DIY Wedding: The Details

CountingDown
Fri, 09 Aug 2013 20:08:39 +0000

DH and S2 made sure to try all the dishes out on us at home over the past few months to make sure they were OK for making/serving so many people. The chicken, fish and beef are dishes we have made many times before, including in large group settings (DH once catered for 165 at a Gilbert & Sullivan singalong, and we did cooking for our synagogue pretty regularly.)

Took us several tries to find a cider roasted veggies recipe that we liked. Not all the veggies took the same amount of time to cook, we wanted more of a glaze than liquid, etc. We’ve made the other veggie dishes previously. I make lots of cobbler, so that was easy.

Started cooking three days prior, had friends and family to help with chopping and prep,. The short ribs taste better when they have soaked in the tomato sauce for a couple of days, so he cooked them Thurs. and sent out to neighbors’ fridges. Salmon was done Fri. so it could chill, chicken was prepared Fri. and baked Sat. am. We rented several hot boxes in which we put the aluminum trays of food and hauled them to the venue. We had a proof oven there which kept things hot, plus a regular oven for baking appetizers just before the cocktail hour.

If the bride could tolerate warm weather (she is from northern England; anything over 80 is terrible for her), we would have had an outdoor BBQ. Then again, it rained here last Saturday, so that would have been a whole 'nuther story!

I think it is pretty easy to DIY a dessert spread. Bring in a cake/cupcakes, but if you want other goodies, there is plenty of yummy stuff that’s easy to make.

Another way to reduce your expense is to bring in stuff from your favorite restaurant and then make side dishes to go with it.