Cater Own Wedding

I wanted to know what would be the easiest way to cater my own wedding? Do you have suggestions!

�I assume that by cater your own, you mean make the food & do all the arrangements yourself. It can be done, but it's a lot of work to add on to your final wedding preparations. Depending on where you plan to have the reception, you would need tables/cloths, chairs, dance floor (maybe), plates, silverware, etc. besides the food.

For type of food, you can consider the time of day of the wedding for some suggestions. After a morning wedding, you could serve a breakfast or brunch. After a noontime ceremony, you may want a sit down lunch. Early afternoon ceremony could have tea sandwiches, cake and beverages. Mid afternoon ceremony consider hors d'oeuvres and cake. For a late afternoon or evening wedding, probably a seated buffet or dinner-by-the-bite (hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, pastas, sushi setups, meat trays and other bite-size food) reception is best. Generally lighter foods work well in summer and heavier foods in winter. Seasonal fruits and vegetables always work well.

Some brides have planned picnics after their wedding, in parks or similar areas. Some have done pig roasts with beer and wine. One bride was doing a barbeque at the beach. It depends on what kind of atmosphere you want at your reception and what is available to you for venue.

Generally, a variety of salads, fruits/vegetables/dip, meat/cheese trays and cake would feed lots of people easily. They could be made up in advance and is pretty easy to do

For some self-catering items and quantities, see Do it Yourself for more ideas.