How about tortilla rollups. You can make them really colorful with all sorts of flavored (colored) tortillas, veggies and cheeses.

I would do "do it yourself sandwiches"...provide the fillings and breads and let the guests assembler their own.
Things like chicken salad ( I can give you a recipe) sliced ham, cheese slices, and perhaps egg salad or tuna. Then have a big veggie pasta salad...LOTS of veggies in that salad ( I can give you a recipe for that too) and a fruit salad bowl.....and wedding cake.
Outside of the wedding cake you can likely do everything else for about $200....but that doesn't include paper plates....I always use real dishes, cutlery and glasses.
Linda C

Having only cold foods would make it so much easier. The sandwich makin's platter would work for everyone's food preferences. There are always some people, like DH, who prefer food that goes from table to plate to mouth without any effort. Tortilla rollups would work nicely for that.

Linda, I would love the recipes for chicken salad and pasta salad. There is a veggie chicken I use for chicken salad and someone who is not vegetarian can do the 'real' version. For the fruit salad, would you leave out fruits like bananas that would turn brown if prepared earlier in the day, or use lemon juice on them??

The bride's mother is Korean. Her church friends will also bring food.

They are fine with disposable dishes; we will see how the budget holds up by that point. They have been planning on getting married since December, but the July 10th date happened so fast, I am still trying to get settled.

Thanks very much.

Judy

My chicken salad is very basic! chicken, Mayo, chopped celery and lemon juice...fresh not bottled.
For everyone to have a small sandwich, you will need 15 pounds of cooked chicken, I only use white meat. And you could use turkey breast.
I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts at about $2.00 a pound, poach in a very little bit of salted water or broth, cool and grind or chop fine....very fine so you can spread it.
Add enough mayo to moisten and fresh squeezed lemon, about 1 lemon to each 3 pounds of chicken.
Then chop celery fine ( a cuisinart will help with all the chopping) and store in a plastic bag until no more than 2 hours before serving or the salad will get watery.
Use about 1/2 cup of chopped celery for every 2 cups of chopped chicken....or more if you suddenly find more guests than food! You likely will want to add a little salt, but with all that lemon it doesn't need much.

The veggie pasta salad is very much "seat of the pants" but for the dressing.
For 100 people you will need 3 to 3 1/2 gallons of veggie pasta salad. as you are buying your veggies, remember that you will need about 2 1/2 gallons of cut up, prepared veggies. This is primarily a veggie salad with some pasta.
Youw ill need about 5 heads of broccoli, about 4 peppers a pound of cherry tomatoes, 2 or 3 sweet onions, half a head of celery, 1 1/2 pounds of carrots cut into buttons....but you can adjust the ratios to suit you.
I cut up veggies, cook the pasta, make the dressing, bag everything separately and combine at the last minute.
I use halved onions, sliced thin, green and red and perhaps yellow peppers cut into about 1 inch pieces, broccoli florets, cut into pretty pieces and blanched in boiling water (or the micro) until bright green, carrot buttons also blanched until no longer "raw" perhaps snow peas, maybe slices of celery, and halved cherry tomatoes, mushrooms. Sometimes I add shredded red cabbage and sometimes black olives, but both those things will "stain" the pasta if it sits too long.
And I would cook 2 pounds of fusilli.
Just before serving, mix the veggies, add dressing and add pasta until you have enough! LOL! As people are arriving I have been known to add more pasta to the salad!
Dressing:
1/4 cup Dijon
4 cloves garlic crushed
c honey
1 1/3 cup vinegar
Whisk and add 2 cups Olive oil in a slow stream whisking.
Add 2 tsps oregano and about ½ cup parmesan cheese.
I would make twice the recipe to be sure of having enough....the dressing is also very good on a green salad.

