feeding people cheaply - is it possible?!

[badg3r]

We got married earlier this year, tiny wedding. For our first anniversary we are going to have a big party. Don't want a sit down meal but food to start then dancing. I though a buffet sort of thing but it's looking like coming in at over £4K for 120-odd guests. Is that normal?! Any creative ideas for how to feed people informally and cheaply that doesn't involve a bbq (inside space only)?!

If you or someone you know has a Costo card, they do great buffet food in bulk - sandwiches, wraps, cold meat, sushi, salads, sides, desserts. Some things require pre-cooking (but can be served cold) but others you just serve as they are. Would that work? I can't find the platters on the website, but I did this earlier this year for a party and it was good food and not massively expensive.

For our wedding we had a hog roast to feed 100 for £700 and we also did a buffet, mostly bought from Costco, with freshly caught smoked and roasted salmon (caught by dh so free). All in less than £1k

4k seems extortionate!

Thats a ridiculous amount , what about a fish and chip supper , or hog roast , or a balti night ( if you book in advance you can usually strike a good deal with the takeaway owners by having set meals and slightly smaller portions )

We had a fish and chip van came to our hall venue for our night do. They did fish, fishcakes and sausage with chips, beans, mushy peas and curry sauce. All served hot from the van and people loved going up to collect their own. They charged us £5.50 per person - which I thought was really reasonable.

Hog roast / gaint paellas are both things Ive had for big parties before. From memory the hog roast was about £15 per person. £33 per head seems ludicrous!

Sorry - just saw about the inside only thing...we had the hog roast at a country house and they cooked it in the garage...

We had fish and chips delivered. 80 people was around £400. Local fish and chip shop were very happy to do it, even though they dont advertise the service.

We had people select from cod, sausage or veggie burger on their RSVP and the shop labelled all packages with the name of the recipient

pie and peas is quite common round our way.

Bring and share buffet?

M&S catering platters?

Enlist some friends to make things like terrines and sausage rolls then serve with salads, fresh bread etc?