I realize that most here advise against self-catering your own reception but I would love to hear from people that did self-cater with much success and would actually choose to do it all over again.
My husband (yes we're already married, we're having a marriage celebration and reception), wants to self-cater buffet style a spiral ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, salad and deviled eggs. His sister will make the eggs and we will make the rest the day of. Our guest list is a total of 74 people right now including 9 kids so we plan to provide enough food for 80. Our plan is to have a ceremony at 6pm where we read our own vows and as soon as we're done, we will announce "let's eat!" All this is going to take place in our backyard and will be very casual and informal.
We're thinking of hiring a person or two to help set up, watch over the food and help with cleanup. Looking forward to hearing about the success stories and getting advice from the experienced!