for the fruit salad, no bananas, I know a few people who can't touch anything that has had a banana even near it...so I leave them out.
I use those bags of frozen mixed fruit from Wal-Mart....or any frozen bagged good quality mixed fruit, and then I add fresh watermelon, some green grapes, perhaps strawberries and if it's good maybe honeydew for the color.
Again you'll need 3 to 3 1/2 gallons of that...I always have a couple of extra packs of the frozen hands in case it looks like I will run short.....I thaw quickly in the micro and stir into what's left in the bowls.
No dressing! And I have had people ask me for the dressing recipe on the fruit! it's just natural juices!
Hope this helps....shout if there's anything more you need.
Linda C

Do a mediterranian spread with hummus and tabouli, feta salad

Thanks, Linda. I think we can make those without messing up!

echo, DS loves hummus. Would fresh garlic and intimate conversations mix? We could use hummus on the roll ups, too.

Judy

My best friends had a very similar wedding under similar circumstances 20 years ago (they're still married, and still vegetarians lol!)

People who had volunteered to make food got an assignment with their wedding invitation and a recipe (think simple). I was in charge of deviled eggs. I think I was also told how many to serve, as others made deviled eggs too. I don't think the recipe is mandatory, just helpful for some folks who might be cooking-impaired. I know I had never made deviled eggs before (not that they are difficult).

Anyway, if folks are pitching in to help, I'd keep the menu very simple for most of the stuff. Just like a big neighborhood potluck. As a matter of fact, as I recall my friends used that in the invitations, "Come to our potluck wedding" or something like that. It was OK because they both worked for volunteer organizations that were always having potlucks, so for most of the guests it was a cute reference. Not everyone was required to bring a dish, just certain people. I was in the wedding party so I brought a dish. It was a very, very nice wedding. Since it was held at a local natural area, they planted a tree as part of the ceremony. Now mind you, we were and are all hippy granola bar types, lol!

Judy I went to a friends wedding last year and hummus was one of the appetizers. Feta crumbles too and of course pita points [not toasted.. there were alot of older people, smiles]. They were by far the favorite appetizer there. Everyone was eating them and commenting how good it was and a nice variation. Lots of us were making little pita appetizers with the hummus and feta on it. Delish.

As much as I am a pasta head I don't like pasta salad but I'd enjoy a sandwich making station with the hummus and such and a few fresh veggies on the side like cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. I love chicken salad and the veggie kind would cover nicely for the vegetarians. I know people say raw veggies get overlooked/leftover but I think that's partly because people offer too many choices of them. Tomatoes and one or two others is fine. I'm sure many will enjoy it if you want to have a pasta salad or potato salad or coleslaw too. Fruit salad is always good but so are big bowls of strawberries and grapes, maybe with a few other berries thrown in for contrast. No fuss. If there are other relatives or family friends that want to help with the meal you could have someone get a flat of strawberries. Someone else get about 10 lbs of grapes. Then they'd only need to be washed and put into bowls with a few pints of blueberries to divide between the bowl of strawberries and the grapes, tying them together in visual. Just a few thoughts... smiles. Congratulations and I'm sure everyone will enjoy the day.

In July I might do a salad spread instead of sandwiches or wraps. You could do chicken salad, seafood salad, tabouleh, pasta salad, tossed garden salad, a platter of roasted cold vegetables dressed with olive oil, a carrot salad, marinated bean salad, a platter of fresh fruit, black bean salad (with or without cubes of jack cheese), and as I am on a gazpacho kick, I would add cold gazpacho soup with croutons and sour cream to put on top. Add some croissants, focaccia with herbs and other good breads sliced and your guests can make a sandwich if they wish. I might put out some bowls of crumbled feta for topping the salads or sandwiches.

Even if you are out of the sun in a tent or porch, have plenty of extra sodas, tea, lemonade, and bottled water available. People tend to drink a lot more when outside in the summertime.

Sounds like a good plan for a lovely wedding on a budget.

I love the salad bar idea, but I think that might take more time and ingredients than I'd want to think about with this kind of notice and a kitchen remodel, but many could be made ahead, if enough refrigeration is available. Since the wedding is in July, that could be a consideration too, when deciding the menu. How will cold items be stored conveniently?

