Wedding

55 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Catering

• June 09, 2022

Wedding is your big day and spends at most to make it perfect. But spending all your savings is not an appropriate way. You can save some bucks in many ways while planning your wedding. Food is the one thing which is the hottest topic of conversation after weeks of your wedding. People remember your wedding with the food and drinks you serve.

Food is an integral part of any wedding. You want to impress your guest with delicious taste and flavors. If you save a good amount for your wedding catering, you serve food and drinks from around the world. But offering the best options using a limited budget is a crucial task.

You can save some money by using logistics and creative ideas. Here we share some fascinating ideas to save money on your catering.

1. Reconsider Your Guest List

Your wedding budget is totally dependent on your guest list. Because each guest costs you a per head food, drink, and equipment hire. A small guest list can help you save money on your wedding catering. Shortlist your wedding guests and cut down all extra per head cost you are paying for it.

2. Skip the Reception

The more guest means more mouths to feed and more drinks to pour. Skip the reception and host a small party after the days of your wedding at your home or local park. Invite a limited number of guests to close friends and family members. Keep the menu simple such as barbecue potluck and coolers with canned drinks.

3. Consider Venues that Allow Outside Catering

You may find the perfect venue for your wedding, and it seems like a dream come true. But before signing the contract, ask whether allow catering from outside. If venues require in-house catering, eliminate them from your list. You may lose the chance to shop around for caterers and rate comparisons.

4. Have a Friend or Relative Host Your Reception at Their Home

Your close friend or relative can host your reception if your wedding is small with few guests. In this way, they show their love and affection for you. They also might help prepare and serve your meals and drink too. Make it worth their while by assuring them the venue more than suffices as their gift.

5. Maintain a Coherent Theme

You can use a Theme menu for your wedding. Use thematic food and drink menus that rely on fewer, cheaper ingredients to save money. It looks so appealing and captivating than a long buffet table. For example, you can go for California cuisine includes grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches, grilled fish or chicken, and green salads.

6. Avoid Costly Add-Ons

Skip costly add-ons, which tend to add value to your budget, not true value-adds for knot-tying couples. Like cake cutting ceremony is an upselling opportunity for wedding venues. You can ask a couple of guests to slice and plate your cake. You may get the same result at a much lower cost.

7. Skip the Champagne Toast

The champagne toast costs you more and requires a labor pour and serves guests. Also, champagne itself is incredibly costly can impact your wedding budget. At least $5 per bottle for bulk-bought, bottom-shelf sparkling wine and $5 or more per glass for venue-provided stuff. Make your first wedding toast memorable and classic. Toast with whatever you and your guests are already drinking instead.

8. Use Disposable Serving Ware

You can choose disposable serving ware to save money on your wedding catering. You can use compostable or recyclable plates, bowls, utensils, cutlery, cups, glasses, serving dishes, and trays. They are cheap and eco-friendly can reduce carbon footprint and landfills. Also, it can reduce the cost you pay for serving in real dishware and glassware. Choose the venue that allows the eco-friendly, single-use serving ware.

9. Consider catering from a restaurant

If your wedding size is small, you can consider catering from a restaurant. Restaurants make an excellent choice for good food at a more affordable cost. Look for a restaurant with a private dining room for hosting the reception. Ask the restaurant if, you can order several entrees off the regular menu rather than use the catering menu.

10. Consider Local Culinary Schools For Options

It is your dream day, and you do not want anything wrong. You go for the best option for everything. You can’t hire an amateur photographer for your wedding. But when it comes to catering, you can consider a local culinary school. They do a fantastic job at a low price compared to local catering service providers.

11. Be honest about your budget with caterers

Be honest with your caterers about how much you are looking to spend for your wedding. They will help you provide their best in your financial range. Also, they may do some less costly ingredient substitutions. Instead of marinated, grilled chicken, they can make chicken cordon bleu, and your guests won't notice.

12. Ask for a Kids Discount

If you plan to use a catering service, ask for a kids discount. Many caterers give discounts on kids under 12. Some particularly generous providers go all the way up to age 16. Kids discounts are also a valuable negotiating point. Once you find a caterer that charges less for kids, use this deal to get similar concessions from other vendors too.

13. Go For a Food Truck

The food truck is a captivating activity for your guest. They provide fresh food comparatively at a low price. Go for a food truck catering at your wedding. Your guests can enjoy new flavors and tastes. Instead of traditional meals, food trucks offer local and delicious food options. And it is a perfect option for venues where they lack a kitchen.

