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Catering Your Own Wedding Part 1: Broke Bride

by Bobbie JoEle | Oct 3, 2011 | Wedding | 4 comments

Your friends probably think you’re crazy for even considering the idea of catering your own wedding, and let’s be honest…

You are.
The good news is, I am too.
There are pretty much two rules to catering your own wedding – and I am going to give you directions that will help you break both of them.

The rules we’ll be breaking:

1. Cut your guest list. You’ve read the tutorials telling you to keep your guest list under 100 people if you cater it yourself, but don’t worry – I won’t be telling you to trim out close family or friends. We trimmed our guest list considerably – but we still sent out almost 300 invitations. (You might even be thinking we’re crazy now!)
2. Serve sandwiches. If you are looking for the cheapest easiest option, google it – you need to do sandwiches. But, if you’re like me and want to have the traditional fare (potatoes, meat, vegetables, bread, salad, pasta, etc.) good luck finding any help online. So here’s what you need to do.

Are you ready for this?

 
1. Do you even need to break the rules? If the above rules don’t sound too difficult for you then go the easier way and cut your guest list or serve sandwiches. I wouldn’t suggest having more than 100 people unless you really can’t bear the thought of inviting less, and go for sandwiches unless your wedding is too formal for that.
2. Do you have a network of people who can (hopefully willingly) help you? You’ve probably realized how much work planning a wedding is – and the closer it gets, the more work it will be. Unless you have a strong network that is willing to help you prepare food and take care of all the prep, warming, and serving day of – you need to find another plan.
3. Are you willing to put in the work? You will need to price check, plan, be creative, and pick the brains of those around you. It won’t be easy, but it will be possible.
If you need to break the rules of self-catering, have a network of people who can help you, and are willing to put in a lot of work, then read my upcoming blog posts for information on just how to do it. Even though we both know it’s going to be stressful, we still want to serve our guests extra-yummy food without spending a fortune per plate so that we don’t have to cut our guest list.

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Bobbie JoEle is a singer/songwriter, podcast host, writer, artist/designer/maker, and traveler who is getting back to the basics of what it means to be human.

because healing happens in hindsight

I'm finding (and sharing) self-healing through nature, reconnecting with myself, devotional cooking, creating for joy and meaning, soulful transmutation, and all the passionate threads that call to my child heart.

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