I'd probably go with the sandwich bar too, and then pick a couple of the cold salad items to go along, like the tabbouleh or a cold salad with beans. I love hummus, so I'd sure add that, plus you can make it a day or two before and it holds well.

I like the fresh fruit idea, not a fruit salad, just bowls of strawberries and small clusters of grapes, and it could make a nice centerpiece too. I think I'd avoid the white grape/strawberry/blueberry color combo only because of the obvious Fourth of July tie in.

As for the cake, wedding cakes are expensive. Amanda has already decided, based on a couple of other weddings she's attended, that the best idea is have a small "centerpiece" type cake for cutting and pictures, with a dessert table. Small desserts like cookies, brownies, shortbread tarts filled with lemon curd, maybe a cheesecake type dessert depending on how hot it is and cold storage available. I think that's a great idea, since I'm not a huge fan of cake but I love cookies, LOL, and they can be made ahead and frozen.

Like Lpink, my family and friends tend to do "potluck" weddings with one bringing vats of potato salad, another baking rolls (usually me, LOL) and others making pans of brownies or bowls of salad.

Oh, and I have a nce, alcohol free, fruity frozen punch recipe if you want, but the "base" is frozen ahead of time, then slushed into a punch bowl and gingerale is poured over the top. It's cold, fruity and slushy.

Annie

Wow, I appreciate your help so much! We are having a families meet on June 5th to make decisions and divvy up the food prep. It will be simpler to settle on a limited variety of dishes, but everything sounds so good. Ultimately it will be the bride's choice. (I am not being the PIA my mother was about anything wedding related!!)

Coconut, hummus is so good, it will definitely be on the list of choices. I had forgotten I baked marinaded tofu squares for DS's HS graduation party that went well.

lpinkmountain, I love the idea of planting a tree. The hippy thing...Sounds as though we are similar ages, lol.

Thanks for all your good wishes.

Judy

Oh, and check out "gowlies for groups" a website with recipes for large amounts of food. I wasn't all that impressed with their recipes, but it tells you how much food you need for various sized groups.

I cooked for my own wedding receiption and followed the recommendation for green salads. I bought 8 heads of lettuce and various vegetables and had at least of those 6 heads left along with the cucumbers, the tomatoes, the croutons, nearly all the salad. I did some veggie trays too and no one ate the blasted vegetables except my mother and Ashley, who ate the cauliflower on the veggie trays.

Maybe my family is simply carnivorous or they are drawn to desserts, but they sure didn't eat the vegetables to speak of.

Annie

Annie, I couldn't sleep last night and was looking through your wedding pictures and posts for wedding ideas! You had such a fun time. I hope we do as well.

I stumbled upon gowlies last night, too, and bookmarked the page listing the amount of food for a certain number of people. Our family always pitches in for any get togethers,so this will work. We each have our special dishes and tend to bring the same type of dish everytime.

Freezing the punch base is brilliant. I have a recipe everyone liked at DH's fiancee's senior recital, and bought punch bowls knowing we would need them again soon.

We talked about the cake last night. I like the dessert table you mentioned. Not everyone is a cake lover and some of the family are diabetic.

I think there will be enough refrigeration. I can use the two refrigerators at church, there are several refrigerators at the B&B and then my own. Fortunately this is a small town with everyone within a mile radius.

Gosh, I am hungry.

Years ago I coordinated the outdoor wedding for some friends who wanted a "pig pickin'" or bbq pork dinner with all the trimmings. They did not want a big wedding cake so I asked those who offered to help if they would make various made-from-scratch cakes, so we had coconut cake, chocolate Texas sheet cake, Hummingbird Cake, German Chocolate cake, and many others. It worked out well and folks could take a thin slice of several cakes to try.

Oooh, Teresa, a cake bar. Now that's an idea for nearly any family occasion. My family would love it.