14. Go For a Grazing Table

A grazing table is another stunning idea to save money on catering. It can impress your guests, and they see small serving as a big meal. It costs you way less than most plated meals. You can pick from a selection of dips, crackers, meats and cheeses, nuts, crudites, and much more. You can also opt for healthier foods.

15. Have a Daytime Wedding

Daytime weddings are cheaper than afternoon-into-evening gatherings in many ways. The private reception venues charge you less for daytime events, as long the party does not extend to evening parties. Also, you can welcome guests with simple lighter food. You can serve tea or club sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, or snack foods like chips and salsa.

16. End the Festivities Early

Start your celebrations earlier to keep the party to stay long. But if you drag out the festivities, you have to pay more for food and drinks. You can cut off the dance music an hour or two after dinner. You can opt for reducing cocktail hours to lower the cost of venue and drinks.

17. Encourage Guests to BYOB

It is not sound tacky if you ask your guest to bring their own booze. Write on your wedding invitation or website you are not serving alcohol during cocktail hour. Then set up a cocktail station with a mixer for the guests who bring hard liquor. Or set a theme for your cocktail hour drink.

18. Stick to a Single Drink

You can keep things simple and offer just one drink between the ceremony and reception start time. You can buy your favorite local brewery or cidery in bulk. Or serve your venue's house wine or your own purchased lower-shelf red or white. You can also offer your signature cocktail one that matches your wedding color scheme.

19. Save the Drinks for Later

If you are serving drinks at your wedding, keep them safe until dinner. You can offer nonalcoholic beverages between the ceremony and dinner. Provide dispensers filled with nonalcoholic beverages like sweet and unsweet tea or water spiked with citrus, cucumbers, or berries. In this way, you can cut the cost of drinks in half.

20. Get Photos Before the Ceremony

At many weddings, the cocktail hour's primary purpose is to keep guests occupied while the wedding party poses for photos. You can shave some hours from the running time. There is no need to draw out the cocktail hour. Take your wedding photos before the guests arrive. In this way, you can cut extra costs on drinks.

21. Serve Bar Snacks

You can set up a snack bar at cocktail hour to whet your guest's appetite. You can serve a wide array of snacks such as nuts, pretzels, and dried fruit. The snack bar keeps the guests eating more during the official appetizer round. A snack bar helps keep the costs of your wedding in check.

22. Ask for Contributions

You can ask for contributions for an appetizer served at your wedding. In your wedding invitations and on your wedding website, invite guests to sign up to contribute homemade or store-bought apps of their choice. You can use a spreadsheet to organize contributions. Also, ask your guest if they have any food allergies.

23. Have a Wedding Party Potluck

If you had fewer contributors for appetizers served at your wedding, arrange a wedding party potluck. Each contributor might need to make 50 or 75 servings to ensure every guest can try more than one bite. You can rent out the kitchen facilities of your wedding venue for nominal fees for this purpose.

24. Use Off-the-Shelf Appetizers

You can go for off-the-shelf appetizers that are relatively low in cost. Opt for crudites trays, pita, hummus, and cheese plates. But make your appetizer round attractive, so your guests don't think you are phoning in the appetizer round. Put colorful fresh veggies on skewers for maximum visual impact, and tap guests to help if you need extra labor.

26. Avoid Passed Appetizers

Appetizers mainly serve by walking through the crowd offering individual appetizers to guests. They reduce buffet-style course consumption but not necessary they are cost-effective. Appetizers prepared from expensive ingredients can cost you more. Also, you have to pay for the servers. Cut the servers and set spacious appetizer stations for guests. Also, this will work to encourage mingling.

27. Offer a Hearty Soup Option

Serve a hearty soup to your guests to fill up before dinner. Soup is the best appetizer that curbs hunger, so your guests eat less of the other offerings on the table. Also, they are cost-effective opt for creamy clam chowder or savory tomato bisque paired with airy crostini. Soup could be a centerpiece of the main course.

28. Fill Your Table With Vibrant Colors

Fill your appetizer station with vibrant color vegetable salads. Reach to the local farmers' market for a fresh and colorful garden salad. It looks fascinating and also cost-effective. Make them in larger quantities and place them on the ends of buffet tables or stations. Where guests are likely to see them first.

