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Casual yet Classy Reception

posted 4 years ago in Reception

Member

185 posts

Blushing bee

Beccs 07-05-08 Naperville, IL

My parents are paying for the wedding, but my fiance and I are trying to keep it cost effective.Â I feel bad slapping them with a ton of huge purchases.

So we are trying to keep things to a minimum.Â A wanted to find a simple dress, so I found one for $250.Â Our wedding is going to be at an arboretum, so I plan on going easy on the flowers because the wedding site has a ton of gorgeous flowers already.Â Â

We are also trying to keep bridal party costs at a minimum.Â I find it unfair to only pay $250 for my dress and then expect the bridesmaids to cough up $150 for their dresses.Â I'm trying to bargain shop for something cute that they can wear again, and reasonably priced.Â Â

Anyways, onto the real question.Â For the reception I was planning on having pasta.Â I thought we could maybe have one or two kinds of pasta/sauce, meatballs, salad, and bread.Â I had planned on doing a buffet, but I saw someone mention a sit down family style meal, and I absolutely love the idea.Â Â

However, I am completely stumped on how to make this happen.Â The Italian restaurant I love doesn't cater.Â You can buy pans of pasta, salad, etc from them though.Â I am not sure if I can really buy pans of pasta and make it look nice and classy still.Â Â I thought pasta was a good option because it's very universal, cheap, and really simple.Â However, I want to figure out the best way to make this work!Â

Any advice?

4 years ago

Member

41 posts

Newbee

meghan tentatively 05-03-08 Atlanta

You could buy the pans and either hire or have people you know put it into nice bowls right before it was time to serve. Then it could be brought out to each table.

4 years ago

Member

534 posts

Busy bee

smartl August 23, 2008 Vancouver, BC

I would suggest looking to actual caterers where catering is their main business, rather than a regular restaurant. They're often willing to work with the menu you want to create; you probably wont' have to pick off a set menu.

4 years ago

Member

76 posts

Worker bee

Weazie 10/20/07 Durham, NC

Both comments above are good options. If you want to keep it sort of classy, you should have someone on hand to put the food into nice serving dishes and actually deliver them to the tables.

4 years ago

Member

402 posts

Helper bee

princesskittyHI May 2007 Honolulu, HI

This could be a totally cute idea! I'd look for a caterer that does pastas, most prob'ly do, and do what Weazie suggested -- have them serve it in pretty dishes family style on the tables. Or maybe even go around with carts that have the different pasta noodles and sauces and have the dishes assembled table-side. That might be priceier, though.

4 years ago

Member

30 posts

Newbee

Beckums June 28, 2007 San Francisco/wedding in Kentucky

Lots of caterers do pasta stations and the guests pick their pasta and sauce. Just a thought.

4 years ago

Member

270 posts

Helper bee

Joanne May 2008 (Michigan) & July 2008 (Boston) Boston, MA

you can still do a nice buffet with the pans..depending on what pans they give you, you can purchase burners for them...so that the food stays warm. you can decorate the table, etc and make it look classy!

4 years ago