I need help coming up with a menu for my parents surprise 25th wedding anniversary party?

Question

Does anyone have any suggestions for food for my parents surprise 25th wedding anniversary party to feed about 150 people? I'm a budget, so the cheaper the better. Also, any advice about wedding cakes? How big should I order to feed about 150 people and about how much will that cost?

Thanks!

Answer 1

This may seem like a lot, but recruit some help!  It will be worth it:

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Skewers

450 cherry tomatoes

450 jumbo shrimp, peeled with tails left on, cleaned

150 slices bacon, cut into 3-inch pieces

75 tablespoons bbarbecue sauce

18 cups sour cream

9 cups arbecue sauce

37 tablespoons ranch salad dressing mix

Soak twelve 6-IN wooden skewers and 12 wooden toothpicks in water for at least 1 hour.  Drain skewers and toothpicks.  thread each skewer with a cherry tomato and one shrimp, threading shrimp from the head end through to the tail so that the shrimp straightens out.  Brush one side of each bacon piece with some of the barbecue sauce;  wrap a bacon piece, sauce side in, around each shrimp, securing with a soaked toothpick.  Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat.  Oil grate when ready to start cooking.  For the dipping sauce, in a bowl, stir together sour cram, the barbecue sauce, and the salad dressing mix.  cover and chill until ready to serve.  Place skewers on hot, oiled grill.  cook shrimp for 4-5 minutes per side or until shrimp are opaque and cooked through and bacon is crispy.  remove from grill.  Sere hot with dipping sauce.

Answer 2

A specific "wedding" cake will be very expensive, but you could get a small white cake with a "25" on the top, and surround it with cupcakes - maybe sprinkled with silver dragees ....That would be easier to serve, and eat, too.......Platters of roll-up sandwiches or deli meats/cheese/rolls and an assortment of salads (green, coleslaw, potato, macaroni, fruit, etc) would be the cheapest way to go too........

Answer 3

Well were you planning on providing appetizers or the whole works? As for the wedding cake, where do you live? Try to find a baker that could do a small "cutting" wedding cake and a dessert buffet.

Answer 4

Italian Food , wine , cake.

Answer 5

For my parent's 25th Anniversary, what we did was, for the cake, we did one in shape of a 2 and one in the shape of a 5, and then a sheet cake to make up for what the 25 didn't feed.  That way, we didn't spend a fortune for cakes, but we did the cake in a 25 and then had the sheet cake for back up. You can even order the main cake and bake the sheet cake yourself which I'm sure your parents would appreciate and really love that it came from you IF you can do that.  

For food, we did a pasta, chicken, beef, veggie, salad, etc.  We did ziti which we knew everyone there liked, we did chicken b*****s, I can't remember if we did parmigiania or milanese, (milanese is just breaded chicken b*****s) and then we did like cut up beef tips, sauteed broccoli in olive oil and garlic, salad and rolls. We did sausage and peppers with onions too being everyone liked that too and one or two 6ft Italian wedges, everyone was MORE than filled and had more than enough to eat.  We did it through a deli.  We went there and spoke to the woman who owned it and asked her what she thought being she did years of catering and told her how many we had and we sat down for about a half hour and talked to her.  

At the party, we had the food in trays on sternos and everyone went up and helped themselves.  We had it at a hall.  You have to figure out how many trays you want, but they will tell you how many trays serve how many people.  

For cost, it depends on what you're ordering, who you're ordering from, etc.  Every place  is going to be different.  Some places will give you a deal when you order more for them.  I was friends with the family from where I ordered from. We had a LOT of food though.   We wanted to make sure that we didn't run out and that we had more than enough. We also had pastries and not just the cake for dessert.  We also had coffee, decaf, and espresso for dessert.  You also have to factor in all the things that the deli doesn't bring which is the condiments for the food, the salt and pepper, the milk and half and half for the coffee, the sugar and sweet and low, etc.  You also have to get all the plastic ware and plates etc.

I hope some of this helps and that I didn't scare you or freak you out!  I would go to a few delis, make sure that you KNOW the food and have had the food, the hot food that they serve so you know what you're getting.  You can even check out your local supermarkets that cater, just make sure you know the food and have tasted it before you invest in any of it.  You want to make sure you like it before you order any of it!  Talk to them and compare prices, a lot of places can have BIG price differences.  Talk to your friends and families, local restuarants that you like their food and see what they charge to cater.   Then compare prices.

Good luck and I hope this helps!