intended -- I've only been to two buffet weddings, so anything outside of plated is a mystery to me). That doesn't mean it's bad; it just means I'm completely unaccustomed to being fed at a wedding via a food truck. I know there are brides in our area who hire trucks to pull up in the last hour of the wedding to offer food "nightcaps" -- stuff like candy, ice-cream, cotton candy, or sliders, fries, nachos, and tacos. Many of these brides are having their receptions at conventional venues, so it's more of a novelty than a necessity.

If you're having a backyard wedding, I think this could work. Lines? Yes, there will be lines, but there would be lines if you had a buffet. Just make sure there is enough available (and enough of a selection to properly feed everyone-- including those with medical issues). If you cover those bases, your backyard wedding should be a terrific affair.

The Centerpiece Flower - Thank you for your candid response and suggestions! We know we're taking a little "risk" by doing something out of the ordinary, but we want to make sure no matter how we feed our guests, we feed them well! We're also lucky to have a really long driveway, so setting up the two trucks actually works out perfectly.

You could do what some brides do and have them pick their meal of choice on the RSVP card, that way you'll know how much for each truck.

BTW, I love food trucks and I love this idea.

I"m not exactly sure how this would work either; will people custom order at each truck? It seems like that would take a lot of time.... Will they all head to the trucks at the same time?

As a caterer, I just can't picture it. Not trying to be mean, I just can't imagine the flow....

No worries Celia, it's a relatively new idea. Each truck will have a menu to choose from. For example, we have Foolish Waffles and they offer each guest 2 choices for a savory waffle and 2 choices for a sweet waffle. The guest can then pick one from each group. There will be a line, so to speak but buffet style has lines too and no one needs to wait until their table number is called at our reception! We're going for a laid back, early Summer evening food with a bonfire and music. I hope this gives you a better picture of what the food truck is all about.

I just dropped by to tell you that I would love to be a guest at your wedding and then I looked at your profile and notice you don't live far from me! Food trucks are amazing and I really wish we were able to have one, but we chose to get married in the city at a conventional venue. Anyway, I agree with the ladies who suggested you speak to the truck owners, as they will be familiar with how much food you need and what a good variety might be to satisfy all dietary needs. One of my friends had a food truck for her 30th birthday a few years ago and while the event was much smaller than a wedding, it still worked out where people were able to walk up to the truck (they had one) and order off a set menu that was displayed on the side of the truck.

One other thing you may want to do if you haven't already thought of it/planned to do it is offer some hors d'oeuvres that can be placed either outside on tables or inside. That way, people have something to snack on in the event there's a line for one of the trucks. I can't speak for everyone, but if I'm around food trucks, I am definitely sampling something from each truck!

The line will be longer than a buffet line though because a food truck cooks to order. I would have apps on the table during your cocktail hour and then invite people to head over to the trucks at their leisure. Maybe even have signs that say "food trucks open from 7-9". Since this is a newer concept, people might need more direction. If you need to hit a minimum, you might also consider having either truck cater apps and sides.

We're doing a food truck too, but only one. It's a BBQ truck, and it's amazeballs! They're doing a whole roast pig and butter boiled shrimp. (There will be taro burgers for our veg guests.) We're very excited! This truck is amazing and very popular on Maui. Before we were even engaged, we knew we would hire this truck. Of course, our wedding will be pretty casual and fitting for a BBQ.

Zoe - THAT SOUNDS AMAZING! I'm really loving how this type of reception is catching on. My fiancé and I love food trucks and when the idea of it came to mind for our wedding we were both ecstatic! As I'm sure you guys are, too.

I would love to go to a food truck wedding. Sounds like it would be fun. Have the food trucks you want to hire done weddings before? If they have, they probably will have an idea on how much people typically order. I would see if they can have a certain amount of each already made to handle the initial rush to get people through quickly. I know that how food trucks often operate anyway. A waffle truck sounds awesome. What type of truck is your other truck? I would make sure both trucks have a veggie option and a dairy or gluten free option if any of your guests have allergies.