Judy, good luck and congratulations to the bride and groom, no matter what you decide to do. The food will be good, but people are going to remember the time celebrating with family and friends and that's how it should be.

Now I've got to start planning a baby shower, David's sister Deanne has been trying for several years to have a baby. She's pregnant with twins, and due in December. Everyone is so excited that we're planning the party already. (grin)

Annie

A cake bar sounds lovely....but remember the more choices you have the more leftovers you will have because you have to have enough of everything for everyone to have some....
When I have fixed that veggie pasta salad, I never have much leftover.....and a couple of times I ran out even though I thought I had lots. It goes much better than a tray of veggies....and the same for fruit...
Don't believe growlies....use your head....think of what a reasonable serving might be and multiply it out.
Last dinner I did for 85 college kids someone said I needed to figure 6 servings per pound of pasta.......and I knew that was twice too much. I cooked 9 pounds of pasta, served 93 people and could have easily gotten by on 8 pounds.
Another thing that is easy and cheap is a whole salmon baked and chilled.
And you can add garbanzo or white kidney beans to that salad for the vegitarians. I have added black beans, but that stains the pasta....white kidney or garbanzos work better.
You can even add tofu cubes....they pick up the dressing flavor very well.
Linda C

LindaC, I like the idea of chilled salmon, it's kind of nicely elegant without being too prissy and since it's served cold, no worrying about warming it either.

Annie

I served mini sandwiches at a summer bridal shower and they were a big hit!

I used mini croissants, mini bagels and mini round buns. Fillings were egg salad, tuna salad, smoked salmon and cream cheese but any fillings would work. The mini buns made for a nice presentation and were about three bites worth which made them finger friendly.

I also served fruit slices and cubes and bite size veggies, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, cuke slices etc....basically all finger friendly...no cutlery required

When my niece got married, rather than a large wedding cake, she had regular sized layer cakes on each table. She ordered them from Hy-Vee (a grocery store) decorated to her preference. It was a really economical choice and everyone got as much cake as they wanted.

chase, I'd best get started baking soon. How long would bread be good frozen? It would be nice to limit the cutlery, but tough to do unless she has cupcakes.

brody, edible bouquets would make interesting table center pieces. Those and a cake per table and we could nearly eliminate the buffet, lol.

Thanks, again for the suggestions. I need to start a spread sheet!

Judy

When Martha Stewart's daughter got married, she (Martha) made a few different cakes and wrote a word related to marriage (love, trust, faith, whatever!) on a wafer style cookie (tuille) that was placed on top of the cake. It was really cute.

Congrats on the up comming wedding cotehele. Lots of good ideas here!

DD's baby shower is in July too, and we are doing chicken and ham salad on various breads and lettuce wraps, shrimp cocktail, pasta salad, potato salad, veggie platter, cheese platter, mini meatballs, and fruit platter, chips dip etc. One thing we are going to do is a decorated 6" 2 tiered cake on each table as a center piece and dessert.(I'm making them) I love the idea of a dessert table but will save that for a different occasion.

I would like to ask for Annies's frozen punch recipe if it's not red-the hall has light carpet so nothing dark.

And also Chase's smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Thanks, hope I didn't step on toes.

Di

Di, It is really fun hearing about everyone's celebrations! Congratulations to you and your family for the new addition. Your planning is far ahead of ours. A variety of foods are coming up for many parties. They must be the T&T for receptions and showers.

Please post pics of the shower. I would love to see your cakes! No one does wedding cakes among our family; we will need to have that done.

I am glad you asked for recipes. Salmon is very nice, but I don't know anyone in our family who eats salmon. Maybe they should, lol.

Judy

Di, I'd love to see the cakes too, and congratulations to your family.

This is the punch recipe, we like it because we can use whatever juices we like. Since the townhall just got carpeted, there are no red or purple drinks at our parties there anymore either!

Anyway, we've used orange jello, with pineapple juice, peach nectar and apple juice, and we've used lemon jello with pineapple, white grape and apple, and we've used peach jello with pineapple, apple and that peach flavored Juicy Juice. They've all been good.

