Beauty on a Budget (food) pt. 2
Food
Did someone say food? Okay how could this possibly make your wedding seem more high end and why is this one of my priorities? It’s not just the food, but the food does make a difference as well. No, you don’t have to have someone cater, but how you serve your guests can make a difference in how high-end your wedding can seem. Buffet style, while very convenient is not as high scale as a sit down family dinner. The same thing applies to restaurants. It is possible to have a high-end buffet, but most of the high scale restaurants are sit down dinner style.
How on earth are you supposed to feed all your guests a family dinner? It’s not as bad as you think! The meal doesn’t need to be 7 courses, simple soup and salad with a main course will do just fine. Cook up a couple large hams or turkeys and hey it’s Idaho, add in some potatoes and boom you have a meal to serve a crowd! If cooking doesn’t sound like fun to you because let’s face it there are so many other things to worry about on your wedding day, ask a local grocery store if they cater. Lots of grocery stores have reasonable prices for catering and they’re sure to whip something up that tastes homemade!
Another option as far as your food goes is to just forego dinner altogether and just do snacks and desserts. Costco and Sam’s Club are great options for this as well since you can buy things in bulk. Custom cookies, mini cakes, donuts, whatever it is if you do go this route, presentation is the best way to make this option look better. Little signs showing what each object is (even if it’s obvious) always add a cute personal touch and can make something look less like it was bought from the grocery store.
Want to be trendy? Add in a charcuterie board. This is very in style right now and your guests are sure to love it. The best part about it is most cheese and crackers are not super spendy. You obviously can choose really delicate or gourmet cheese, but on a tight budget you can also do some grapes, cheddar cheese squares, and and little pepperonis. This is a fast easy way to dress up your food at your wedding and can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want.
Okay besides the food though, the important part about your dinner is presentation. Your guests are going to have a nice sit down family dinner… on paper plates. No! There are budget friendly ways to still serve your guests on nice dinnerware. I know a lot of people’s go to option is to use the plastic silverware that is plated to look like real silverware or the clear plastic plates, and if that’s what you can afford that’s just fine, but here’s another option to consider as well. Dollar tree sells plates and glasses for $1 each. Now if you have 100 guests that’s $200 right there alone, yes that seems like a little much, but after the wedding is over you can sell those 100 plates and cups. That’s a huge tip right there for wedding planning in general- sell the things you can after the wedding.
Another option is to check your local thrift stores. Also sounds crazy, but they don’t all have to match in fact, it’s in style right now to have things that are mismatched. Check frequently and get a variety that goes with your wedding colors or theme and then when you’re done you can still sell them or donate them back to the thrift store when you’re finished.
One more idea is to check your local party rental stores. Some of them may offer place setting rentals which could save you a few bucks too. This is a really easy way to find a lot of place settings on a budget as someone has already done all the shopping for you. A lot of these rental places also offer package deals where you get silverware, plates, and glasses for a set price. Some also include cloth napkins. Do your research, but your guests will be so impressed when they show up to a fancy sit down meal at your wedding.
Whether using plastic, paper, or real dishes adding a charger plate underneath your place settings is the easiest way to dress up your meal at your wedding. Just like dishes, dollar tree offers several of these for $1 each or you can check places like Oriental Trading offer these in bulk. You can buy them by the case or by the plate. If you decided to forgo the charger plate you can also try placemats or fabric napkins to separate place settings and bring a pop of personalized color to each setting. These can be purchased in bulk off of wholesale websites very affordably.
No matter what you choose to do for your wedding, as always do your research and do what makes you happy and fits your budget. Weddings are a social event and in America every social event has to have food. While it’s not the highlight of the wedding, implementing a few easy tips like these into your wedding day is sure to make your wedding stand out!