Wedding Meal???

Hello All!

I'm getting married in October and so far, everything is very DIY.  The only thing that worries me is the food.  We are having our ceremony at 6PM so the reception is scheduled to get started around 7PM.  We have so many out of town guests, I do feel obligated to provide something a little more than standard cake and finger foods. 

So, what I'd like to know is...Does anyone have any cost-effective, intermediate skill recipes that could be like, oh I don't know..quadrupled...to serve around 75+?  Especially if it's something that can be partially prepared in advance? 

The really simple answer is to just hire a caterer, but I work with caterers/catering services on a daily basis, and I know we don't even have the cheapest in our budget.  Any advice/ideas sincerely appreciated!!!!

Why not do something super-easy but very filling like jacket baked potatoes with all the trimmings. They can be partly cooked, tossed into a big baking dish and finished off during the ceremony, and then you just serve sour cream (lite), l/f grated cheese and homemade coleslaw (without a dressing). Our very extended family all love me doing this at celebrations, and if I want to cater to the carnivores I cook a big piece of roast beef to go with it. Another possibility is home-made pizzas. I know you are talking about a wedding but it is possible to make a very upmarket pizza for not too much money, and everyone loves them - even the healthy ones! It is very hard to be economical at big celebrations but it is possible - my husband and I fed 100+ people at our wedding for $300 (Australian) - not counting the alcohol of course. Good luck anyway - although it is extra work the home catering thing definitely saves money plus everybody always loves the food. Have a wonderful wedding

This is going to sound horrible, but just think what they serve in places like cafeterias and at camps! The food they serve is generally liked by many an usually tolerated by the rest. Stuff like lasagna or a pasta "bar" with deferent topping and add ins are easy things to make "classy". Anything with a carb-y base is going to be less expensive. How about a simple caesar salad with shrimp scampi over linguine? You can buy inexpensive frozen shrimp in HUGE bags at those big warehouse grocers like costco or sam's club.

You could also do something like a fancy meatloaf with simple sides like sauteed green beans and mashed potatoes!

I would suggest using slow cookers so you dont have to watch the food too closely. maybe rice pilaf and shredded beef, served with a salad some side veggies and rolls.

I agree, we did a pasta buffet for my wedding and everyone was happy with it, we did marinara meat sauce, plain marinara, and alfredo with the option of speggetti or pasta spirals breadsticks and a basic green salad.

For appetizers/deserts we had out baked zucchini, pumpkin and banana breads and chocolate covered strawberries. The breads were nice because we made them weeks in advance and just froze them

Everyone complemented on it.

i dont know if you WANT soup, but i made my own recipe for a creamy tomato/basil soup, and the recipe i use serves about 6? [like, put it this way, my dad, his gf and i al had TWO bowls at dinner and there was still some left over] so if you'd like that, just message me and i'll be happy to send it your way [its already written out because my dad wanted the recipe. if you make it the day before it should be fine. just put it back on a boiler. and its really cheap.] i'd say the 6ish serving is about... $10 tops.  but i'm sure you can go to a costco or something and get bigger cans or a better deal.

 

/ramble.

message if you'd like it, haha.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies!  I really like the idea of the pasta buffet, that's something that everyone could make to their liking.  Does anyone know if fettucini or spaghetti noodles can be cooked then regrigerated/frozen?

Or just make it a potluck. ;)

Cooked pasta can be refrigerated or frozen, but cook it very al dente or it will be mush when you reheat it.

We self-catered our wedding with Greek food - spanikopita, stuffed grape leaves, baklava. We cooked for 30 and it was a lot of work. Fun but exhausting making all those individually wrapped pieces. I definitely recommend things in large pans and steam trays.

Pasta can be pre-cooked and refrigerated...I wouldn't try freezing it (unless you plan to freeze it WITH sauce on it)...and even then, it's not very good).

If your idea is to just serve plain pasta with different sauces (for people to make their own dish) then you want to pre-cook the noodles, rinse them well in cold water (this removes some of the starch and keeps them from sticking as much as well as stopping the cooking process so they don't become mush), drain them VERY well, and then toss the pasta in a little olive oil before putting in the fridge. (While us italians will tell you that you NEVER want to oil your pasta because it impedes the sauce sticking to it, when you are pre-cooking pasta it is a must). And I wouldn't cook it more than a day or two ahead of time. And yes, it needs to be a little al dente...but if you rinse it with cold water, you need only cook it about 30 seconds short of how you would normally cook it. Reheating is easy....cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the microwave for a few minutes (toss regularly while heating).

I cater...and did an elaborate wedding spread for a friend for $700 for 250 people (no labor costs...it was a labor of love!). My suggestion to you is to round up as many friends as possible to help. The last thing a bride needs to be doing the last few days before her wedding is cooking!

Regarding sauces...stay away from alfredo's/cream based sauces. If you make them ahead of time they will separate and become an oily mess. Pesto, marinara, meat sauce, pomodora, puttanesca are all good options. Just remember, as a bride-red based sauces become very scary when wearing a white dress!

A couple alternative options. I just went to a wedding two weekends ago where it was a potluck...there is one idea (especially if you can get a volunteer to coordinate so you have enough main dishes, salad, sides, etc). Another idea is to ask a few friends to provide something as a gift to you (or even for a small price). You could ask a couple friends to split the main dish, one for salad, one for sides, and one for breads (or whatever you menu might include).

Another idea is something like au gratin or scalloped potatoes with a simple baked chicken with some nice green veggie (steamed broccoli or sauteed green beans) and a salad. This is easil pre-made and reheated....and is MUCH easier than pasta to eat when dressed up.

Hope some of these ideas help. Congrats on the upcoming nuptials...may you have a LIFETIME of love and happiness!