Ice Cold Fruit Punch

2 cups hot water
2 cups sugar
1 box jello, your choice of flavor (we like orange or lemon)
4 cups cold water
1 46 ounce can pineapple juice
1 46 ounce bottle apple juice
1 46 ounce bottle white cranberry juice (or orange juice)
1 2 liter bottle gingerale or Sprite/7 Up
Sliced lemon and lime for garnish (optional)

Stir together hot water sugar and Jello until dissolved. Stir in cold water and juices. Ladle into 4 cup containers and freeze.

About an hour before serving, remove containers of juice from freezer. Place frozen chunks in large bowl. As mixture softens break apart with spoon until slushy. Just before serving pour ginger ale over slush and serve.

Oh, and Judy, I just made skewers with sun dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, artichokes and olives, drizzled with balsamic and olive oil. Elery loves them, but I'd prefer a nice fresh cherry tomato with a mozzarella ball and a leaf or two of fresh basil, skewered. A bite-sized insalata caprese on a stick, and no leftover lettuce to deal with...

As for rolls, I started baking mine about two months before the party and they were fine in the freezer. I don't know about longer, it's never happened here, LOL.

Annie

Annie, yummy. I saw your pic on wfd thread :)

How did you wrap/container the breads to freeze? I am starting with a double batch of mini english muffins this morning.

I have been thinking about getting a freezer for a long time. The wedding is the perfect time to do it. Any advice on freezers? I only have the fridge/freezer currently. Many years ago I had a hand-me-down chest freezer I hated because I couldn't find anything with things stacked on top of one another. A small upright, energy star rated freezer seems the best fit. Hopefully not too expensive; my nest egg is going fast ;(

Judy

I like chicken salad with grapes for special occasions. I second the suggestions of serving something that can be made ahead, served at room temperature, and laid out buffet style. You might consider grilled chicken (you could do veggie too- zucchini maybe) skewers with peanut sauce. If you made a thinish sauce, it should be fine at room temp. I just mix peanut butter and soy sauce.

jessica, the skewers with peanut sauce sounds good. We will need to test that first, hehe.

Judy, I just packaged the rolls, already baked, into ziplock freezer bags, a dozen per bag. The day I wanted them I removed them from the freezer, they didn't take long to thaw, and people made their own sandwiches. If I were going to make individual sandwiches myself for plates, I'd have taken them out the day before and cut them for use. I made them pretty small, about the size of a dinner roll, so people could have a couple of kinds if they wanted.

Cream puff shells are easy to make and make good "bread" too, filled with whatever you want to make like egg salad, seafood salad, or chicken salad. I also have made rye puffs and filled them with corned beef/cream cheese and sauerkraut, but that wouldn't be so good for vegetarians, LOL.

I have two chest freezers because they will hold more food per square inch. I did have a large upright, which was a lot more convenient to find things in. I won't get a self-defrosting because they cycle on and off, which will compromise the quality of your food as it freezes and thaws. That's not a bad thing usually, but if I put half a cow in the freezer, it needs to keep for a year or so, and I don't like the freeze/thaw cycle.

Annie

I am making buttermilk bread this afternoon. Thanks, the loaves will go in ziplock bags.

DH's family tradition is to make cream puffs to celebrate birthdays rather than cake. There are lots of meat substitute fillings that try to mimic the taste of meat. Since I don't eat meat anymore, if they don't taste like the real thing, it's no problem. The mixture sounds good! I'll have to try it.

I thought more appliances would be on sale this weekend. It won't be long until my freezer is full. Hopefully I'll find something before long.

Happy Memorial Day (weekend).

Judy

Thanks for the punch recipe(s) Annie-just what I was looking for.

Judy, I am also considering a small chest type freezer, if I can find space for it!

I plan on freezing the cake layers I'm making, but wonder if I should wrap them in something like parchment or foil before putting them in a zip lock-any thoughts? And is it too early to start making them for July 19th?

