Reception On About $1000.00

Decorating By jennifer293 Updated 25 Jul 2006 , 9:20am by jowhip

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jennifer293 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:26pm
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Does anyone think that reception food for a wedding to feed about 400 people can be bought for 1000.00? I am making the cake at no charge other than the cost of what it costs me to make it, and they have asked if I will do the food as well (with help of the help of family) we will buy it all and make it all ourselves. Just hors'devours. We were thinking like croissants, chicken salad, meat tray, meatballs, cheese cubes, fruit mints etc. Nothing really heavy. It is for my best friend's little sister...


TIA

Jenn

62 replies
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dolcesunshine20 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:33pm
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My family did my wedding reception for a 600 people for under $1000. It can be done! We had fruit, veggies, mints, cheesestraws, cookies, and bbq chicken chipped up served with rolls. I did my own cakes as well. We purchased a lot of the items at Sam's Club and the local farmer's market. Our friends offered to help prepare the items. OH, I forgot that we had 2 different cheeseballs and crackers. We bought our crackers at Aldi's. They sell stuff for super cheap. Best of luck planning the reception!

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debsuewoo Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:37pm
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400 people for $1000? That's less than $3.00 per person. In a word, no. They are going to have to pony up more money or you will not be able to make enough to make the guests feel satisfied. The family might consider paring down their list to those who are the most important in their lives (close friends and relatives). I mean, personally, I would rather not be invited to a reception than go to one that I felt I was invited to just for the gift. You know what I mean?

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jen1977 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:40pm
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It can be done if you price shop. If the wedding is in the afternoon, the guests don't expect a meal, just appetizers.

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dolcesunshine20 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:45pm
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P.S. Our wedding was in the afternoon, and we ended up with lots of food left over too. We froze the bbq chicken and were still eating on it months after the wedding!

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springlakecake Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:45pm
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I guess you might consider also is this the guest list, or the actual amount of people coming? If you invite 400 people certainly less will be able to attend.

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thecakemaker Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:47pm
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We did mine for less! We went by horse and carriage to the court house on a Friday and my husbands aunt married us. Saturday we rented out the Equestrian Center ($300) had pit beef, pit ham, and pit turkey. Salads from Price Club and lots of wine, beer, etc. We paid someone (a friend) to do up and serve the meat for us. My mom made the cake. My FIL dj'd for us. We showed up "dressed" for the party and after the dances and cake we slipped into something more comfortable and joined the party! It was a blast!

It can be done. It depends on what you're looking for!

Debbie

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ge978 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:51pm
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Absolutely it can be done. You just have to find specials on food or buy in bulk.If you cut up the veggies and cheese yourself instead of buying tryas that saves money.....you can arrange it pretty with garnish, there are lots of ways to do this for under $1000.

And I never worry about what kind of food is served or how much is there at a wedding. I'm more focused on the actual wedding itself.

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debsuewoo Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 2:58pm
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Looking at where all you are from, you are right, it probably can be done for less that $1000.00, however, out here in Los Angeles, where everything is over priced and over taxed, I don't think so!!

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Steady2Hands Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 3:31pm
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1000 / 400 = 2.50 per person -- YIKES!

I'm with debsuewoo as far as it depending on where you live and the cost of food. And like merissa, if she's invited 400, she may have a lot of food left over.

I know you would want to do anything you could to help your best friend. I just can't imagine doing the wedding cake (large enough to serve 400 people) AND being in charge of the food too icon_cry.gif (even with help). Maybe she has a family member who would be willing to be in charge of the food. I certainly don't want to put a damper on your situation ~ I'm just concerned icon_wink.gif .

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strawberry0121 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 4:32pm
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We did it, but we wanted a family style meal. I called several members of my fmaily and asked each one to make a particular dish. We got homestyle food that everyone enjoyed and there was plenty of it. They paid for the ingredients and we just used borrowed dishes for more of the homestyle feel. Our family was more than happy to help us.

I think it really depends on what you are looking for. Everyone I have talked to said that was the funnest wedding reception they had ever been to. My brother DJed, and we had 2 kegs and plenty of wine. We also had my favorite "Chamapgne" (Ballatore). We bought the wine and champagne on base so we paid no tax and the prices were great. Do you know anyone who has access to a military base? HTH!!

