DIY Wedding Food Ideas on a Budget
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Tastier and Cheaper Than Catering!
As long as you're willing to put up with all that, making your own wedding food can be a great choice that will keep you under budget. Especially if you know people who can make really good food!
If you're looking for more information about wedding costs, you might also like Backyard Wedding Budget: How Much Will One Cost?
Images by Emma Larkins.
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Cooking Your Own Wedding Food Is Not as Crazy As It Sounds!
Trust Me, I Know!
After all, you can see a picture of me above, enjoying the fruits of the homemade-wedding-food labor taken on by my family and some very helpful neighbors (supplemented by some wise prepared purchases from our local grocery store).Below you'll find tips for preparing food for your (or someone else's) wedding, along with some suggested dishes and recipes. If I've left anything out, be sure to let me know in the comments below! Bon appetit!
A DIY Wedding Food on a Budget Dish List
Simple Is Good... and Cheap!
- Potato Chips
- Corn Chips, Salsa, and Guacamole
- Buffalo Chicken Salad (here's a recipe from Food Network)
- Grilled Sirloin Steaks (Marinated)
- Cheese Platter with Crackers
- Fruit and Vegetable Platters
- Fruit Salsa
- Baked Beans (use canned, or follow this recipe from Allrecipes)
- Smoked Turkey (Whole), with Cranberry Sauce
- Smoked Pig (Whole), with Rolls and Barbecue Sauce
- Potato Salad, Egg Salad, Broccoli Salad or Similar (here's a recipe for potato salad from Food.com to get you started)
- Wedding Cupcakes
Grilling For Your Wedding?
Don't Forget the Tools
Weber Style 6445 Professional-Grade Stainless-Steel 3-Piece Barbeque Tool Set
Amazon Price: $28.92 (as of 05/30/2012)
It might seem strange, but grilling your wedding food can be a great way to cook a lot of food at once. If you choose a couple of things to grill, it gives variety without more work. People can choose what sauces they want to customize their own meals.
Here's the Wedding Food Spread From My Sister's Wedding
Are You Feeling Hungry Yet?
Stick to things that you know will taste good, not fancy foods that take forever to prepare. It's not even like people are expecting complex dishes; why do you think steak and lobster are so popular at weddings?
Grilling or smoking foods at home is a great way to serve a lot of people at once, especially if the items don't take a lot of preparation, such as steaks and other meats.
Tips For Making Your Own Wedding Food
Simple and Delicious Is Best
- 1Simplicity is best. Chances are you're going to be running around a lot on the day of the wedding, so don't make things more complicated than they have to be. Keep dishes simple, and supplement with prepared foods (such as chips and dips). Purchasing fruit or vegetable platters can also be a time saver.
- 2Don't be afraid to ask for help. Having a potluck event is great, but not everyone wants guest to worry about bringing food. Alternately, get family members, neighbors, or good friends to help with the cooking.
- 3Cook in bulk. Consider cooking one or two large items for the bulk of the food. For example, we marinated large sirloin steaks the night before the party. We also smoked a large pig in our smoker. These main dishes didn't take a lot of time to prepare or cook.
- 4Now is not the time to experiment! New recipes almost always take a few tries to get right. Even if someone else swears by the recipe, it may not work for you. Only prepare things for the wedding that you know will work. This is a great time to break out all of the "tried and true" family recipes.
- 5Plan, purchase, and prepare way ahead of time. Start to stock up on ingredients several weeks before the actual wedding, and finish the bulk of the shopping with a few days to spare. Sure, you may have to run to the store the day before, but you won't have a whole laundry list of things to buy. And make as much as you can (especially any desserts!) ahead of time.
Drinks Are Good, Too
Tips on Wedding Drinks
DIY Wedding Food: Delightful or Disastrous?
It's Time for a Showdown!
Choose an option below, then give us your reasons! Anyone can participate :)
What Do You Say About Cooking Your Own Wedding Food?
