Budget Weddings, Cheap and Affordable Discount Wedding Ideas

We’ve all been in a similar situation before: a good friend is in town and you want to take them out to dinner. You haven’t seen this person in quite some time, and would like to take them someplace nice. There’s this new restaurant downtown that you’ve been dying to try, and think this would be a great excuse to go. After the meal (and a bout of fighting over who gets to pick up the check), you are flabbergasted at just how much the meal actually costs.

Now, imagine the same feeling – times a hundred.

For many brides, this is exactly what happens at their wedding receptions. After all, a wedding reception is like buying dinner for a hundred or so people. No wonder receptions are often the most expensive portions of any wedding. What you need are some good cheap afternoon wedding menus that will have your guests making yummy noises without breaking the bank. Here are some tips on what you can do.

>> Click here for Cheap Wedding Menus Made Easy

The first thing is to determine how many guests will be coming to your reception. Of course, a menu for 30 guests is going to be quite different from a menu for 300. Think carefully about how many will be attending, because more people means cheaper food items if you are looking to save money. If you are inviting fewer people, you can afford to splurge a bit more.

Next, you need to consider the food itself. Now, costly items such as beef and seafood are going to ratchet up your expenditures faster than you can say “prime rib.” Sure the premium items are nice, but are generally out of the realm of possibility for budget weddings unless you are actually marrying a butcher. Instead, you will need to think about taking less expensive food items (i.e. pasta, chicken, pork, etc.) and thinking of creative ways to dress them up. Pasta can be a great choice for larger weddings because it is quite easy to feed a large number of people with pasta and some salad and bread on the side. And because pasta is quite filling, there’s a good chance that people won’t be able to head back for seconds, saving you even more money. Done right, pasta, chicken and pork can be just as enjoyable for your guests as beef and seafood.

For something a little more exotic, why not set up a Mexican-themed buffet? Prepare everything your guests need to assemble fajitas, burritos and tacos including tortillas, meat, veggies and salsa, and get your guests to put everything together themselves. They can customize their food to their own liking, and the buffet style means that you won’t need to hire a lot of wait staff. A buffet also works great for pasta dishes. Simply prepare a variety of noodles and sauces, and have your guests choose what they’d like. This can make for a fun and interesting meal at your own budget wedding reception.

One final tip is to get yourself a warehouse club membership if you don’t already have one. Many warehouse clubs like Costco prepare fresh ready-to-eat food that you can simply buy and immediately serve to your guests. The great thing about it is that not only is it quite inexpensive, but it is generally prepared in large quantities. They have a large selection of party trays that can contain anything from various Thai curries to salads and shrimp rings. They even have many desserts that sell for a fraction of the cost of a professional catering service.

For even more cheap wedding menu ideas, pick up a copy of The Budget Wedding Book. You could easy save hundreds of dollars with the tips contained inside.

From other wedding blogs:

Cheap Wedding Menu For 50 People With A $60 Budget

My wedding theme is black and white and there’s going to be 40 people but I need some more just in case, can you please help me?

Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Reception Menu

One of the most expensive parts of the wedding reception is the food. It can be a real challenge for most brides to afford a decent menu and a nice cake. But with a little creativity even a couple on a small budget can have a nice meal.

How To Have An Affordable Wedding Reception Menu

One of the best cheap wedding reception food ideas is to make a meal out of pasta. Pasta is a great meal because it fills people up, is affordable, and most like it. With pasta there is an unlimited amount of variety.

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