Simple, Elegant Wedding Food

Think dining for less means tacky offerings? There’s a lot of ground to cover between Crock-pots and high-cost catering

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Every couple wants to save on the food expenses for their wedding reception. That’s a given.

Reining in costs without appearing cheap is a difficult feat to pull off. However, you don’t have to choose between meatballs on toothpicks and extravagant lobster rolls.

You can make small adjustments in food service that will save you hundreds of dollars without jeopardizing the quality of your wedding reception, says caterer Wendy Pashman, president of Chicago’s Entertaining Company.

“More often clients would like to save money on the various rentals, but not the food,” says Pashman.

Her tips are not only stylish, but won’t be detected by even the most discerning wedding guest.

Take the rental of dishes and silverware, for example. These can run as much as $18 per person, Pashman says. But you can eliminate those costs if you serve finger food from a buffet.

“The younger the crowd the more used to sampling small portions of food people are,” says Pashman.

The key is to keep the portions to a one-bite size so guests don’t have to balance scraps of food in their napkins.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re cutting corners and no one says you can’t afford the plate. In fact, guests often prefer not to be encumbered by a plate and fork when they’re mingling,” Pashman says.

And food isn’t less elegant for being dainty.

Her parties include such fare as apricots with a dollop of Gorgonzola cheese and a sliver of prosciutto or tiny sliced duck breast sandwiches on walnut-raisin bread.

As an alternative to a buffet, or in addition, many couples opt for passed hors d’oeuvres, especially during a cocktail reception. This can be expensive because it means hiring several people to carry food trays.

But you can trim these costs too. Pashman’s suggestion is to use rolling carts to reduce the number of food servers you have to hire. A caterer can load five times as much food on a cart as on a tray.

“With wait staff billed at about $150 each for a two-hour reception the savings are substantial,” says Pashman.

Rolling carts are similar to food stations, but on wheels. You can create themes, such as a vegetarian cart. Pashman developed a cart featuring fish and chips wrapped in paper, which saved on dinnerware. She’s also done Asian carts with pot stickers and spring rolls.

“The food was served out of take-out boxes with wooden chopsticks. We were using paper [serving pieces] but in a more stylish way,” says Pashman.

“You can replenish the cart and don’t have to spend money on an extra table, linens or flowers.”

Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"

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