Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget

Archives: Request: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Archived on 01/09/2008 I need some wedding help! I'm getting married next fall and we are looking at the options for food. We are going to be working on a pretty tight budget, so my family is probably going to do all of the cooking. Could you please give me some ideas of easy things to serve on a buffet? Please be as detailed as possible for I'm a horrible cook. Donna from KY Answers: RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Some simple things to think about: "smokies" sausages (little smoke sausages) with BBQ sauce. These can be cooked in crock pots - all you do is place smokies in crock pot, pour bottled BBQ sauce (I add a little grape jelly to mine to make a slightly sweet sauce, and cook on low for several hours. If you don't want to use "smokies" you can use meatballs in the same way. Also sausage/cheese balls - you can find many recipes on internet for these (I prefer sausage, cheddar cheese, and bisquick for mine). A meat and cheese platter would be nice (ham, turkey, etc. and sliced cheeses). Also, banana nut bread or zucchini nut bread sliced in different shapes placed on a platter with cream cheese would be nice. Have you thought about baking or frying chicken wings. They are relatively inexpensive (get on sale) and are really popular. Hope this idea helps. (09/28/2007) By Debbie RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget I cater for all my family weddings, cookout, holiday parties, babyshowers and etc. This is a good cost cutting budget menu Choice of 2 meats Baked Chicken Meatball w/Gravy Roast Beef Sliced Turkey w/Gravy Pasta w/Meatsauce Glazed Ham Choice of Sides Green Beans Corn O'Brien Vegetable Blend Steam Broccoli Green Peas w/Pearl Onion Rice Pilaf Pasta w/Cream Sauce Au Gratin Potatoes Scalloped Potatoes Macaroni and Cheese Tossed Salad Dinner Roll I hope this will help you. (09/28/2007) By Delores RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget I was married 35 years ago and I had family and friends help with the food prep. We had ham and turkey on buns (the usual fare back then), potato salad, baked beans and potato chips and of course the cake. You could go with meatballs in some sort of sauce (BBQ or sweet & sour) jello/pudding salads (which are easily made) and veggie trays. I'm sure there will be lots of good ideas that show up. For recipes I have found recipezaar.com is a good site to find just about anything. If you have stores there that sell in bulk, that's a good place to get as much food as possible at a lower cost. Have fun with this! Congratulations to you and all the best. (09/28/2007) By RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget My brother's family has put on wedding receptions for 4 of their 6 children. They have relatives and friends bring finger foods for a buffet. Also, Pepperidge Farms sells irregulars at their bakeries, they taste just as good for MUCH cheaper! (09/28/2007) By marie RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Also, meatballs (they can be bought pre-made at Sam's Club or homemade) taste GREAT in sauce made from equal parts chili sauce and (don't freak out - it's DELICIOUS!) grape jelly! (yes, grape jelly! Don't knock it 'till you've tried it!) Just keep it warm in a crock pot or chafing dish. (09/28/2007) By marie RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Around here, lots of couples chose to have an early afternoon reception and just have a tea. They serve punch, wedding cake, nuts, mints, and some cookies. A fruit salad would also be appropriate. Later, everyone will get a glass of champagne to toast the couple. If done right, it is simple and elegant. Some buy a smaller wedding cake with additional sheet cakes to help cut costs. The newest thing is a tiered stand filled with cupcakes, which wouldn't be hard to make. You can even put a small wedding cake on the top. (10/04/2007) By susanmajp RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget I call this the punch bowl brigade, which we did for my daughter's wedding. From among your friends and relatives (or a party-rental co.) round up 6 clear, cut-glass punch bowls as you can. Even if they don't match, they all look pretty similar. Then choose several elegant salad recipes that can be made the day before, or finished off at the last minute. I bought most of the ingredients at Costco, and the day before the wedding, several aunts, grandmas and friends had a great time in the church kitchen, making up large batches of three salads. I think one was a chicken oriental salad, a cold green-pea-and-bacon salad, and a fresh fruit salad (no bananas or apples - they turn brown overnight). Can't remember for sure as this was 11 years ago. Just remember to choose salads that look pretty, not look like a mish-mash, and add certain ingredients just before serving (for instance bacon or cashew nuts will get soggy in a salad if it sits overnight) It is better to have a "cooking party" instead of having people cook things at home. (Some people are not "natural" cooks) Ask a very good cook to be your "head chef", and make sure you have plenty of refrigerator room. The salads were kept in huge Tupperware containers, and the punchbowls were replenished as needed. In addition to the salads, we served warm meatballs in a sauce made of equal parts Heinz's chili sauce and grape jelly. You can buy huge sacks of precooked frozen meatballs at Costco or Sams Club But instead of crockpots (looks tacky) we served them in a rented heated server from a party-rental, or you can use one of those white plug-in turkey cookers. Serve the meatballs with a slotted spoon, so you don't get the juice all over the other food. We also made up our own rolled cold cuts & cheese served on silver trays w/ an elegant assortment of breads, and fancy spreads. All from Costco.But you could skip the cold cuts if you have plenty of meatballs, and meat in your salads. With some nice breads and spreads, you have a very nice meal, that includes meat, bread, fruit and vegetables, served buffet style. Check with your friends and relatives to borrow elegant serving pieces, but make sure they are marked underneath w/ the owners names. I myself have a silver tea service I never use but would gladly lend. It is a good idea to have the owner of the piece help with the serving, so that she can take care of it, wash it and take it home. ALSO, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENLISTED ENOUGH HELP IN SERVING! Someone (at least 2 or 3)has to be in the reception hall keeping things warm and ready, and coffee made while the wedding ceremony is taking place. And a couple more to help with replenishing the salad bowls, and keep the meat platters looking nice. ALSO A CLEANUP CREW.You and your mom will not have any time to help with this, as you need to mingle with guests. We did splurge on a bakery cake, but you don't need a huge one, as many of your guests will pass on the cake. There is always tons leftover.However, people will drink more than you expect, so plan for more punch and coffee than expected. Hope these ideas help! We have nice memories of this wedding, and had many compliments on the buffet. (Most people thought it was catered!) Best wishes for a long and happy marriage. (10/05/2007) By Carol RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Donna. Since your family will be doing most of the cooking anyway why not make your wedding a Covered dish in lieu of gifts type event. This is done all the time is quite fashionable. It takes a lot off the bride and parents. One thing for sure your menu will be sure to please everyone and no complaints about the foods because they made it their selves ;-) You would supply meat or two and they furnish everything else. Have a great wedding and congrats. Kate Daddys3girls wedding consultants (10/16/2007) By Kate RE: Food Ideas For Wedding On a Budget Hi Donna, Have you decided on how much you can spend and how many quests there will be? Also, if you have meats like chicken, roasts, ham, etc. guests will need to be seated so be sure that if you plan to serve a regular meal, then you might have to rent tables, chairs, linens, etc. If you have a what's called a light buffet then you have more finger type foods which can be quite elegant and then you only have to provide a small number of tables and chairs (for guests that are older, etc.) You never can beat frozen shrimp (from Sam's Club) just run under warm water, but keep on ice till ready to serve on bowls or platters covered with large green lettuce leafs. Veg. bowls or platters mixing all the veg. together make the colors look really nice, rather than the traditional carrots here, cukes there, etc. Serve the dip in hollowed out red and green bell peppers. Rolled meats are good along with, or chicken salad sand. served on small croissants (Sam's Club, very affordable.) I have more ideas. You are welcome to email me. diannatriplett AT yahoo.com Hope you are having fun, tho. Make it fun! (10/20/2007) By dianantriplett Report Spam or Abuse