101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding – Part 4: Food & Drinks

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding – Part 4: Food and Drinks

Here are 15 ways (Saving Ways numbers 25 to 39) to cut your food and drinks at your wedding reception. The biggest percentage of your wedding budget will go to food and drinks.  Choose your menu wisely and decide if you are going to offer alcoholic drinks in your reception.  Cutting down on alcoholic drinks will slash you food and drinks budget, saving you money on your wedding reception.

Food and Drinks At Your Wedding Reception

Food and Drinks at Wedding Reception

25. Go for the buffet. By selecting a buffet instead of a plated meal, you’ll save not only on the meal but on the servers as well. This is also a bonus for your guests who don’t have to decide ahead of time what they’ll want to eat that day, and can fill their plate however they want.

26. Skip the filet mignon. Chose chicken, fish, and pasta as your options. Consider including pork or less expensive cut of meats. Steak may seem like a very formal option but it will run up your bill more than it’s worth.

27. Serve fewer courses. You can serve a higher quality three course meal for the same price as a five course meal. There’s no need to over complicate things.

28. Skip the bar. Don’t feel obligated to provide your guests with a bar. Soda, tea, and water will often do just fine. If you have your reception at a hotel there is often a bar nearby that your guests can get drinks from on their own that won’t cost you a cent. Letting your guests pay for their drinks is usually frowned upon by the etiquette police.  Let your guest know that there will be a cash bar through “word of mouth” before the wedding so they would not be surprised when this happens.  They are coming to join you in your wedding celebration; not to have “free” drinks.  Another option, have a reception earlier in the day – during brunch or lunch is often a good excuse to have a dry party.

29. Have friends and family cater. If you don’t mind going for a less formal affair, you can have friends and family cater the reception. If this isn’t quite in line with your reception plans you can also consider doing this for the rehearsal dinner.

30. Have an informal rehearsal dinner. You can save a bundle by having a casual rehearsal dinner. Plan a cookout, potluck, or barbecue. Your guests will still have a great time, and probably enjoy the relaxing atmosphere.

31. It doesn’t have to be dinner. If you move your wedding to an earlier time, you can have the reception at brunch of lunch time. This will allow you to go for cheaper menu options, like fruit and tea sandwiches. If you want a buffet, consider setting up an omelet bar!

32. Save champagne for the toast. There’s no need to keep the champagne flowing all night. You can serve one glass to each guest for the toast, and serve other beverages the rest of the time. For a non-alcoholic toast, consider serving Martinelli’s sparkling cider. It looks like champagne, tastes good and it’s way cheaper.

33. Serve a limited bar. If you don’t want a dry wedding but aren’t ready to spring for a full bar, just serve wine, beer, and soft drinks to cut your costs.  Another option is to serve “signature drinks”.  These could be mixed drinks such as strawberry daiquiris or margaritas with or without alcohol.

34. Shorten your cocktail hour. Though it is called the cocktail “hour” you can limit the time during which you serve drinks and hors d’oeuvres to save a little money, and prevent your guests from filling up before the meal!

35. Bring your own alcohol. Many locations do not allow this, but if you do your research you may be able to have your reception in a place where you can bring your own alcohol. Wine and liquor can be purchased much cheaper by the case.

36. Select a seasonal menu. Try to include items in your menu that are both locally grown and in season. You can really work down the meal price if you select your fruits and vegetables carefully.

37. Use smaller plates. If you serve your meal on 8 inch plates instead of 10 inch plates, you can serve less food while still providing a plate that looks full.

38. Go for the keg. For large groups it will be much cheaper to buy beer by the keg – not the bottle.

39. Cut down on servers. Only hire the minimum number of servers needed. Other than serving the meal, they won’t be doing much besides racking up your bill.

Read All Previous Topics:
101 Ways to Save Money On Your Wedding – Part 1: Wedding Budget

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