What to have for food for a back yard wedding reception?

My mom's wedding reception was in her backyard. It had cupcakes, potato salad, chips, fruit, veggies. They also had buns, different types of meat, and cheese so people could make their own sandwiches. They had an open house reception so people came and went throughout the day.

We did a food truck too and it was a HUGE hit! Then you dont have to worry about any china or the logistics of keeping the food warm. It was by far one of the best decisions we made for our day! It totally depends on each specific food truck but just for reference we fed 30 people total and ended up spending $550 with tip included.

In my area, food trucks (at least the ones that were taking calls before things reopened) are not an affordable option for a small number of people. We had heavy appetizers in attractive individual containers for dinner, provided by a caterer that my mom's friend recommended. It worked out really well. An ice cream truck (which I guess is technically a food truck) came for dessert.

I'm having my backyard wedding next week and we're doing three shifts. First shift will be early afternoon, so we're serving brunch that we're mostly making ourselves (French toast casserole, egg casserole, quiche, bagels & lox, fruit salad, yogurt, granola, mimosas, Bloody Marys). Second shift is late afternoon, and we're having it catered (spanokopita, meze platter, salad, assorted sliders, cheese platters, and a couple appetizers). Third shift is later in the evening for our friends, and for that we're having a bunch of small bites (also catered).

We looked into doing a food truck but it wasn't going to work with our weird timing. It sounds like that could be a good option for you, though! People love that sort of thing.