Winning at Weddings

by Chef Michael Flowers

It's finally happened -- you're engaged. You've been dreaming of this day since you were a little girl.& If "excitement" were measured in minutes, you'd be an hour! Immediately, you can think of 400 friends you're going to invite to the reception. After meeting with several caterers, reality starts to sink in -- BAM! "$50.00 per person? Are you out of your mind? That's $20,000!!!"

Like it or not, 35% to 50% of your total wedding budget will be driven by food and beverage requirements. If you can afford it, great! If not, let's explore some simple yet effective ways to trim your catering costs without sacrificing any of the style and elegance you want.

Time of Day

Do not have your celebration at a standard mealtime. Mid-afternoon receptions do not require tons of food. Your guests will have already eaten lunch and will be just as content on having light hors d'oeuvres.

How Many Guests Will Actually Attend the Reception?

Take the total number of people you have invited and multiply that number by .66, and then multiply that number by 1.15. Example: 300 invited guests x .66 = 198 x 1.15 = 228 people expected. This formula has worked well for me over the past twenty-five years. You don't want to pay for 300 guests when only 228 are going to actually attend. Based on $50.00 per person, this is a $3,600.00 savings to you!

Cocktail Reception Versus Sit-Down Reception

No bones about it -- the cocktail reception is the way to go, for two reasons. First, in most circumstances, the caterer makes more profit on a cocktail reception -- they're happy. Secondly, in most cases, it's cheaper "per person" to have a cocktail reception -- you're happy. Everybody's happy!

The Menu

Start with the basics and work your way up as far as your pocketbook will allow. The following items are required for a basic cocktail-type reception. Some suggestions are included as a starting point for planning your menu.

The above listed suggestions are inexpensive, yet when properly displayed -- spectacular! Now, if you still have money left over, add an additional meat item, or raise the bar with a seafood offering. This is YOUR day, YOUR moment and let's not forget -- YOUR money! Enjoy it!

Chef Michael Flowers is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has worked for Club Corporations of America, Hyatt Regency, and Ohio's Governor's Mansion. Along with Donna Bankhead, author of Last Minute Weddings, he is the co-author of Cater Your Own Wedding, a do-it-yourself book for achieving a professionally catered look without the professionally catered price. Cater Your Own Wedding includes cost-cutting tips, menu plans, checklists, timelines, recipes, and more for creating any one of six different wedding reception styles.

Visit http://www.chefmike.com/ to learn more.

More About Cater Your Own Wedding from co-author Donna Bankhead . . .

Chef Mike Flowers and I wrote Cater Your Own Wedding: Easy Ways to Do It Yourself in Style for people just like you -- people who can't or don't want to spend exorbitant amounts of money for a wedding reception, but who still want to have an elegant and beautiful celebration with their family and friends. With Cater Your Own Wedding, you can provide anything from a simple finger-foods buffet to a full-meal spread for a fraction of the cost a caterer would charge. All you need is the book and some reliable friends who are willing to give a few hours of their time. Much more than a cookbook for crowds, Cater Your Own Wedding is a comprehensive handbook that takes you (or whoever you recruit to organize and oversee the reception) through every step of planning, preparing, and putting on the reception.

Cater Your Own Wedding outlines several types of receptions including the Basic, Elegant, Ultimate, Brunch, Backyard Barbecue, and Dessert Receptions. The plans can be customized to accommodate virtually any size reception, as adaptations for a variety of serving quantities are provided for each recipe. Since few people have access to commercial kitchens and their large-scale cooking capacity, the recipes are broken down into portions which are manageable in any home kitchen. In addition, each plan details how many helpers the bride will need to recruit and specifically what each person will be responsible for. The entire reception is choreographed with down-to-the-minute timelines that are provided for each helper. To take even more guesswork out of the process, diagrams are included for arranging everything from relish trays to the wedding cake table to the reception hall.

This is just the beginning. Other topics Cater Your Own Wedding addresses include:

Planning a wedding is stressful enough without having to decide which you want more--a knock-em-dead reception or money to live on after the honeymoon.  With Cater Your Own Wedding, you can have both!