Would it be cheaper if we do our own menu for the catering or hire a caterer??

It is a possible option but would be a lot of work for you and your family and the cost of renting all the supplies etc will add up quickly. A caterer is experienced and knows how much food to have for a certain amount of guests and usually also knows how much glassware, cutlery and dishes etc are required. You'll also be super busy the week of the wedding and the day of that you really don't need the added stress.

If you have hot food, you'll need to rent chafing dishes to keep it warm throughout the dinner. It's cheaper to do it yourself but a LOT of work. I have done it before but this time I had caterers at the venue and just reduced the guest list. Making your own food could work if you can get help from parents, siblings, and the wedding party. Doing it all yourself will add stress that you don't need on that day.

It may seem like a cheaper option, but you mentioned the cost of plates, cutlery, etc. not to mention your time and effort. Sometimes, things are worth delegating to a professional simply for peace of mind. I know for us, it made me feel better knowing that I had professional vendors taking care of the really big stuff and I didn't have to worry about it, especially in the week leading up to the wedding, which is crazy busy!

Once you factor in ingredients, renting or buying serving equipment to keep the food hot or cold, and renting all the table settings will add up and could very well be more expensive, not to mention more stressful! Barbecue and pasta tend to be affordable catering options. If you want to share some special dishes with your guests how about doing that for your rehearsal dinner?

View quoted message Oh cool! Ya if you have to pay for plates, cutlery etc it might add up quick and not be cheaper. Youll have to look at the math. We are doing BBQ style food and will just be using paper plates and plastic cutlery. Fortunately we dont have venue costs because we are doing a backyard wedding. We will also hire a couple people (friends kids or students) just for 'day of' food organizing and making sure it all gets heated up and put out and the dishes stay filled and such. Ive been to weddings where they have done this before and it worked well

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Well, I am thinking incorporating the cultural thing. My fiance is Canadian and I am Filipino. I've inquire one catering service that might have extra cost for adding other dishes than in their menu, that's why we had the talk to maybe have our family and friends to help us out with the food, so that we can make food that our guests would like too.

my other concern too is that it will be obviously a buffet style, but isn't there suppose to have like a server or something with that? i have no idea at this point. LOL! Our venue is not providing any plates, cutlery, and other stuff unless we hire their caterer for the venue, and of course I sort of don't want to do that because we are saving as much money as we can for the wedding.

I had considered doing that: I was planning on making jambalaya (the meal we had on our first date) and having friends serve it. But, the venue we picked didn't allow for that. I've also been to a potluck wedding where, instead of bringing gifts, each guest was to bring a dish to share with everyone. It was all set out on tables, and people helped themselves. Again, they just had friends put everything out and do the dishes after.

It will be cheaper most likely but it will be A LOT of work. Its what im doing but i have a lot of help from family making it happen. We will be getting a lot of Costco food haha. Ive heard you just pay in time instead of $$ but sometimes the convenience is worth the extra cost. What kind of menu are you thinking??

It might be, but it also might not be, depending on what you want and how much of it. Figure out what you want to serve and how much of each. Then figure out how much ingredients you need to get a rough cost. Then factor in all the time you’ll need to make everything. Then get some quotes from caterers for a similar menu. Compare the costs then decide.