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Doug Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 4:37pm
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can do...
my sis's was under $1K...deli meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, etc.

friend's was a backyard volleyball & tennis wedding w/ hotdogs, hamburgers and all the picinic fixin's (they were married in tennis whites btw)

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Jorre Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 4:51pm
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We did my reception for 200 people for about $250.00 total, in CA too!

No alcohol, we did have some sparkling cider. My in-laws got sandwich ring trays from Costco and presliced them, they also got trays of croissants and trays of sliced lunchmeats, they made a ton of homemade salads to go with them and made up fruit trays using the fruit that was in season and a good price. My mother made the wedding cake which was white cake with a lemon custard filling.

No-one went hungry, most people were give boxes of leftovers to take home. It was a church family reception, so it was semi-casual and everyone had a great time.

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jennifer293 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 5:09pm
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thanks for all the replies..I am thinking out of the 400 that are actually invited only about 275-325 will show...We will prepare everything, nothing will be bought pre-made on trays..Those things are so darn expensive. We all have Sam's memberships so that will work out pretty good.

I think we can do this I AM DETERMINED!!!!

As far as the cake, we are trying to get her to lean toward a cupcake wedding cake...I can whip out cupcakes in no time. If not then I will have to delegate jobs to the family members so I can get the cake done on time... icon_biggrin.gif

thanks again

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Doug Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 5:19pm
post #15 of 63

hint on cheeses:

much cheaper to buy blocks

for cubes...cut into pieces of size that will fit through french fry cutter...gives long "fries" of cheese then cut those w/ knife to cube size

or slices...cut into pieces of size you can use a butter cutter. (do this all! the time)

-----------

OK ladies and gents -- what's your favorite easy, fast, inexpensive finger food reicpe

mine: ham and flavored cream cheese pinwheels. large rectangle shaped ham slice schmered w/ flavored cream cheese rolled into log and sliced.

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Zmama Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 6:54pm
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Lil Smokies! Crockpot them with bbq sauce and grape jelly (don't tell, it's a family secret icon_wink.gif )

ham, turkey, and cheese set oput with sliced rolls and butter and mayo (make your own)

My friend had a 20 ft Subway sub for her wedding!

Sandwich bites - make sandwiches, use cookie cutters for fun shapes (to match wedding theme??)

Chips and dip

Carved out watermelon filled with fruit salad, maybe add fruit kebobs on sides

VEGGIES!!

For meats and cheeses for that many, it would be cool to make a "wedding cake" out of them. It would be like a 3 tier cake setup, with meats stacked for each tier, with the top tier being the cheeses. Use velveeta to make roses and other decs like fondant, perhaps decorate with real grapes? Condiments would be the satelite tiers. The real cake, if not cupcakes, could be sheet cakes served from the kitchen, so no dec-ing needed.

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ge978 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 6:59pm
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Bacon-wrapped breadsticks....take sesame breadsticks, wrap them in bacon,,,then sprinkle brown sugar....bake in oven until the bacon is done & the brown sugar is carmelized.

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KHalstead Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 7:06pm
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mmmmmm......I love celery sticks smeared...or piped on (very pretty) with cream cheese thinned with a little splash of milk and some roasted red peppers......chop it all up in food processor.....soooo yummy!! sprinkle with a little paprika if you wish! mmmmmm.....gonna have to try the ham pinwheels......how can you go wrong with cream cheese!!?? LOL

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fearlessbaker Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 10:13pm
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When I first read Debsuewoo's post, my 1st impression was wow, How outspoken. But when I realized we live close to each other I understood clearly. In Southen Cal. it would be difficult to to do that for 200 hundred people. But if you are serious, there are so many pasta dishes that you could do. You could stuff tomatoes with pesto and do a modern twist on deviled eggs for appetizers. You can make little pizza's using ready made puff pasty and use a cookie cutter to cut them into little circles. Just some ideas for you. Oh, and you could make and decorate cookies for favors.

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ashlymomx2 Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 10:24pm
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I think it can totally be done on that amount of money. We had pretty much the same budget for my wedding and we got tons of stuff from Costco and we had plenty. Good luck & post back to tell us how it goes.

