Budget Wedding Dinner Options

With the average cost of catering being $71 per person and the average guest list of 200, catering can get quite pricey! Not everyone has $14,000 to spend on the meal!! We don’t see the need of spending thousands on thousands of dollars on the food that’s gonna last 30 minutes. We have put together some cost-effective options for food during your budget wedding reception so you can focus on enjoying your meal rather than stress over the cost of your (and everyone else’s!) plate. 

All Appetizers 

“If your appetizers are amazing, there’s no need for dinner.” -us. But seriously, why not just keep the yummy appetizers coming? Instead of having a traditional and expensive sit-down dinner, simply pick a few appetizers that you love. 

If you are afraid of skipping dinner entirely, you can implement an appetizing strategy. Keep the appetizers coming and coming right up until the meal is served and provide a modest portion of a cheaper dinner. The idea is to get your guests full of the amazing appetizers that they are barely even worried about dinner, but they can’t complain that it wasn’t there!

Set up a “Build Your Own” Bar

Rather than a traditional, formal meal, engage your guests with a delicious “build your own” bar. Ideas could include burgers, tacos, burritos, pasta and salads. Offer an impressive amount of toppings for your chosen meal. For example, if you are serving burgers, maybe include bacon, fried onions, and sauteed mushrooms as toppings to impress your guests. Provide a variety of delicious sides but keep them on the cheaper end. 

If you decide to go this route, set up two double-sides food stations so that you can keep your guests moving and ensure that everyone gets their meal promptly. 

Go Buffet Style

While this is less engaging than the “build your own” bar option, going buffet style can simplify things and keep your bank from breaking. Go with a simple meal, choosing cost-effective meat such as chicken or fish, and really emphasize the low-cost sides! You could feature chicken or tuna salad as the centered meal and build an abundance of sides around that, you could provide your meat in sloppy joes or deli sandwiches and display all kinds of soups. The choice is yours, but no matter what you choose, it’s going to most likely be half the price or less than catering. 

Do it Family Style

If you’re not sure about the “build your own” bar or going buffet style, doing it family style might be the perfect option for you. Avoid the traffic that the previous two options could potentially bring and have more control over portions with this option. Choose a family-style meal, this can include lasagna, mac and cheese, roast beef, roast chicken, pulled pork, and basically whatever else you would like! Simply set each table as if you are setting the table for family dinner. Each table shares its provided food that is in dishes with serving utensils. This can be super formal if you want it to be, yet still save you thousands.