This article gives some great thrifty catering tips. One way tp save on catering is to have your wedding reception at a restaurant that is willing to close down for a wedding, We had our wedding at a Persian restaurant with great food and beautiful decor..
I went to another wedding at a beautiful Chinese restaurant with great food. Chinese ties in well with an Asian themed wedding is relatively inexpensive.
If you have your wedding in a hotel, you generally have to go with their catering package. I have been to tons of business trade shows and have sat down to many a hotel banquet meal. The exception is having a banquet at a top hotel. I have been to a few unbelievable weddings at tops hotels, but I can even imagne what they charged. I have two nightmare stories, which I admit are not typical:
My co-workers and I sat down to a banquet dinner in a Las Vegas hotel. We’re all eating the food, and suddenly, my drama queen co-worker screeches “There’s glass in my salad.” I didn’t believe her because she is such a drama queen. Her favorite line is, “It’s such an ordeal.” But the same thing happened to my boss a second later, who is the most unnaturally calm person I’ve ever known. We sent the salads back and felt really nervous eating the rest of the meal. It brought to mind how the Viet Cong put glass shards in the prisoner’s food to kill them slowly.
Another time, I went to a big wedding at a hotel. I was unfortunate to be seated at the back of the room because, by the time it was our turn to go to the buffet, most of the food was gone. About 30% of the guests did not get a main dish.
Renting a banquet room is another idea. Many states have community party rooms and gardens for rent. There are also the local community groups that rent out space. Many rental halls allow you to bring your own food. Here again, the local restaurant can come in handy if you can pick up the food. You would have to rent food-warming trays and hire servers for your party. You could order main courses and bring bread from the bakery or grocery store and make your own salad.
Whatever you choose, ask to attend a wedding that is being catered in a hotel you are considering or being catered to see and taste the food d allow you to do this. For one of these tours, wear a dress and have your fiance put on some slacks and a decent shirt. Skip the jeans and T-shirts so you don’t show up looking like the bride’s hillbilly cousins.
Leila Morris is the editor at www.wedcheaper.com.
Rent a Fake Wedding Cake
To save money on your wedding cake you can acually rent a fake cake with one real slice of cake for the bride and groom. The cake above looks way out of your budget, but it's fake..
It costs $100 to rent from cakerental.com. Meanwhile, the kitchen can slice up a Costo cake for the guests. As the servers bring it from the kitchen, you guests will never be the wiser!
Cupcakes
On celebrity trend actually saves money! Cupcakes have graduated from kids's parties. They are now featured at celebrity events and weddings. You can display cupcakes in tiers. Cupcakes are so hot that there are shops that sell nothing else. Cupcakes cost about $2 a person, compared to $5 a person for wedding cake.
1. Does the caterer provide glasses, plates, silveware, serving trays, and tablecloths? If not, these items can cost a lot more to rent. Check to see if the banquet hall provides these items so you don't pay twice.
2. Does the caterer charge more for servers?
3. Does the caterer include soft drinks or alcohol in the price? You may be able to save by buying drinks for Costco.
4. Will they use in-season fruit and vegetables for the wedding.? These costs less.
5. Do they offer a buffet (buffets are less expensive than sit-down dinners?
6. Do they have special pricing for children?
7. Are tips included in the catering fees?
8. Can the caterer just prepare the main dishes and allow you and family members to supply salad, bread, side dishes, and appetizers?
9. Can you choose expensive food items like shrimp in the appetizers and have less expensive items, like chicken and roast beef in the main course?
10. Can you caterer provide food stations that focus on different cuisines?
11. What is the minimum number of guests you will have to pay for. For example, many caterers will not let you pay for less than 80 guests even if you only have 50 guests.
12. Will the caterer let you sample the food at one of their events?
drink calculator to help determine how much alcohol to buy for a party. You just enter the the number of hours and guests. How many are light, heavy, or ageverage drinkers and whether you will be serviing beer, wine, or liquor. The good news is that you can return unopend bottles.
Catering and
the Recession
Most caterers and event planners are not seeing an increase wedding cancellations, according to a survey by the National Association of Catering Executives. But 48% are seeing a decline in how much couples are willing to spend. Fifty-two percent say that brides and grooms are scheduling their weddings on Fridays and Sundays to avoid peak wedding costs. Also, 62 percent say that clients are selecting less expensive meals.
Leila Morris is the editor at www.wedcheaper.com.