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cindww Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 10:38pm
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Good luck! It sounds like you're up to the challenge.
And on a side note, I don't think I even know 400 people!!

Cindy

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loves2bake Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 11:25pm
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You've got the best brains in food helping you so of course it can be done!! icon_wink.gif
Meatballs can be bought in Bulk at Costco or Sam's and are delicious (have to try the grape jelly thing). Celery (topped with cream cheese and diced olives) is colorful easy and cheap. Sausage balls and cheese straws are two others.
Of course you can always do strawberry fondu... icon_lol.gif

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puzzlegut Posted 13 Jul 2006 , 11:32pm
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How about deviled eggs? My mom makes those for almost all of our family gatherings and they are always a big hit!

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anorris3 Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 1:57am
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I would recommend getting a finger foods cookbook. I have "The Book of Finger Foods." It has step by step instructions with pictures and final presentation stuff. All the recipes are fairly simple and cost effective plus they are real sleek looking.

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Narie Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 2:02am
post #25 of 63

Ok, do you want cold food or hot food? If you are working out of a church hall with a large kitchen, you can move into hot food i.e. baked casserole type of things which can be made a head of time or purchased at Sam's and shoved into the oven by a crew of cousins or aunties. Large crock pots can do a lot stuff. In this area you can hire pig roast crews for a good price. Or if you live where you can dig a pit and line it with rocks you can do your own pit roast.

But hot or cold food, the trick to making a buffet work is setting it up to avoid long lines and traffic jams. Which with 300 + people means several stations and placing things away from each other.

If you know someone who has run large church suppers for several years, talk to them. They will more than likely have some good suggestions for you.

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jennifer293 Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 2:22am
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the church is HUGE and it has a HUGE kitchen..My dream kitchen as well..LOL We will do hot and cold food, I will be sure to ask anyone who owns a crock pot to bring it...I know where I can borrow 5 of the nice chafing dishes at no charge to keep stuff warm while out to be eaten.

Thanks for those finger food ideas..anything new is welcome . I hate eating the same ol same ol at weddings.

Love the meat and cheese wedding cake idea icon_biggrin.gif

She has told me that if I don't feel comfortable doing both tasks that she does have someone else that would be willing to do her cake..I might end up taking this route since I wasn't gonna charge for it anyway.

AND NO after racking my brain I don't think I know 400 people either...LOL

Thanks for the advice!!!

Jenn

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subaru Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 2:39am
post #27 of 63

Don't forget the sausage balls!! The ones made with Jimmy Dean sausage ( I use the hot) with bisquick, and cheese. The can be made ahead and frozen. Take out and bake . We have these for every special occasion!

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debsuewoo Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 4:16am
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Well, since all of you East Coaster and Southerners are so sure that it can bre done, let me chip in with a couple of my familys "never fail to please" recipes.

Take Lil' Smokies and wrap each one in 1/3 slice of bacon, pin it with a toothpick. Layer the bottom of a baking dish (I prefer aluminum pans for ease) and liberally sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 until bacon is done and sugar is carmalized.

We also like a hot chili dip that is really easy to make:

1 can of chili (beans, no beans... your choice)
1 Cup salsa
1 8 oz. block of cream cheese

mix them together in a crock pot and stir occasionally. You can also heat this up in a pan to speed things up.

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Wendoger Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 4:26am
post #29 of 63

That velveeta/chili dip is good too....for chip dippin' or on hotdogs....

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Zmama Posted 14 Jul 2006 , 5:50am
post #30 of 63

OOH! Holy Cow Dip!

ground beef
velveeta
salsa
hot peppers
milk

Brown the meat, mix everything in a crockpot on warm. Add milk a dash at a time when it gets too thick. Serve with tortilla chips


Crab dip 1
mix canned crab (good stuff, NOT cheap)
with cream cheese and celery salt

layer, cover with cocktail sauce. DF adds shrimp to the top, omits crab for a shrimp dip

Crab dip 2
chopped celery, chopped imitation crabmeat, real mayo, splash of water. mix well, let sit 24 hours

Both crab dips are served with ritz

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