29. Do Research on Ingredient Costs Ahead of Time

Hit the local market to know the prices of the

ingredients. Make sure you choose only available ingredients. In this way, you get a general idea about the cost of various types of vegetables, meats, and fish. And you can negotiate menu pricing or swap costly components for cheaper ones. It is helpful if you are creating your own menu.

30. Skip Dinner Entirely

Here is a bold idea you can skip the full dinner entirely. Instead of a formal, sit-down dinner service, serve the hearty appetizers during the cocktail hour and keep them flowing until toast time. For example, you can offer the following

• Beef, bison, or ground lamb sliders
• Bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp
• Spinach-and-ricotta pastries
• Chicken or pork satay skewers

31. Go for Inexpensive Proteins

Go for inexpensive proteins rather than traditional, pricey cuts of meat such as filet, prime rib, and lamb chop. For instance, well-marinated flank steak or sirloin tips are nearly as tasty as your basic filet mignon at a fraction of the cost. Hit the market for the cheapest alternatives so you can counter your caterer's suggestions.

32. Serve a Complete Vegetarian Menu

You can save money on your wedding catering by skipping the meat. Most animal protein is expensive, particularly the fancy types and cuts wedding caterers push, such as filet mignon, prime rib, lamb, and sea bass. Go for hearty fresh vegetables and plant-based proteins like tofu, seitan, portobello mushroom, eggplant, and cauliflower. Present them with complex sauces and dressings to keep things interesting.

33. Serve a Basic Buffet

You can serve a buffet at your wedding as they emphasize filling and are low in cost. You can serve

• Potato salad
• Mashed potatoes
• Rolls
• Steamed vegetables
• Corn on the cob
• Rice and beans
• Casseroles

You can serve reasonably priced meat and vegetable protein options, such as

• Grilled tofu
• Grilled portobello mushrooms
• Grilled eggplant
• Chicken breast
• Cod filet
• Pulled pork
• Stir-fry

34. Serve Your Meal Family-Style

You can reduce labor costs for dinner prep, plating, and service by serving family-style meals.

The guests serve themselves from communal dishes placed on their tables. You have an opportunity for portion control. You can serve

• Lasagna
• Mac and cheese, perhaps with an animal protein for added bulk
• Stir-fry
• Casseroles
• Pulled meat sandwiches
• Fajitas
• Rice-based dishes

35. Limit The Amount Of Options Available

If you consider serving a traditional dinner, limit the menu choices to two. One should be a vegetarian or vegan option, and the other is a low-cost meat option. Limiting the choices reduces prep and plating costs and the likelihood of service errors. You can opt for poultry instead of meat. Chicken is much cheaper than beef, lamb, or pork.

36. Try Order Takeout

You can skip pricey caterers and bulk-order takeout from your favorite local restaurant. Think outside the box and go for options like pizza or burgers. Takeout is an excellent accompaniment for casual daytime receptions. A stack of takeout pizza boxes on the wedding buffet may not look fancy but, it is cost-effective.

37. Don't Serve the Wine With Dinner

Serve the dinner with a glass of water or tea and skip the wine entirely. If you think it is odd to force guests to finish their drinks in cocktail hour, well, think about the cost. At least four to five glasses poured from every bottle. A modestly-sized wedding's dinner wine amounts to a 12-bottle case or more.

38. Price Out Local-Only Menus

Check out the local in-season menus for cost-effective wedding catering. The local menu can cost less than luxe menus with ingredients sourced from the four corners of the world. Ask your caterer if it can work with the local menu. You may even need to purchase and prepare some menu elements yourself with the help of guests or the wedding party.

39. Opt for a Tasting Menu

You can opt for a tasting menu rather than the main course meal. The tasting menu is much cheaper than the main course, a six- or eight-course tasting menu. Smaller portion sizes provide many flavors and tastes at low cost. In this way, you serve less food overall and spend less on ingredients. It is a creative alternative to heavy app-only dinners.

40. Buy Alcohol and Cocktail Ingredients in Bulk

Buying alcohol in bulk at your local liquor outlet significantly reduces your bill. Most full-service wedding venues charge you by the drink, not the bottle or case. Or some weddings venues permit to bring drinks from outside. But they charge you a corkage fee on each bottle opened by bar staff. Opt for beer cans corkage policies are likely to be laxer for single-serve containers. You might not pay for your own beer.

