POSTED: Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008
Dos and don'ts of wedding catering
how to balance costs with pampering guests
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closeDepending on your wedding venue — indoor, outdoor, tented — catering may be provided … or require some planning, time and energy.
Gina Russell, owner of J Russell Catering along with her husband, John, has been working with weddings for the past 15 years. She has noticed more variety in the foods served at weddings, moving away from the traditional salmon and steak entrees. She has also seen more cocktail parties, with small, bite-sized food throughout the evening rather than one big meal.
Sit-down banquet style receptions require more staff to act as servers, so having a buffet-style reception can help cut costs, says Tshombe Brown of Your Signature Coaching and Consulting.
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DO SAVE ON
Appetizers: You can use fewer appetizers or less-expensive appetizers.
Time of the party: The earlier in the day the reception takes place, the less food and alcohol guests will consume.
Dinner styles: Buffet-style dinners rather than sit-down dinners cost less and allow more of the budget to be focused on the food quality.
DO NOT SCRIMP ON
Bellingham bride Jamie Shannon, 30, was married at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, and chose to have a sit-down style reception to fit in with her classic theme.
“It went with my classy-event feel and I wanted my guests to be pampered,” Shannon says. “I thought a three-course meal was a good way to pamper them.”
Other brides had family and friends do the catering themselves. Aubrey Johnston, 24, of Bellingham says she worked with a family friend who does catering especially for friends and family, so Johnston was able to save a lot of money in catering.
“We really lucked out,” Johnston says. She also had friends make cupcakes especially for members of the wedding party.
Kristine Kager and her husband, Lance Bailey, own Fools Onion Restaurant and Catering in Fairhaven. Kager says they have seen more people using seasonal and local ingredients for their catering. Fools Onion also changes its menu seasonally. For example, in January, they serve Oregon blue cheese, hazelnuts and blueberries, whereas they use raspberries in August weddings.
Kager says she still serves the traditional Northwest favorite: salmon.
'LITTLE THINGS'
Russell suggests bringing your budget to your caterer so that he or she knows what to work around.
“Costs can get out of control,” Russell says. “And there are always little things we can do to cut costs.”
The time of day also affects how much guests will eat. Early afternoon weddings or a brunch reception generally mean guests won’t eat a full meal, so serving appetizers and snacks can help cut costs. Brown says to be careful, since going heavy on appetizers can cost as much as a whole meal. People also tend to drink less alcohol at weddings that are earlier in the day.
Cutting appetizers, using a less expensive entrée, using a self-serve bar rather than an open bar, or having your reception earlier in the day all help to keep the wedding reception within budget.
Kager says she recommends cutting costs on the tableware so as not to detract from the food budget. Using recycled paper and plastic forks can be just as effective and much more cost-friendly than linens and silverware. She believes the food budget shouldn’t be cut so that you don’t lose the option of offering your guests local, fresh ingredients.
SIGNATURE DRINK
“Alcohol is probably one of the biggest expenditures,” Brown says.
There are many options when it comes to serving alcohol at your wedding. To further personalize the wedding, the bride and groom can either pick or create a signature drink that is served, along with beer and wine. This reflects the couple or can even be the couple’s favorite drink, Brown says.
Other options include having an early wedding and then meeting your friends later for dancing and socializing, Brown says. That relieves the pressure of hosting a venue for the reception and providing alcohol.
Russell says having just beer and wine is increasingly common, as a full bar is no longer expected. At the same time, a full bar helps create a more classic environment. She agrees with creating a signature drink such as a pomegranate margarita to keep the wedding personalized and cut costs. Another option is to have a full bar until a certain time, such as 9 p.m., and have a cash bar after then, Russell says.
Brown says brides need to realize each guest costs approximately $75-$80, so dreams of a large wedding with 300 guests need to be carefully considered.
Planning ahead and using friends and family as resources can significantly cut costs without cutting the quality of your reception.
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