To ask if you’d expect more food at this wedding?

[Avelora]

We’re getting married next month and starting to have a panic that we aren’t providing enough food. Ceremony is at 2.30, so everyone will be arriving at the reception between 3.30-4 ish. We’re having a bbq starting at around 5pm

Bbq foods are as follows, and each person can have one of every item if they want to
Burgers
Hot dogs
Chicken skewers
Prawn skewers
Veggie/vegan options
Chips
Salad, coleslaw, potato salad etc

We've also got a cheese table with various choices, crackers, pork pies etc and a dessert table with cakes, brownies and donuts which are both coming out at about 8.30pm

Would you then expect another substantial food option with the cheese and snacks table, such as hot food or a buffet or something!? We're expecting the bbq to be done with by around 6.30, but they can keep going as long as we want them to, and the venue closes at 12pm.

*Edited by MNHQ for clarity.

@loopylum my question was whether people would then expect to have more food with the cheese etc later in the evening. Most posters have replied saying that yes they would expect that and have said that what we’re providing isn’t enough

@burnoutbabe I’m glad you think that as that exactly the vibe we’re going for! Not all weddings are fancy and formal

I've attended 300+ weddings due to my job and I don't think it's enough, sorry. It's enough for 5pm when it gets served (although I would provide enough chicken skewers for two each as they're going to be popular) but at around 9.30/10pm people will be hungry again and cheese isn't going to cut it especially if people are drinking and dancing into the night. 9 times out of 10 I see pizza coming out at this time but have seen all kinds of street food vendors.

The only thing I'd say is that you need a lot of food to be ready at once, depends on how many BBQs there are and how many guests. You might find people eat the pre-prepared food rather than wait for the BBQ if it takes a while to come.

I've read more of your posts and it all sounds great, much better than the BBQ wedding we went to where we got a small cremated beefburger (elfandsafety apparently!), then later a tiny portion of fish and chips, then sit-down afternoon tea. All very strange!
I'd be tempted to organise some pizza later though. If the caterers have pizza ovens they can make it very quickly so you can make it on demand, so less is wasted.

If you read complaints about wedding food, the main issue with buffet type affairs is that those who are served towards the end are left with the dregs, rather than a good selection of food, plus the vegetarian option is usually long gone.

I don't actually think it's about how much food you have, as how fairly it's portioned out. Far better that everyone at the wedding gets one burger/one sausage etc. than the first few tables enjoy a magnificent feast at the expense of the lesser guests.

Therefore you need to be really clear with your caterers on how it's going to work. Or - I read this on another wedding thread- each table gets a selection of food , rather than having a central queue.

So 5pm full bbq (sounds plenty)
Then 8.3pm full ploughman's and desserts (sounds plenty).

Perfect!

I'm not veggie myself but used to organise events and it's quite true that meat eaters often clear out the veggie food leaving none for those who need it. At buffets we used to hold back a plateful of the main veggie options for each of them.
Or, if you know who is vegetarian, it might be simplest to serve them their food first.

I think you need canapés or similar on arrival.

For a 2:30 ceremony many people won’t have had much lunch because they were traveling/getting ready.

I’ve been to loads of weddings and the ones that are not much fun are the ones where you have a long gap with no food/drink.

@Pbbananabagel

only if they were proper greedy

noone needs a Maccys with the amount of food on offer at this wedding

There is something to snack on in between.

As a veggie id be starving, i dont eat pretend meat options, (meat free burgers that look /taste like real burgers) Also not everyone likes bbq food.
As previously said most veggie options go pretty quickly, wedding anniversary party went too, all veggie options had gone before id even got to the table.
perhaps offer slices of pizzas /bowls of chips / jacket potato halves with couple of different fillings around 9pm, also helps to soak up the booze.

my friend had a similar wedding menu. She had Pizza and Pasties later in the evening 9pm ish.

I must admit I'm quite suprised at the sheer amount of some peoples greediness. If you were at home and had a meal at 6.15pm - would you then expect another load of food again at 9pm - or in fact anything at all? I think it's more to do with boredom at these long, long events.

I quite admired a friend of mine who took 40 people for a nice meal at 3pm post wedding and they all went their separate ways at 6pm and couple went off to the airport hotel for a next morning flight out.

@Crikeyalmighty it's more to soak up the alcohol.

Normally I like to be in my bed by 10pm, but if I'm required to stay up later then a few drinks and a late night snack will help.

It says right there in the OP that these are coming out at 8.30!

Jeez OP, good luck picking through all this to find something useful. Hardly anyone is actually reading what you’ve written.

FWIW I think you’re providing plenty of food at roughly the right times.

OP as long as your guests aren't as greedy (4 burgers!) Or as thick (can't comprehend something clearly written in the first post) as the people on this thread, you'll be fine.

Gosh there's plenty. Ignore those that keep repeating the same nonsense without actually reading your post properly. Surely no one takes more than one burger etc at a time? Would you really go to a restaurant and have numerous burgers, hot dogs etc- there's always loads of sides left. I'm veggie and I have never in my long life not had veggie food left for me.

People telling you they don't like BBQs- so what I don't like a sit down bland roast meal but it's not my wedding lol.

In my experience unless there's more guest just for the evening do, a second buffet just gets picked over- and a candy trolley only gets kids going! Cheese and savouries are great

"Surely no one takes more than one burger etc at a time? Would you really go to a restaurant and have numerous burgers, hot dogs etc- there's always loads of sides left."

And yet there are many reported stories of people leaving wedding buffets hungry. We were at one with a hog roast, and felt particularly unwanted - and hangry- when, as the last table to go up, only scrapings were left.

I know for a fact that DH and DS would take multiple of the meat options- particularly chicken skewers - if allowed unfettered access. I would enjoy a halloumi skewer, but am not a vegetarian.

It's surely helpful for a B2B to know that people have encountered these issues at previous events, so that she can double check with the caterers on how the portions will be shared out.

Sounds like you have the right amount of food to me.
I went to a very similar setup recently and there was plenty. What did work very well though was the BBQ first,
Followed around an hour (ish) later by the dessert table with cakes etc. As most people ready for something sweet around then.

Then about an hour(ish) after the cakes the cheese tables came out (with same stuff as you described). That seemed to work out perfectly, as then the cheese stayed out for some while and people were able to leisurely help themselves throughout the rest of the evening, with staff topping up the cheese biscuits/fresh bread accordingly.

I thought it was a really good format actually. I was impressed.

There was plenty but not stacks of waste at the end.

When I say hour (ish) I meant it was about an hour after the first option had finished. So I think it was BBQ started around 5.30 and was finished around 7ish,
cakes and desserts were out around 8ish, and the cheese table and little savoury snack thingys appeared about 9.30.

sounds lovely love the bbq idea. Plenty of food.

I think I'd add some jacket potatoes, perhaps to top people up into the evening cheap and easy to cook on the fire or in an oven, they are filling, you can add choice of toppings such as cheese, canned tuna, sausage, suitable for meat eaters, veggies or vegans and easy to freeze later if too many left over.