Restaurant catering vs catering company?

First, does the venue allow outside catering? What type of venue is it? Is it very fancy? If so, it'll be really weird to not have servers.

Definitely double check with the venue. Mine doesn’t allow outside catering! If they do allow it and your venue isn’t very fancy I think a buffet is fine from a restaurant.

View Quoted Comment The venue has an all inclusive catering package that is $130 per person and a non catering for a much cheaper price. It’s an outdoor wedding and I’ll have rustic decor.

View Quoted Comment Yeah I would double check with her cause she has different packages for her venue. She has a catering and a non catering which the price drastically changes lol

View Quoted Comment And To be a little more specific, it’s an outdoor ranch style wedding

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Got it. So I think it's definitely cheaper to get a restaurant to cater. The things that would concern me are:

Who is making sure the food stays at a safe temperature?

Who is refreshing food when it runs out?

Who controls the portions that each guest takes?

What are you doing about your bar service?

I'm having a restaurant caterer with event staff that will oversee the buffet, check temps, clear plates etc.

Also hiring a bartender that will serve the drinks that I purchase for the wedding.

My costs come out to about $70pp.

Hope this helps!

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Those would be some concerns for me too without servers available. If you go the restaurant catering route, I would see if you could get a few people that you know who wouldn't mind serving that day. Maybe some older teens or young adults could help you. Our venue doesn't allow outside food. We are doing a buffet dinner, but they will have servers on hand and will continue to replenish the food during the allotted dinner time so we don't run out of anything. We are having around 60 people. It is just one less thing you would have to worry about if you could get some servers onsite to assist.

There are many great options where you can do this for less than a traditional catering company. I used to work for a restaurant that also did catering. It was a laid back family restaurant so prices were lower than your typical $100 a plate, but still quality food. There were servers as well. My FSIL went with a similar restaurant for her wedding. It was a buffet with servers helping and worked great. She bought alcohol and hired one of the bartenders from the restaurant to serve it.
I’ve also heard of weddings being catered by places like Olive Garden or Panera Bread, which would cost far less. Depends on how formal you want.

I think a restaurant would probably be better than a regular catered meal, to be honest! I would just make sure you have the restaurant bring some servers and people to set up and take down the buffet.

Why dont you ask what a buffet costs? sometimes it's a bit cheaper

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Yeah that sounds very affordable.

We have a meeting with our vendor at the end of the month and I’ll make sure do address these concerns as well. Thank you guys! 😁

It's great that you're trying to find ways to cut costs and make your wedding more intimate. Asking a restaurant to cater is a smart idea, and it can often be more budget-friendly. It might also bring a unique touch to your special day.