9 Best Tips for Wedding Catering on a Budget

Having a low budget doesn’t mean you and your partner shouldn’t get married. It does mean, however, that you might need a few tips and tricks to help you stretch your budget. After all, you don’t want to have to get into debt just so you and your guests can fully enjoy your wedding reception.

Planning a wedding can be pretty expensive, but fortunately, there are many ways you can save some money without sacrificing quality. Here are a ten tips to help you plan your wedding catering on a budget.

1. Take a good look at your guest list

If it’s not too late to do so, take a moment to look at your guest list, and to see if you really need to send out invitations to all these people. The best tip for wedding catering on a budget is to cut out any excesses, and that include your guest list.

Of course, you want your closest friends and family members to celebrate this wonderful day with you, but not inviting this cousin you never see of this friend you haven’t spoken with since high school will help you save some money.

2. Consider a brunch or a lunch instead of a dinner

If possible, you should consider serving a brunch or a lunch to your guests, instead of a full dinner. Dinners are usually more heavy and more expensive, so if you can plan a morning or midday reception instead of an evening party, you will save some money on your catering bill.

3. Consider not serving any meat

Unless yourself, your partner, and half your guests are on a vegan or vegetarian diet, there is no good reason for you to plan a meatless menu, right? Well, think again. Meat is expensive, so if you can plan a delicious vegetarian menu with your caterer, you should be able to save a lot of money.

4. Consider serving hors d’oeuvres instead of a full meal

Serving a four or five course meal to your guests is not a good idea if you are on a tight budget. Instead of a full meal, you should consider serving many choices of hors d’oeuvres during the reception.

If you insist on serving a meal, maybe you should spend a bit more on quality hors d’oeuvres, and spend less on the lunch or dinner. After all, many of your guests might be too full to enjoy a large meal if they really enjoyed your hors d’oeuvres.

5. Talk to your caterer about wedding catering on a budget

You shouldn’t be embarrassed to tell your caterer you are on a tight budget. The wedding caterer is there to accommodate your requests as much as possible. If they keep forgetting it and telling you you should add more courses or more fancy hors d’oeuvres to your reception menu, remember that you and your partner should be the ones taking final decisions, not your caterer.

Be sure to ask your caterer to use local and in-season ingredients to prepare the different items on your menu. You don’t want to put a colourful and tasty summer salad on the menu if you’re getting married in the winter, as most of the ingredients needed will be expensive and difficult to find.

6. Offer a simple menu to your guests

Simplicity is the key to wedding catering on a budget. If you want to serve a plated meal, you shouldn’t offer more than two choices to your guests. Decide on two simple options that are delicious, but affordable. Offering a buffet instead of a plated meal could be a good alternative, as long as you’re able to estimate how much food you will need. You don’t want your buffet to run out of food long before the reception is over.

A fancy five course meal might sound appealing, but keep in mind it would also be very expensive. If you are serving hors d’oeuvres before the meal, you don’t need more than two or three courses to keep everyone satisfied. Think about a soup or salad, a main entrée, and dessert.

7. Don’t spend too much money on liquor

You probably won’t need a fully stocked bar to keep the party going. You could, for example, only serve beer and some sparkling wine to your guests. You could also ask your guests to bring their own drinks, or simply ask them to pay for anything they might want to order at your reception bar.

8. Let your guests help themselves instead of hiring servers

Hors d’oeuvres might look more fancy when they are being passed around by a server, but hiring this server and their colleagues will increase your catering bill. Most guests will probably prefer being able to help themselves anyway, instead of waiting for the serving staff to approach them.

9. Forget about a tiered wedding cake

Unless you have been dreaming about a beautiful tiered wedding cake for a long time, you should consider serving a more affordable dessert.

Cupcakes, or a more humble cake, could be a great alternative to a gigantic cake that would look so good that no one would dare cutting it.