My stepdaughter is getting married soon. This is always a stressful time, but especially when you are on a budget. She was going to have her wedding reception catered, but just did not have the funds. So what is the answer? How do you set up a nice buffet for your guests on a tight budget? One answer – warehouse club.
If you can convince a few friends to take over food details, you can have a nice buffet for your family and friends without breaking your bank. Everyone loves finger foods, so there is no need to cater a full meal. Besides, your guests will probably want to mingle and talk and carrying small plates with bite sized food works better in that type of environment. If you or someone you know has a membership to one of the warehouse clubs, you can get excellent deals on large quantities of food for your wedding reception.
Everyone loves meatballs and you can get them at the warehouse club at a great price. These are very easy to fix, just pop a couple of cans of chili sauce and several large spoonfuls of grape jelly in a crock-pot set to low heat. Let that get warm then stir and add your meatballs. Let it cook for a few hours and you have appetizing meatballs. And this saves time because while it is cooking, you work on other things for your buffet. Another great meat idea is the little smokies. These bite sized hotdogs may seem overused, but I have never been to a party where people did not snarf them down like they had never had them before. They can be cooking in your crock pot too – just add a little barbecue sauce and set them to low heat for a few hours.
Veggie plates are usually a big hit at parties. You can buy vegetables in bulk and cut them up a day before the reception. This will save you a lot of money as opposed to buying the pre-made vegetable plates. Pinwheels are another inexpensive item the guests will love. You can also buy large blocks of cheese at the warehouse club and slice it before the wedding as well.
Eggrolls, stuffed pizza bread, baby quiches – if you are looking for reception ideas, just take a visit to your local warehouse club. You will find some great deals to help you save your “already over the budget” wedding.
For more tips on how to live large on a budget, visit our Frugal Living Blog!