Ways to cut cost for food?

Keep it simple - pizza is cheap and easy for a park. I’d suggest thinking about a non meal time also.

I like Amanda's suggestion of pizza. Getting restaurant catering like Olive Garden or Chipotle can also be fairly inexpensive. How many guests are you inviting? The easiest way to cut costs on food is cutting the guest list. I would definitely stay away from a pot luck. You don't want to make your guests responsible for part of your hosting duties. Plus, pot lucks bring food safety concerns.

I also like the pizza suggestion! It's much easier and safer than a potluck. You could have the basic pizza flavors, but then add a few adventurous flavors to spice things up if you want!

I do like the recipe card idea though for your guest book!!

Do not do a potluck. Your guests should never be responsible for helping you host your event, but also. Huge issues with keeping everything at safe temperatures. You also have no idea what state their kitchens are in or how they're handling the food. The only recipe you'll be getting is one for disaster.

Like others have said, you can easily do something like olive garden, BBQ, chipotle, even chick-fil-a for catering. You can buy disposable chaffing kits to keep the food hot.

Easiest way to cut cost it to cut your guest list though. Don't host more people than you can afford no matter how much you want to have all these people involved in your day.

That’s only the beginning of a very long list of cons when it comes to having a potluck wedding. The best way to decrease your food cost is to cut your guest list. Also consider Mexican, Italian, or BBQ as they are typically the least expensive catering options.

I wouldn't do a pot luck if people are traveling far. But I would order a pizza or from a cheap but good restaurant that does catering. Some of those chain restaurants can be pretty reasonable for catering.

My fiancé and I have looked at some cheaper "catering" options such as Chick-fil-a, Chipotle, and the local grocery store catering options. It's also possible to get party trays from Sam's Club or Costco. I agree with you that a potluck probably isn't the most practical. Hope that helps!

Grocery store deli sandwich trays are usually very affordable! Definitely do not ask guests to bring food for your wedding.

View Quoted Comment Holy crap! I didn’t realize Chick-fil-A did catering! That is amazing! Lol I love Chick-fil-A but I haven’t had it in like a year because every time I drive by the line is always so long.
This is so good to know! I will definitely use this for a baby shower hopefully if I have a baby or something LOL

OK, what PP said suggesting the Chick-fil-A catering! As a guest I would be so psyched if I went to a laid-back wedding at a park and they were serving Chick-fil-A!

A cake and punch reception! there's a ton of people who skip having a sit down meal altogether and just host dessert and drinks after during a non-meal hour

You could also get sandwiches (Subway or grocery store), but maybe with Covid concerns ask that they be cut in 1/2 and each 1/2 individually wrapped to protect against bugs in the park and human germs. For a side, individual chips or encased fruit cups but I’d skip stuff like salad/dressing that can spoil in summer heat!


If a small group, a food truck might work but I’d be concerned other park goers would think it was a truck for all! 😮 🤦‍♀️

Potluck would be a hard no for me, for so many reasons.

The easiest way to cut costs would probably be to cut down your guest list, but other ideas (seconding other PPs) would be pizza, inexpensive catering such as Olive Garden or Chipotle, or sandwich platters.

I think a sandwich platter or pizza would be perfect for a park reception. I like light, snacky foods like sandwiches and fruit cups, especially for earlier in the day. I also love Chick Fil A, and if you get meals from them for your guests, they will also get a cookie 😛

Try bbq or Italian call up restraunts

Aside from cutting your guest list, the best way to save money on food is to do inexpensive catering like pizza, Mexican, Italian, BBQ, or sandwich platters. Potlucks are a big no-no for weddings.

A potluck is is ok for a family reunion but not a wedding because nearly all wedding venues require a licensed caterer for liability issues. If you want to cut costs, and just cake and punch is not an option, contact a favorite local restaurant. Nearly all offer corporate catering services where you get a ton of food at a very low price in comparison with what a wedding caterer will serve and charge (less food, people always say it's inedible, and is 10x more expensive). The quality of the corporate catering is better too.

We are doing Mexican from La Parrilla. It is a local Mexican Restaurant! We managed to get our dinner, cocktail hour, and margarita bar for 60 guest for around 1700 bucks! That is full service as well!