I want to cater for my own wedding classy but inexpensive cocktail reception?

Question

Anyone have ideas on nice recipes,i dont want it to be tacky but im on a small budget and all my guests are travelling so i want a nice feed but think its a waste with a sit down formal meal. im also very worried about how much time ill need to prepare as i dont want to be rushing on the day. its a beach theme wedding.

Answer 1

EDIT: I was at wk before but now i can write a more complete answer. :)

the way i see it there are two ways you could do this; there's a very casual and fun "beach theme" with some of the above suggested foods, the standard hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and ribs type deal.

but instead of of casual beach theme, you could do an equally cost effective 'tuscan appetizers by the sea' or something. :)

Here are my ideas:

Fruit and cheese platters

http://connections.afroromance.com/TheSe...

melba toast w/ bruchetta http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,171,1281...

slice of salami slice of pickle and piece of cheese on a tooth pick

http://www.grouprecipes.com/24547/footba... stuffed mushrooms

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mouth-Water...

stuffed tomatoes

http://southernfood.about.com/od/tomatoe... ,

pasta salad

http://www.squidoo.com/pasta-salad-recip... ,

and maybe even some easy tiramisu to keep with the theme!

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2007/06/ea...

very easy fingerfoods, and very classy...

Answer 2

Tomato, Basil, Mozzerella salad

Answer 3

Here are some cocktail recipes.

http://www.tennesseebartenders.com/theme...

if you want food recipes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/et_pa_we...

Answer 4

I am also having a cocktail style reception. We are having approx 225 and are saving nearly $800 by doing it this way. Here is the menu for our reception:

Bite sized sandwiches

-chicken salad

-ham

-turkey

Salad ranch/italian dressing

Chicken meatballs

Pretzles with brown spicy mustard

3 fruit trays

3 veggie trays

3 cheese/cracker trays

Brownies and cookies

Pepporoni rolls

Pasta Salad

Assorted crab/shrimp balls

and wedding cake

Some of the food will actually be coming from www.QVC.com in the appetizer section... check it out if youre interested.

Answer 5

Make sure your reception venue allows this!!!

Answer 6

I wouldn't try to do everything by yourself - definitely enlist the help of family, friends and your bridal party.

If it is a beach theme why not go with a BBQ? You could do hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, steak, ribs, etc.

Then all you would have to do is provide some side dishes - potato salad, macaroni salad, green salad, fresh watermelon, devilled eggs, cheese and crackers, fruit punch, chips and salsa, etc. Just try to think of foods that you would serve or bring on a picnic to the beach.

Maybe for dessert you could do some smores - like a bonfire. It all depends on where you are planning to hold the reception though.

I hope that this will help!

Good luck!

Answer 7

Definately agree with the fruit and cheese platter suggestion.  You can get some big blocks of quite 'fancy' cheese that will go down well!  Add some salami and olives to the platters as well - sort of like an antipasto platter... or even just do an antipasto platter!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1683/ant...

http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?i...