:: Self Catering:: Good or Bad idea?

I wouldn't. You'll have enough to worry about.

Well, i think it really depends on if you can get enough family and friends to help out. You are going to have ALOT on your plate. I would look for other companies to give you a quote, and always remember that negotiation is your friend!

If you don't mind my asking, where do you live? I'm serving dinner for 150 guests for 2400.....maybe you were quoted an inflated price.

Katie, I am in Long Beach, CA. Everything is much more expensive here :-(

I had the same thought to keep costs down but in the end I realized even with Costco and pre made foods it's still a lot of work and organizing last minute. I personally wouldn't do it because I think it would be a very big distraction and too time consuming. If you could give money to people and have them buy and organize the food that may be a way to go.

I was thinking of doing the same thing. But I'm still looking to see if we can do a sit down dinner at a venue that all fits our budget. I've heard of brides that have done this but with help of family & friends.

I know someone who had a friend cater her wedding. The couple paid for the supplies and the friend donated her time and services as a gift. It was budget friendly and relieved stress from the bride and groom. That might be a better option than taking it on yourself.

I would say no but if that's all budget allows than have person you trust run point on it. Keep him or her in the loop with all the planing so you would need to deal with anything. Hot food can be tricky so keep it to a minimum.

Bad

I delegated as much as I possibly could, and I still ran around like a crazy woman Friday and Saturday. I can't imagine having to worry about feeding my guests on top of everything else. Sometimes it's worth spending money, or simplify your reception by having apps and cake.

I was considering this as well. My mother absolutley refuses to let me do it! LOL after some time and looking at all the catering stuff, I totally agree with my mom. "Be the bride"

We're buying the food, and friends are helping cook it. I'd highly recommend delegating, as someone said, because it's going to be rough on you if you don't.

This is a minor example, but I direct plays. On opening night, we always have champagne and nibbles - and the director never does that stuff because we're always running around somewhere else. We always have board members do it. I could not imagine putting together champagne and nibbles while directing a play. A wedding has not nearly as much planning and preparation, but it is time-consuming and focus-driven like directing a play. Have someone (or two) help you.

If you do it, you'll have to delegate it to someone else. You'll be too busy. Superhero much?

Not a good idea.

I recommend looking into a local college that has a culinary arts program. Some colleges do offer catering services at awesome prices. Eat 4 star quality food with a shoe string budget.

Actually, I don't think it is the worst idea for finger foods...

You can easily purchase a meat platter, cheese platter, and fruit platter...If you can swing it, maybe even a shrimp cocktail platter...Have a friend set those out.

You could then ask a friend to deep fry a bunch of premade SAMS club items; egg rolls, taquitos, wontons, chicken wings etc. Those can be made in the morning, most people don't mind eating those items luke warm.

You could have a basket of rolls, sparkling wine punch, and bottled waters with custom labels set out.

If you have 3 or 4 friends and family to help, you can probably pull it all together.

Stick to the basic, easy to prepare finger foods though. Don't try and get too fancy. You can get fancy with assorted dipping sauce presentations.

I would get a couple other quotes or talk to Sam's/Costco about their catering packs also. If you are going to do it yourself have friends and family in charge of each item on the menu... there are so many other things to worry about on your big day!

I agree with the other ladies, you MUST delegate this task to someone if you choose to go this route.

If you have enough family to cook the food go for it! my cousin brought all the food and everyone pitched in to help cook and everything came out GREAT taste better than any caterer lol. so if self catering is in your budget GO FOR IT.

My sister self-catered because her husband was a caterer, and it just didn't go well. Every time they attended to wedding duties, food service fell apart, and every time they attended to food, the rest of the wedding dragged.

No way. Personally there is way too much to worry about already and I would not want that on my plate too (no pun intended)

There is no way we are spending that much money on food. You do not go to a wedding to eat, you go to see people get married. I dont care how bad that sounds. I am not going to provide a full course free meal for my guests. Esp. after paying all this money just to have a wedding. I have a bunch of family and friends that are going to help with the food, so I wont actually be doing it. So, I think if you have enough people to help you out, then do it yourself!