Whether you have a caterer do all, only part, or none of the food preparation, there are ways to save on wedding food costs. When you take this “you, me, or us?” approach to the reception food you can discover cost-saving solutions you may not have thought about otherwise. Here–whether you completely outsource, totally DIY, or are somewhere in between–are some wedding food ideas on a budget. 1. Make sure you know how the caterer determines the final cost you pay. When by the number of people at the event, keep a careful count. Follow up on RSVPs ahead of time […]
Reception Food and Decorations
The Ultimate Cold-Weather Comfort Food Wedding Menu
It’s your cold-weather wedding (or pre-party)! Guests are arriving chilled. And you want to warm them with a comfort food menu. Sprinkle your offerings with ingredients that feed the soul and raise spirits. They will have fond memories of your event for years to come. The beauty of all these recipes is you can make them ahead. Plus, they are scalable. Appropriate for a large reception, intimate holiday party, or rehearsal dinner. Concerned about the carb factor? I’ve offered ideas under each recipe for adjusting ingredients or offering alternatives. Give yourself plenty of time to tinker and adjust! Now let’s […]
5 Low-Budget Wedding Food Ideas Your Guests Will Love
While saving money is great when you are working with a limited budget, adding to the guest experience is important as well. There are ways to do that without spending a lot (or any) extra money. Here are some wedding food ideas on a budget to get your creativity started. 1. Have custom food stations consisting of relatively inexpensive ingredients. Made-to-order food stations are interesting to guests. They also allow for meal customization. Options to consider include omelets, stir-fries, waffles or pancakes, pasta, wraps, savory crepes, fresh tossed salads, paninis, kabobs, and baked potatoes. 2. Consider an ethnic menu rather […]
Paper Roses DIY
Real flowers can quickly become expensive, but they are not a requirement for lovely decorations. Although there are many types of artificial flowers, paper varieties can be the most unique. This giant paper roses DIY from Anna of Download and Print shows you how to make one style (Tip: These are enormous “statement piece” flowers; some petals takes up a whole piece of paper each. If you prefer to make them smaller or a variety of sizes, scale the template file to something other than 100% when you print). You can also find several ideas for different types of paper […]
19 Mason Jar Centerpiece Ideas for Weddings
Mason jars can easily serve as distinctive and inexpensive vases for your wedding centerpieces. They can also add different effects to your guest tables, depending on how you decorate or fill them with. Here are six different techniques you can use, followed by 19 mason jar centerpiece ideas for weddings. You will find a few simple DIY tutorials mixed in with other jars or centerpieces you may purchase.Note: As with most links on MyOnlineWeddingHelp.com, many of the links in this post go to this site’s shop section or directly to another website. My Online Wedding Help will receive a small […]
Elegant Rustic Wedding Cake Tutorial (no decorating experience required)
I am excited to announce a new video series on MyOnlineWeddingHelp.com–cake decorating tutorials showing, in detail, step-by-step instructions on how to ice and decorate the rustic wedding cake in the photo. The best part is it’s easier than you may think. You can do this without decorating bags or tips and you do *not* need experience. What’s in the new section? At the beginning and end of each video, you will find what I call a menu, where there will be links to each of six videos and this page. The cue that you are in a menu section will […]
How to Make Mini S’mores Bar Centerpiece Favors
Nearly everyone loves s’mores and they are so fun to make! They are a natural for outdoor dessert stations, but we tweaked the idea for use as favor centerpieces.What you will need. 1. S’mores ingredients: chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows. 2. Skewers (or forks) to hold marshmallows. 3. An indoor flame: non scented pillar candles (better than votives in the photo) or Sterno cooking fuels (works even better). 4. Glass platters. Plastic is doable, but I’d be wary of them getting melted. 5. tulle 6. ribbon 7. scissors How to put the centerpiece together. 1) Make two chocolate and graham cracker “sandwiches” for each […]
Top 7 Ideas for Wedding Cake Savings
Often, one’s first inclination about desserts for the wedding is to go to the most popular local bakery that specializes in wedding cakes and order a cake large enough to feed everyone at the reception. While you can be assured of plenty of high-quality cake, it may also cost more than you have to spend. There are a few different approaches to “having your cake and eating it, too,” so to speak. Size Matters If you look at most price lists, you will see the smallest two-tier cake is considerably less than the larger ones with more tiers. By going […]
Top 5 Tips for Saving on Wedding Table Linens
There are many details to think about when planning a wedding—a few of which may not be top-of-mind when first thinking about costs. The table linens are one example. Buying them at full cost can be a surprise blow to the low-cost wedding budget, but that need not be the case. Types of Table Linens We are all familiar with table clothes. Floor length (or even longer) generally results in a more formal look, while shorter versions are less formal and more economical. Overlays are generally square pieces of material placed over round tables, providing contrast to the longer table […]
5 Ideas for Lowering the Cost of Your Wedding Meal With Food Selection
The choices themselves—what types of food, how much, and ingredients used to prepared each dish—go a long way in determining how much your reception meal will cost. There are several ways you can cut down without necessarily downsizing the wedding. Number of Entrees or Courses Generally, the more complex your meal, the more expensive it becomes. Some ideas for simplifying that make it easier for you to control costs include: 1. Offer fewer courses. Serving only appetizer or salad, a main meal with one side dish (consisting of starch plus vegetables), and cake for dessert is usually more economical than […]
Wedding Budget Savings Tip #28: Cut down on courses so you can afford the chef’s specialty
While there are many ways to create a do-it-yourself menu for your wedding, it is not always practical. Plus, the traditional approach to wedding food can be much less stressful. Fortunately, you can save when going the full-service route as well. Typically, you meet with the venue’s in-house chef or an outside caterer, go over the menu options she offers, perhaps have a tasting, and make your selections. Except for providing headcounts and paying on time, it’s pretty much hands off from there. One downfall is it’s easy to fall in love with some of the seemingly-beyond-your-budget items. If you […]