Di

Di, I would wrap the cake layers. Hopefully someone else will chime in because I don't know anything about freezing cake.

The freezer I am considering is a Fridigare upright that converts between fridge and freezer. Our refrigerator has two drawers that have 4 settings from power freeze to chill. The flexibility is a Godsend.

Judy

I know the menu is cold foods and the guests mainly vegetarian, but, I can't help myself.....

...Italian beef is the easiest thing to prepare, and you can do it right now, freeze it and forget about it till July 18. I know it's not very elegant, but it sure is delicious and very popular. I'll give you my recipe if you want it.

We had an evening outdoor dinner party with about 75 guests four years ago with a cake/pie table (and Italian beef!). It was a huge success, very beautiful. We had only one of each kind, except the pie: Chocolate layer cake; Apple cake with caramel icing; two key lime pies; Lemon cake w/whipped cream filling and whole strawberries; Strawberry shortcake (on biscuits or pound cake) w/bowls of whipped cream, no ice cream; Carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting. And something else that escapes me right now. My DIL and I made and froze the cakes and biscuits. The day before the party we prepared the fruits and frostings. I borrowed the most beautiful cake stands and silver cake knives and put fresh flowers on the white table cloth. It was stunning and people raved about it.

No, it's not too early to start baking and freezing your cakes. I did wrap mine in cling wrap before putting in the ziplock bags. They were perfect!

Sherry

I meant you can leave the Italian Beef frozen until July 9, not the 18th. Sorry

Sherry,

Your outdoor dinner party sounds like a very nice and enjoyable event. Actually the majority of the guests are not vegetarian. What is Italian Beef?

Judy

Italian Beef Sandwiches. Very juicy, (read sloppy!) but so easy and delish. It's cheap, too, if you buy chuck roasts on sale. You braise the beef with garlic and onions, bay leaves, salt and pepper for several hours until the meat shreds, serve it hot with all its juices on Italian rolls or other hearty rolls.

I'll be more precise with the recipe if you'd like, but that's about it. I guarantee a hit!

My Italian beef is served re heated in a sort of au jus made with the pan drippings, beef stock base, red wine, some red wine vinegar and lots of garlic oregano and a jar of pepperoncini....I slice the peppers before I add them.
Yes, yummy and sloppy.....but it is best served hot.

The link below is a blog that I read. I think it was posted on the Decorating Forum a couple months ago.

Anyway, she outlines their do it yourself wedding. Maybe you can get some hints from her.

Good luck

maddielee,

Thanks for the link. It is a very interesting and fun wedding. I especially like the fruit centerpieces on the tables.

Tina and her mom are meeting with a caterer this week. We will still do some of the food, but now I don't know what or how much. Probably at least the vegetarian dishes.

so it's no longer a DIY wedding reception? Pity, I think you'd probably do a better job than most caterers, but now you can relax and enjoy the party.

Sigh. There goes the freezer shopping, I suppose....

Annie

DDIL's mom hired a caterer today. I'm happy and a little sad. Annie, thanks for your confidence in my abilities! The day will be less stressful, and that's a very good thing.

I had the electrician run a dedicated outlet for the freezer. I'm not giving up on that yet :)

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions and best wishes. I wish y'all could come!

Judy
Judy

Sorry you're sad/happy after putting so much thought into it, but just relax and enjoy. Let us know how it turns out.

Di

A pasta station would be cool, keep a few different kinds
of pastas warm and have 3-4 sauces, vodka marinara, champagne cream sauce, alfredo, pesto. Serve some good breads with olive oil and pesto dip

Orlando wedding photographers

Judy, of course I have faith in you, heck, you're a member of THIS forum! Gotta keep the faith.

Sorry you're kind of sad, but it will give you more time to be "Mom of the Groom" and that's a very good thing.

Annie

I'll keep this cooking related. . .these are the two for whom the DIY wedding reception was being planned. Thanks for all your help!

Judy