41. Stick to Beer and Wine

Choose to serve light beer and house wine instead of traditional cocktails. It generally costs less per serving than mid-shelf liquor. You can offer a variety of alternatives, such as

• White, red, sparkling, and rosé wine
• Full-strength macro brew beers
• Light macro brew beers
• Multiple hard seltzer styles
• Multiple craft beer styles
• Multiple cider styles, ranging from dry to sweet

42. Buy At a Discount

If, your wedding venue allows you to bring your own alcohol, shop at a warehouse store. Or you can shop at a liquor superstore if you don't have a warehouse store membership. Look for bulk discount advertising or ask an employee. Bulk discounts for wine offer 10% to 15% off orders of six bottles or more.

43. Use Free or Cheap Labor

Find a few guests who can help you to tend the bar. They happily offer their services as your wedding gift. Ensure your arrangement complies with local regulations. Your servers must be at least 18 years old and may need a food safety certification.

44. Set Up a Self-Serve Station

If, your venue allows, set up a self-serve station of drinks at your wedding. You can not only save money on labor but hear good compliments from the guest. For smoother self-service

• Skip open punch bowls
• Anchor dispensers
• Separate drinks by type
• Use beer kegs instead of cans or bottles

45. Promote a Signature Mocktail

You can promote your signature mocktail at your wedding. Sell guests on your creation by

• Giving it a compelling story of how you meet or couple's favorite booze-free drink
• Giving it a big, bold flavor
• Adding textural elements, such as shaved ice
• Printing up recipe cards for attendees

46. Serve Your Signature Cocktail

You cannot save much money on serving a signature cocktail as on a signature mocktail. But it is the cheapest liquor option at your reception and limits other alcoholic drinks. Serve your signature cocktail one-drink route before dinner. It helps control the costs of beer and wine.

47. Close the Bar During Dinner

If you are considering serving wine with dinner, it is crucial to close the bar during dinner. Remember to

• Give 15 minutes notice at cocktail hour before closing the bar
• Clearly announce that the bar will remain closed during dinner
• Open the bar 15 minutes or so before toast time.

48. Limit Open Bar Hours

Limit the open bar hours to cut the cost of the serves and drinks. You can offer free drinks during cocktail hour or for an hour after dinner. You pay for anything you drink after that. Or limit consumption during open bar hours by handing out tickets. Guests can use these tickets to pay for the drinks.

49. Serve Bulk Nonalcoholic Drinks

This idea perfectly works with the BOYB wedding or booze-free wedding. You can provide a wide variety of soft drink options without resorting to craft seltzers, sodas, or shrubs. Additionally, forgoing alcohol ensures guests leave early, making it ideal for daytime weddings at venues booked for a night session.

50. Buy Off-the-Shelf Cakes

Traditional wedding cakes are expensive. Head to the next-door supermarket and grab a couple of dozen prebaked cakes. You can choose a range of flavors to serve your guest. Opt for vanilla (white or yellow), chocolate, carrot, and icing and filling types like chocolate icing, vanilla icing, and fruit filling.

51. Cut Down the Cake Extra

Order a small, fabulous wedding cake as you want and several sheet cakes of the same flavor for your guests. Cut the extra handmade sugar flowers, fancy fillings, and molded shapes that charge you more. Also, ask your caterer to decorate each plate with a flavored sauce. Buttercream frosting is tastier and less expensive than fondant.

52. Serve Non-Traditional Desserts

Instead of serving cake, you can serve several popular desserts and sweets, such as

• Brownies
• Cookies
• Rice crispy treats
• Fruit cups
• Fruit tarts
• Sweet bars (such as lemon bars)
• Fruit or nut pies
• Ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet

Go for many delicious options at most that may please your guests.

53. Bake Your Own Desserts

Another way to save money on your wedding catering is to bake your own desserts. You can ask your friends and family members to bake for you. Many of your guests are likely to have ovens big enough to bake a few dozen cookies or cupcakes at a time. You can go for the bring-your-own-desserts campaign.

54. Slim Down Your Slices

When all else fails, you can exercise portion control. If, you can eliminate one of the 10-cakes you planned by reducing cake slice size by 10%. You can reduce your total cake ingredient costs by 10%.

55. Set Up a Candy Bar

A candy bar is a fascinating idea for wedding dessert. Hit the local store and buy the bulk of your favorite. Elegantly present them in a buffet-style, sure no one will miss the baked desserts. You can even throw in your leftover Halloween candy.