Are we feeding people enough?

[Yissie]

1pm ceremony (hoping guests will think to have brunch before coming?)
2pm-4pm pancakes, waffles, ice creams, teas and coffee food trucks (2 servings of anything each)
6pm-10pm pizza food truck (1 9inch pizza per guest, lots of various toppings)
We will have a wedding cake in the evening
We can also bring crisps, little cakes and snacks like that and do a snack table?
I'm worried it's not enough but we are on a budget. I personally wouldn't need more than that but I don't want people to be hungry obviously so wanted a wider opinion?

Afternoon.

Nobody is going to have time for an early lunch prior to a 1pm wedding, even less so if they’re getting children ready. I think you’ll find people are pretty hungry in the afternoon. Fish and chip seems like an expensive option. It’s all fatty junk food, I think a substantial buffet is your best option.

Do a "picnic" style buffet before the waffles and ice cream - French sticks with butter and cheese for guests to add themselves mini scotch eggs, mini sausages, maybe carrot/ cucumber sticks and hummus- then the swert treats mid afternoon, and pizza in the evening! Easy and cheap to buy all you need from the supermarket.

Have the buffet in the afternoon slot alongside the ice cream. Pizza and chips is a much better evening option.

@Yissie

I've found a local caterer who does cold buffets they are emailing me a quote now, would it be better to have alongside the afternoon or evening food truck?

Definitely afternoon. Best get people fed properly before they hit the drink too much!

Could you maybe ask family to chip in and help with a buffet? Plates of sandwiches, salads etc?

@Yissie

I've found a local caterer who does cold buffets they are emailing me a quote now, would it be better to have alongside the afternoon or evening food truck?

Afternoon imo. People will need lunch.

The picnic food in hampers (or even nice gift bags) would be so much cheaper for OP. Food bought day before except French sticks. They would need to be collected on morning. They can be made up beforehand on morning with knife and serviettes. Surely someone would drive them to venue and place in tipee for OP. Guests could collect hamper/bag and either eat in tipee or take outside with a blanket to sit in sunshine. Vege bags could have mushroom pate, cheese and onion quiche and cheese suitable for vegetarians. With a Vege label on. I know I could make these bags up in an hour.

We did a similar festival themed wedding for a relative last year.
If you have the ceremony at one many people will have left home 2 hours or more earlier ( arrive at ceremony 30 mins early, travel time anything from 30-90 mins or more, plus dressing time. They won’t have time for a laid back substantial brunch.
If you can’t get a fish and chip van you need either a big homemade buffet or any catering type van for a “lunch time “ slot as well as the pizza ( agree with other posters they are horribly slow to serve 60+)
You really do need to feed your guests properly otherwise it is literally all anyone will remember about your wedding.
For comparison we had about 80-90 guests
Did hog roast, and a table with lots and lots of home made salad, veggie pizzas, cheese etc for 4 pm
Then had a catering van come about 8 pm who stayed until 10 ( was supposed to be Fish and chips but they welched on us with 2 weeks to go) they served burgers, chips, grilled mozzarella, etc
Wedding cupcakes all day
Was also supposed to be a crepe van but they also cancelled late doors.
There was plenty of food, and when the later catering van left they plated up stuff they had expected to serve and put it on the salad table for any midnight snackers.

People are being a bit dramatic saying they would be "starving" and "hunting down food." We're all capable of going several hours without eating huge amounts. It's your wedding, people can adapt to your routine for ONE DAY. Don't stress.

OP, I am getting way to invested in your wedding reception. I like catering. I Hope you figure it out and have a lovely day.

I have to say my dh and teen dc would be queuing up for seconds if their meal was just a 9" pizza.

I know you said you had a wedding website but honestly no one reads them I think you have to assume that for a 1pm wedding the last thing most people will have eaten was breakfast (tho if I was bring small children I would have fed them/brought something in my bag for them to eat)

You need to feed people in the afternoon and then in the evening. I'd put the food trucks together and then do a buffet.

@SummerBluez

People are being a bit dramatic saying they would be "starving" and "hunting down food." We're all capable of going several hours without eating huge amounts. It's your wedding, people can adapt to your routine for ONE DAY. Don't stress.

