Rustic wedding DIY food?

Picnic foods- fried chicken, barbecue, pasta salad, green salad, corn, etc.

Ravioli is easy, cheap, and can be made with or without sauce. I would make it both ways to accommodate everybody. Erica had some good ideas too.

What's the size of the guest list? Are you considering doing your own food because you love the idea of it, or is it more of a budgetary issue?

It's more of a budgetary thing. Most places I've looked at are pretty expensive for the amount of food I want. We're having around 80-100 guests. Our budget for the whole wedding is around $10, 000 for everything. My dad makes delicious bbq, but I don't want to ask my guests to work on my wedding day.

Look at non traditional caterers, We're being catered by a food truck and were getting a full luncheon meal (not many choices, but delicious food) for only $10 pp.

$10,000 is a nice-sized budget. And making BBQ for 80-100 is a lot of work - wouldn't your dad rather be spending your wedding with you instead of cooking?

We had BBQ - but we had a friend volunteer - he is a BBQ cook-off champion, one who is used to smoking and catering large amounts of meat. He started smoking the meats the day before and was busy the entire wedding day (he smoked on the premises).

We are doing

mac and cheese (making it and freezing it reheating at the wedding, Yummy)

Pulled pork, they have at sams club,

Green beans ,

7 layer salad ,

salad ,

one veggie option probably a non-meat pasta dish

and something with chicken

Still working out all the details but for dessert we are making

pumpkin non bake cheesecake,

dozen cupcakes,

small cake to cut ,

lemon squares ,

and a sugar free option

Does your dad know how to cook for that many people? Cooking for 4 and cooking for 100 is a huge difference. I think it is sweet that he will do that for you We have the same budget amount and I found a really nice restaurant that offered me a group deal and for 100 people for lunch (My reception will be over by 4pm) it is a sit down served lunch meal meaning the portions are smaller. My guest get to choose between soup or salad, 3 entries, potato, veggie, and bread sticks. The are providing all white linens, china, stemware, etc, and I get the banquet room for 3 hours. Oh yeah we are serving 4 appetizers 2 hot and 2 cold, and all the soft beverages and coffee they can drink for $3,300. So it pays to check around and ask. Try calling the meat stores in your area and ask about a hog roast and then you can DIY side dishes if you would like, much easier. Also call you local bbq fast food joint and see if they offer by the pound options. One bbq joint in my area offers this and we were thinking about using them for our rehearsal dinner and they priced us like 150 bucks for 75 people and we think we are only going to have about 35-40 at rehearsal dinner. Someone will have to go pick it up and you will have to keep it hot and cold but at least your not working your tussy off. Hope this helps.

Ok, I have another question. I'm from Louisiana but am getting married in the north Georgia mountains. I'm sorry to say this, but I hate GA style bbq. It's super vinegar-y and sour. How do I go about bringing that up to a restaurant or caterer? Louisiana bbq is sweet and thick with a little spice, will they do that?

Maybe just that, ask if they provide a Louisiana style BBQ. That even sounds like a fun way that you can start getting a feel for what you want your wedding to be like.... I know that there's a bride here doing a New Orleans themed wedding.

Maybe have them cook the meat and you can offer your guest different sauces. A restaurant here does that. There sauces range from sweet to fire hot.

We are doing pot roast, carrots, potatoes, grn bns, corn, rolls. You can make all of these in an oven and then use chafers to keep them warm. Could get it all from a Sam's or Costco. I wouldn't ask any guests to spend time cooking that should be spent wit other guests and BP including you and FH! Consider hiring an acquaintance that has some experience in the food industry. None of that is hard to make and pretty hard to screw up but you still want to be sure they handle it correctly, so not to add any stress to you. Good luck!

Do you live somewhere there's a BBQ food truck? My venue said they've had food trucks in the past, and around here (metro area) they do a platter for $7, so I'd think they could do a slightly bigger menu for $10/person, not including drinks. Keep in mind that restauarnts and food trucks can get food at wholesale prices and in bulk, so they may be able to do it cheaper than you can, just by virtue of the volume discount. Make sure you're 100% certain it's cheaper to do it yourself.

That said, chicken thighs and legs are 1/2 to 1/5 the price of a chicken breast, and if you brine them and bbq them on the grill in batches ahead of time, then chill, you can put them in a hot plate of BBq sauce and reheat for the dinner itself, and they'll still have the grill flavor, but you won't fear undercooking them. Add a pasta primavera as your second dish - pasta is cheap, and fresh veggies over it make it a side dish for the carnivores, or a suitable main for vegetarians... making the sauce a tomato sauce or on the side even covers vegans Corn can also be roasted on the grill - cut the cobs in half, so they go further, and baked beans from scratch are cheap and also cook ahead well and reheat well. Add some macaroni salad, and you're good to go.

No one is going to your wedding for the food - and no one will complain about homestyle food, in fact people are usually thrilled because formal dinners too often leave the boys hungry

I am having a barnlike wedding reception. We are doing a pulled bbq beef, with plain chicken shredded, with buns, there is corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a fruit salad. We went o the local butcher. All of that for under 700 for 150 people! Dont be afraid to ask the non traditonal places if they can do food for weddings

I love this idea of doing your own food. I was so into this, but we have no place near us that could serve as our outdoor reception venue. But if I could this is what I would serve my guests: Chicken baked, fried, BBQ, beef tenderloin, possibly a beef stew, potatoes mashed, or boiled red bliss potatoes with herbs on them( can't go wrong with that), mac and cheese, corn on the cob, or in nibblet form, green bean casserole, a nice fall salad, turkey maybe like what you see at buffets ~ it could be a craving station option, carrots, biscuits, pasta of some kind. For dessert aside from the cake, maybe make a pumpkin mousse (SO easy to make, lots of recipes online about it) and serve ginger snap cookies (can buy them at any grocery store) as the scoops for the mousse, could make fall themed pies: pumpkin, blueberry, apple, a custard pie. Hope this helps a bit. Happy cooking / baking.

Jessica... You said you're getting married in North Ga Mountains (this is where I live)... In Habersham, Ga there is a restaurant I used to waitress at (Mickey Piggs Bar-b-que) that has the style BBQ you're looking for... more on the sweet side with a mild spice. They do catering. It's family owned and operated... Go for lunch one day and see how you like it.