Wedding Menu Ideas For Your Budget Wedding

Wedding menu ideas will give you inspiration to keep your wedding catering budget low.  This is really important as food and drink is likely to be your biggest wedding expense. Whether you’re feeding twenty guests or seventy guests, it can get pretty pricey. You can save a lot of money in your wedding budget just by planning the right kind of menu though.

Many weddings these days are using a combination of sit-down meals for a few people and later buffet meals for a larger group.

Whether you have one meal or two separate meals (sit-down and a buffet), the type of food that you choose will make all the difference in your budget.

Sit-down wedding menu ideas

Sit-down meals are undoubtedly more expensive than buffet-style meals, but they can add a touch of elegance and intimacy to your wedding. The most basic way to save money here is to cut back on the number of guests. As was mentioned before, many brides are serving sit-down meals to only a few close friends and family members and then inviting everyone else for a buffet meal later in the evening.

Budget choices for a sit-down meal include chicken or pork.  Beef and lamb are still expensive, so if you can stir clear of these choices.  Bulk it out with easy potato dishes such as chunky, hand-made chips or boiled or roast potatoes, rather than layered potato dishes with lashings of cream.  Rice is also a good option as it's simple and easy to cook and serve.

If you hate the idea of serving everyone one standard meal, why not try going with two different options? Have the servers place each dish in front of alternate guests and let your guests know that they’re free to swap plates if they want to. This can start off some fun dinner conversation, and it will also create a more affordable menu for your sake.  So instead of serving beef to all your guests, you could serve chicken to half, reducing your food costs, whilst providing an alternative menu choice.

Wedding menu ideas for buffets

Buffets are usually cheaper than a sit-down meal as you don't have to pay for as many staff serving the food. You do, however, need to be aware that if you allow people to serve themselves it's likely they'll have bigger portions. You could run out of food or run out of money! To avoid this situation, try having servers dish up reasonable portions of food and consider some of the options below.

While you'll want a full meal on a buffet, having too many options here can break the bank. Instead, choose a few different meat, fish or vegetarian options, focusing on affordable staples like bread, pasta, and potatoes. Plenty of vegetables and salad will also help fill out your guest's plates. People in general have a tendency to want to try everything, so it's likely they'll have a little of everything, rather than a lot of one thing. This means you don't have to allow for huge portion sizes on the expensive items within your buffet.

With a buffet, you can offer more than two main options, have a really high-quality meal, and still spend less than you would on a sit-down meal.

Crafting a budget wedding menu is really all about knowing when to cut back and when to splurge. Using wedding menu ideas that balance good choices with cost can really help you save money on your entire wedding and especially on your reception.

Related articles

Top Tips For Cutting Your Wedding Food Budget
Tips For Catering Your Own Wedding
Working With A Wedding Caterer On A Tight Budget
Ideas For Wedding Buffet Food

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