You've clearly never been to a wedding with very little food. The kind where people are elbowing each other out the way to pick the garnishing off the sanwhich trays. If guests are hungry this is all they will remember about you're wedding.

The OP is being incredibly proactive and sensible in ensuring people are well fed. Fed guests are happy guests.

Ok I've found a local catering company that do mini cones of fish and chips that we could alongside the pizza and then cold buffet we could do alongside the sweet treats. Waiting for availability though, booking this last minute for summer has made everything harder as people are so booked up. If we cancel the florist and the venue styler we get £1200 to play with for more food and I will just try and decorate myself.

I think the issue with a do it yourself buffet in a tipi in a field is refrigeration. You’ve got 2 hours out of the fridge before you risk food poisoning, especially on a warm day in a tent..
Are you having a disco or something in the tent in the evening or are people going to start going home early evening?

@BungleandGeorge

I think the issue with a do it yourself buffet in a tipi in a field is refrigeration. You’ve got 2 hours out of the fridge before you risk food poisoning, especially on a warm day in a tent.. Are you having a disco or something in the tent in the evening or are people going to start going home early evening?

Yeah this is why I'm contacting caterers there just isn't the refrigeration available. I will see what I can pull together

I would swap pizzas and waffles. Have the pizzas first and desserts later. Also ABSOLUTELY to a schedule board.

If venue permits could you also do canapés? Bulk buy from Costco or make your own at home?

I understand that you don't want a formal sit-down type dinner, but as a guest, standing to eat is a PITA for some. Just because you are serving substantial food doesn't mean it has to be formal. If there is plenty of seating and you want to keep it light and informal a fish and chip van or bbq at lunchtime and a sandwich and savoury buffet in the evening sounds better, perhaps with an ice cream van as well.

@Beees
That is absolutely pathetic behaviour and I would be embarrassed to witness it.

@erinaceus

I understand that you don't want a formal sit-down type dinner, but as a guest, standing to eat is a PITA for some. Just because you are serving substantial food doesn't mean it has to be formal. If there is plenty of seating and you want to keep it light and informal a fish and chip van or bbq at lunchtime and a sandwich and savoury buffet in the evening sounds better, perhaps with an ice cream van as well.

Sorry, there is seating (more than enough for everyone) in the tipi. I just mean there isn't a formal sit down meal where everyone is waited on and eats at the same time.

@yissie

Don't go cancelling your florist or decoration because some grown adults on MN have acted like your guests will wither away and starve.

Going without huge amounts of food for an afternoon really will not do anyone any harm. It's not necessary for humans to be stuffed to the gills at all times.

@Yissie I agree don’t cancel flowers/stylist.

You need to think of workable solutions, not panic and create lots more work and stress for you around the day - decorating will take hours and you don’t want that to be what you’re stressing over on the day/the day before. Doing bouquets etc takes a lot longer than you might think, too.

[quote SummerBluez]@Beees
That is absolutely pathetic behaviour and I would be embarrassed to witness it.[/quote]
I never said I approved of teh behaviour but honestly food at a wedding is the one thing you really don't want to mess up.

I wouldn't cancel the florist or decorating OP but I absolutely would choose a buffet over the pizza or chips if you had to make cuts.

Don’t cancel anything, get some more quotes for a chip van or hog roast for the afternoon. This will give it the festival feel. You are having a lunch time wedding so you need to provide lunch.

What is the venue styler going to do? Can you just rope some friends in to help. A friend decided to make her own bunting for her wedding, I think she regretted that quite early on, so wouldn’t recommend that! But I am sure some friends would be happy to help with sorting out some decorations, especially as they will be quite informal

Your other option is maybe to get the pizza van earlier plus another option (which I would do something like soup plus jacket potatoes or maybe barbecues meat with wrap/ salad). Get them to stay say 3-7 and give people 3 vouchers plus an ice cream. Then people can have 2 more main options and there will be less queues at each. Many adults probably won’t want waffle/ ice cream unless it’s the only option so overall probably more cost effective and flexible. Take some snacks for tipi that don’t need the fridge- crisps, nuts, cakes, fruit etc