meal vs. "finger foods"

Im leaning more toward the finger food type stuff. maybe have subs of some sort also. some "food item' but doesnt take a ton of prep and cost.

We're seeing more appetizers served at our venue. Families will shop at the local big box stores for fruit and veggie trays then have family members make favorite appetizers to add to the mix. HOW they're served can make all the difference - beautiful serving pieces on a pretty table. If you go this route make sure you assign folks to plate, serve and refill the table, also consider the table bussing. A couple of our brides made family recipe booklets of the sweet and savory appetizers that were served and gave these out as favors - for the cost of paper they had a fun favor, both the favors and the food personalized the event. Providing an appetizer is a nice wedding gift from relatives.

We have a teacher who'll be married soon. Some of her students will be helping w/ the serving/bussing tasks, they'll get community service credit for the work, will likely have good fun and our staff will provide oversight to make sure the job's done right.

If you go for finger foods, be sure that your ceremony & reception don't fall during a big meal of the day. I don't expect big fancy meals when I attend weddings, but I also can't get through a meal time by just grazing on finger foods. I tend to leave receptions early if I'm starving and there isn't anything substantial to eat.

I agree with Jessy. It really depends on what time of day your wedding is. I wouldn't recommend finger food if they are going to be eating around dinner time.

We suggest that "appetizers will be served" or some such be added to the invitation - that way the guests know what to expect and can plan on dinner before or after attending the event.

That makes sense. make sure they know it's appetizers and account for the time of day......people who are happy for you will still be happy for you and the others who just wanted a good meal will not show up or give what they deem is an appropriate gift....really, do what you can afford to do for your guests

I agree with all of the above posts. You mentioned the high school program...what is that all about?

I think it's a great idea, just be careful. I know that my cousin did this and ended up paying the same price that she would have for a full meal. If you're not actually going to be saving money you might want to reconsider...

I agree with Mandi-- make sure you are aware of what costs you will really be paying!! For example, some of the places say that it looks bad if your food supply looks bare... which means they will be restocking it the whole time and your guests could eat as much as they would at a regular meal but you could be paying twice as much

I also agree with everyone about the time of day.... another thing I think you should consider is how many out of town guests you will be having. Quite frankly if I am traveling like... 5 hours to get to the wedding I am going to be pissed if all I get are munchies... and then I have to drive out again, and spend more money on food. JMHO. I think you can work it out as long as you pay attention to detail!

I think that it depends on the time of day you are having your reception. Overall, I do believe that preparing a meal will have slightly a greater cost depending on how many people you are trying to fed. You can have family members help prepare dishes and some will be thrilled that you have asked them to do such a gesture. Also, as for as the high school program, are you referring to a home economics class? If so, I think that it will be nice, and will give students training that they need. However, keep in mind most likely you are still purchasing the food that is needed, so having bridesmaids, family, and close friends who do not mind help you out. It will be a lot less expensive as well as honors to some!

I agree that people will eat just as much food whether it's appetizers or dinner, so you could end up paying the same. Don't do subs. They are messy and they just don't look pretty.

How many people are you having? That will be the big cost. If you are having 50 people, no problem. If you are having 200, you will have to spend more money, no matter what you're serving.

Think about the cake, punch, chocolate fountain with fruit and sweets and maybe some veggies with cheese and crackers. Forget about the hot food on your budget. Do what you can afford, but do it beautifully.

The wedding and reception(most likely) will be 2 seperate days. we are wanting to have a evening(3 ish) wedding and the place we are looking to have it is a 2-2 1/2 hour drive plus picture time. and 90% of my fam ar in bebed by 8. so it would be a waste really to have the reception the same night for maybe 10 people! and the reception place we get from like 6 am till midnight. so i thought thought maybe have a game time at some point maybe watch some movies... so people can come in and out as they want so if noon is a good time they can come at noon if they want to come at 7 they can. then start the "reception" at 5-6 ish and have the finger food type stuff. as for out of towners hardly any. fh fam (10 maybe) maybe 5 friends. and at the reception were guessing high at 100-115. realistically 50-75