Bakers Caterers Clothing Flowers Gift Registry Honeymoon Photography Wedding Svcs 2. Down Catering is going to be one of the major expenses of your reception, but there are ways to whittle the cost down. For example, it will probably be less expensive to bring in your own caterer rather than use the caterer supplied by your reception facility.
Good timing can help.
A lunch reception will be less expensive than a dinner reception. A mid-afternoon reception will mean guests have already eaten lunch and won't require dinner, so you can serve hors d'oeurves or just drinks and cake. Consider ethnic or regional foods, such as Mexican or Chinese food, or barbecue. When it comes to serving, it seems food goes faster when guests help themselves, so you may want the caterer's staff to dish the food out. Do not estimate the number of guests.