Your wedding catering and venue will account for roughly 50% of your wedding budget, so place it on top of your wedding must-haves list. Catering is essential because you can set the tone for one of the most meaningful milestones in your life with food and drinks. To express your gratitude for their presence, you should also provide your guests with the ultimate dining experience.
Your wedding may cost you and your partner, from finding the best wedding dress to engaging a studio for your couple’s photography and locating the ideal venue for your reception. You may even have to spend extra to hire providers of bus services in Toronto to transport your guests to the wedding venue.
But just because you aspire for a “terrific” and “delicious” wedding feast doesn’t mean you must spend beyond your means. In this article, we’ll explore 5 wonderful ideas to save on your wedding catering and make it extra memorable for you, your partner, and all your guests.
1. Limit Your Guest List
Limiting your guest list is one of the easiest ways to save on your wedding catering. The more mouths you need to feed, the more it will eat into your budget.
You can adjust your invite list by setting a realistic guest count and inviting only those closest to you and your partner. With a micro wedding, you can treat fewer people to a fancier multiple-course meal. This would be an especially welcome decision if you and your partner are foodies.
2. Opt for a Buffet
Although the idea of a fancy plated dinner might be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing a wedding meal, you must realize that it can be costly. Plated dinners mean that every ingredient must be portioned onto the plate, served by servers, and cleared after dinner.
For cost-effective catering service Sydney, consider a buffet. Unlike plated dinners, a buffet requires less preparation and won’t need servers to serve the meals. Instead, guests will serve themselves. These elements represent an excellent and quick way to save money on food and service costs. Most importantly, a buffet allows guests to choose the food they like and how many portions they want.
3. Limit the Number of Courses (Focus on Dinner!)
Let’s be honest. Your guests might want to try everything served but likely won’t eat much of it. A 10-course meal may sound classy and rich, but it will require a hefty sum.
Aside from limiting the number of wedding guests, trim down the number of courses you’ll serve and focus on serving delicious dinner instead. Ideally, you can have 3 or 4 courses instead of 10. Serving main courses, appetizers, and desserts should be the top priority.
Keeping the wedding catering budget and managing food waste will be easier if you limit the number of courses. Also, you can choose in-season dishes to serve because when a specific food is out of season, it’ll cost more to transport from where it’s grown. As a bonus, in-season foods will probably taste better than those that aren’t.
You can discuss seasonal foods with your caterer and ask for the most affordable options.
4. Keep Your Wedding Cake Simple
Photo by Dimitri Kuliuk
Remember that small and cheap foods, including cake, can be classy as well. You can choose a less extravagant cake to reduce wedding food costs. Maybe opt for a naked cake with minimal decoration, small-sized cakes with a cute yet artsy design, or cake with buttercream instead of fondant icing.
Another way to save on your cake budget is to serve your guests half slices instead of full ones. Otherwise, you can forego ordering a wedding cake and opt for a wallet-friendly option, such as a dessert table or a candy bar.
5. Talk to Your Caterer About Your Budget and Understand About Staffing
Lastly, be upfront when you speak to your caterer about your allocated budget so you can clarify how much you’re willing to spend. Your hired caterer should be reliable and understandable enough to find affordable options that will suit your requirements.
In addition, when hiring a caterer, you must have an idea about their staffing on your wedding day. Clarify if they work with a team within their company or hire temporary staff from another staffing agency. You must also finalize how many additional staff members your wedding needs should you decide to serve a plated dinner. Don’t forget to bring up tips and gratuities for the service staff.
Weddings are not the cheapest, to say the least. Knowing the price is paramount to helping you allocate substantial funds for the venue and hiring servers to serve food and drinks. Catering for a wedding is a requirement, and the cost will be high if it is a large wedding.
However, when you are on a limited budget and want to serve delicious meals and drinks, naturally, you’ll worry. Luckily, there are plenty of ways not to put a hole in your pocket while ensuring that you’ve fulfilled your dream wedding ceremony and reception. Utilize the budget-friendly ideas discussed above to stop stressing over the cost of your wedding catering.
