Food
Doing your own catering
Make sure whoever is catering for your wedding has the right experience, or there is a growing trend to have potluck weddings, says Laura Mason
Catering for your own wedding can be tricky, and should be approached with caution. Feeding hundreds of people a buffet or set meal may sound an easy task but make sure that whoever is doing the catering has the relevant experience and feels confident in meeting your requirements.
Alternatively, a growing trend is for potluck weddings, whereby the bride and groom ask the guests to each bring a dish as part of the wedding feast. This can be a great way to combine various foods and allow your guests to showcase their talents and be a part of your wedding day. Its one of the best ways to save on overall costs for your wedding by cutting down on the catering.
WFS guide:
1. The right venue: Make sure you find a wedding venue which will allow you to do your own catering – some reception venues won’t allow outside caters.
2. Appoint a manager: Assign someone the role of looking after the food. If various guests are contributing, ensure that the food will arrive before the wedding to prevent any problems. Also ask them to keep a log of which food has arrived and so that anything can be chased up before the reception.
3. Setting up: Get someone to help you set up and arrange your reception. They must also help to ensure that there is enough cutlery, crockery and table cloths for your wedding.
4. Storage: Make sure your venue has storage facilities, so that your food does not spoil.
5. Facilities: To ensure that the chef/s can create your desired dishes on the day, make sure the venue has the suitable facilities. Failing that, hire or borrow the equipment required.
6. Cold food: If you are catering for the wedding yourself its easier to keep it simple and order food that can be served cold. Re-heating food before the wedding can be too much work.
7. Cleaning up: Appoint some friends or family members to help clean up and return borrowed items or dishes.
Make sure whoever is catering for your wedding has the right experience, or there is a growing trend to have potluck weddings, says Laura Mason
Catering for your own wedding can be tricky, and should be approached with caution. Feeding hundreds of people a buffet or set meal may sound an easy task but make sure that whoever is doing the catering has the relevant experience and feels confident in meeting your requirements.
Alternatively, a growing trend is for potluck weddings, whereby the bride and groom ask the guests to each bring a dish as part of the wedding feast. This can be a great way to combine various foods and allow your guests to showcase their talents and be a part of your wedding day. Its one of the best ways to save on overall costs for your wedding by cutting down on the catering.
WFS guide:
1. The right venue: Make sure you find a wedding venue which will allow you to do your own catering – some reception venues won’t allow outside caters.
2. Appoint a manager: Assign someone the role of looking after the food. If various guests are contributing, ensure that the food will arrive before the wedding to prevent any problems. Also ask them to keep a log of which food has arrived and so that anything can be chased up before the reception.
3. Setting up: Get someone to help you set up and arrange your reception. They must also help to ensure that there is enough cutlery, crockery and table cloths for your wedding.
4. Storage: Make sure your venue has storage facilities, so that your food does not spoil.
5. Facilities: To ensure that the chef/s can create your desired dishes on the day, make sure the venue has the suitable facilities. Failing that, hire or borrow the equipment required.
6. Cold food: If you are catering for the wedding yourself its easier to keep it simple and order food that can be served cold. Re-heating food before the wedding can be too much work.
7. Cleaning up: Appoint some friends or family members to help clean up and return borrowed items or dishes.
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