What a delightful idea!
jstarley says:
I think it's a good idea. Where I come from, a wedding usually consists of a nut cup and a piece of cake.
DebMartin says:
A delightful idea of you are not doing it for your own wedding. But I do like the home-cooked, dish-to-pass type of ideas you can ask friends and family to bring. So much better than a caterer. At least if one person blows it, you can just move on to the next person's dish.
mary_lighthouse15 says:
If I was in my country maybe I cook my own wedding food. It is not a bad idea.
happyhandsbelcoo says:
I think if you can pass it and your happy go for it im doing food at a friends wedding so im glad to find this lens.. thank you x
lbrummer says:
Great idea and menu, but what happens if it rains?
Way to open yourself up to disaster!
emmalarkins says:
(In reply to daniel) Well, the guests mingled after the ceremony and before the reception, and during that time we finished making the meal! We had kind neighbors who actually went to their home and grilled the steaks for us, so they came out piping hot just in time for the reception.
danielmccarthy says:
I still like the idea but would struggle with reheating... this also means you wouldn't be able to have anything hot and crunchy. How did you do the cool numbered bullet list?
feastyoureyes says:
Very interesting idea. I think if you are cut out for that sort of work it can be worth it in the end. However, I think getting it catered takes care of a few headaches!
cffutah says:
little too much 'red neck' involved.
Make Sure You Plan How You'll Serve the Food...
... Way Ahead of Time!
This Is What You're Going For!
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Don't Forget Dessert!
Homemade Wedding Cupcakes
If there's one thing that you really shouldn't feel bad about outsourcing, it's cake-making. Many people just aren't very good bakers (myself included!) My mom actually made these delicious little beauties - she's an all star when it comes to baked goods!
The funny thing was, though, that by the time the wedding cupcakes came out, everyone was so full of good food that it wasn't really a big deal. After all of our work, they were something of an afterthought! You should keep this in mind when deciding whether to splurge on expensive wedding cupcakes.
More on Wedding Cupcakes
If You Decide to DIY
What Is Your Experience with DIY'ing Wedding Food?
Vote Here!
Wedding Food on Twitter
Tune In to Juicy, Tasty Gossip!
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- SG_MagnumFlow
- "@k_kendraa: My Food At My Wedding Gone Be Nasty So I Can Stay In My Dress. -)-"Negative!
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- nannymejia
- Good food... Good friends... Good times! Can't wait #cancun #wedding
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- k_kendraa
- My Food At My Wedding Gone Be Nasty So I Can Stay In My Dress. -)-
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- whatishotnow1
- Pinterest for Atlanta restaurants?: royal wedding Food and More with John Kessler http://t.co/y1Wz6l0l
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- DIDISCAKES
- ♥ just finished frosting these amazing wedding cupcakes #curacao, #cupcakes, #cakes, #food http://t.co/hmUwRkfB
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Suggestions For Staying on Budget by DIYing Wedding Food?
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Or just stop by and say hello :)
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TandCrecruitment
May 12, 2012 @ 6:48 pm | delete
- Great ideas food looks yummy :9
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MichelleFriend
May 9, 2012 @ 3:51 am | delete
- Maybe an eco-freindly or green one
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ismeedee
Apr 17, 2012 @ 5:04 am | delete
- I'm not actually planning a wedding, but scouting around for ideas for my best friend's potluck reception- I think I'll make the wedding cupcakes; they look lovely and people usually love cupcakes!
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emmalarkins
Apr 17, 2012 @ 11:00 pm | delete
- Cupcakes are a great choice. In my experience, it's easier to make them look nice than it is trying to decorate a whole cake. And it's easier to serve them - you don't have to worry about cutting! Best of all, they're just as fun for the bride and groom to get on each other's faces!
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CosmeticMom
Jan 12, 2012 @ 1:48 am | delete
- Hot dogs? Ha :) Great lens and love your ideas!
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by emmalarkins
I wanted to share my ideas on DIY wedding food after I helped with the successful food preparation for my sister's backyard wedding.
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