Critique my catering plan

[PermanentTemporary]

Give me your most viperish take - I’ve got 18 months to sort this.

Plan: early June. 2pm ceremony, 2.45/3pm reception. Gorgeous huge local garden, marquee/stretch tent for cover as needed. Seats and occasional tables scattered about. Circulating staff facilitating the food. Vintage china (hired). Buffet food tables/tablecloths.

Fizz on arrival (cremant de Loire) or sparkling elderflower. Jugs of water available.

Cocktail bar making jugs of 4 different cocktails for the staff to circulate- likely Pimm’s, a gin cocktail and 2 nonalcoholic ones.

Vegetarian sandwiches from local sandwich place: cheddar and chutney, Brie and grape, roasted veg &hummus, cucumber.

Crudites and 2 dips, probably tsatziki and hummus again.

Cake: 2 mini scones per guest with clotted cream and jam (300 scones). Choice of rich chocolate cake, lemon drizzle, Victoria sponge with strawberries and cream. Additional gluten free and vegan option depending on numbers needing this.

Wedding cake bought from local
cake maker: fruit cake layer, gluten free layer, vegan layer.

Also plain strawberries with/without cream on offer (the venue is a farm that does pick your own strawberries).

Big question: is it crazy to think I could make the scones and basic cakes myself and freeze them over the months, and hire someone to defrost them over the previous 24 hours, ice them and manage them on the day? Money isn’t necessarily the issue so much as preferring my own baking. 300 mini scones, 10 each of the large cakes above.

I’m gluten free (allergy) and I wouldn’t touch a gluten free cake layer that had been anywhere near a layer with flour in it. The risk of cross contamination is too great for me.

You can make an Afternoon Tea wow - so do it, it's your wedding
What if she wants to make it low-key and enjoyable and just a generally nice afternoon rather than "wow"? I think it sounds lovely. Wowing people wasn't something I was going for when planning my wedding. Having a nice time was.

Thank the lord! You did make me doubt my satire radar. Worrying! 🤣

Congratulations @PermanentTemporary!

We didn't have an evening do when I got married and your wedding plans sound perfect. Your family & friends are unlikely to be idiots, so telling them that they are invited for afternoon tea is clear enough.

I'm Cornish, but don't like clotted cream, so cheese scones would be wonderful. Drop the pizza unless you're feeding a nursery full of small children.

Think it sounds great, but like others I'd consider being clear on the timings in advance so people know what to expect, and bulking out the savoury options to make it feel a bit more substantial - not necessarily providing more quantity, but ensuring there are enough options for everyone to fill up on - especially if you have any cheese sandwich haters in the group (which is the category I would fall into!). Pizza would be great, or nice artisan vegetarian sausage rolls, or even just some alternative sandwich fillings (doesn't need to be especially fancy - even something like a nice egg mayo would be lovely)

Pizza does not go with an afternoon tea! Sandwiches and cakes are fine (most places are well versed for any coeliacs etc). How much can people possible want to eat in 3hrs, especially as they’ve just had lunch. It will be all over by 6pm, plenty of time for them to have their dinner later.

I would say to keep it simple but quality. Not loads of dips and salads, pizza and beige food. You’ve picked a totally appropriate theme for the timings, don’t cheapen it. You don’t have to cater for everyone’s tastes, most people don’t eat between 3-6pm anyway, those who don’t like it can have some tea or a glass of fizz.

Honestly OP, I see your vision but I don't think it's going to be how you imagine. It sounds like a WI charity event. Also your menu sounds very unimaginative and uninspiring, it's a vegetarian menu planned by a meat eater. This could be a cute event for <50 people, but for 150 guests I don't think it's going to work. Are many of your guests veggie/GF? I take your point about wanting DH to be able to eat everything, but really as the hosts it would be better to cater to what your guests would want. You two will probably not get the benefit of the food really as you'll be so busy chatting. Also ditch the crudites and dip/grazing platter idea. Again nice for a few people, but for that many people it starts to look like a pig's trough.

I think a few tweaks would improve it. For example, a bus (or a few buses) between the ceremony and reception venues to ensure all the guests get there around the same time. A later finish time, e.g. 9pm, and having the afternoon tea food at 4-6, speeches/cake cutting(?) at 6, and then pizzas etc at 7. It would split the day up a bit, give people more time to eat the spread you're putting on, and give you more time to mingle. You don't need to have an evening 'do' in terms of the disco etc, but if it's a lovely day it would be a shame to waste a gorgeous light night when you could be having drinks with your guests. I think of Christmas Day just past, our guests arrived at 2pm and before I knew it, it was 9pm. 2-6 will go in a flash and I suspect you'll end up feeling deflated after 18 months of planning.

Thank you all so much! And also I’m giggling inappropriately (am sitting outside a church before a funeral, looking far too cheerful).

Ive been on MN since before my previous wedding lol so am fairly familiar with how these things go so am happy to filter… I think it’s absolutely true that I wasn’t committing enough to the seating, and that’s a very good message to get from the second half of the thread. I’m mentally stuck between the very posh ‘standing up canapes’ type wedding which isn’t quite right, and the ‘full on sit down meal’ which I don’t want to do because of seating plan hell etc. But for afternoon tea people really do need tables and chairs. Thank you.

Vintage may well be very tired as a trend but I’m not that smart, it will go over fine I think.

I love your idea, we almost did a garden wedding ourselves, but decided against it in the end, as we regularly host at home and we thought we would be getting too involved in hosting/making sure everyone was sorted. If you push the wedding back to 2:30/3:00pm are you still going to end at 6?

Personally I think even 2pm is pushing for time for everything, wedding ceremony, a few photos, transport to venue (half an hour walk for some people), people being served drinks, people being served food, the time will fly by, especially for yourselves, with 150 guests you may not get to talk or see half of them, the time goes so fast!

I totally understand not wanting an evening do, but if people are all having a good time socialising is there a provision to stay a bit later?

Well, it sounds perfect to me. And congratulations!

I think it sounds wonderful. Don't cook your own scones, that's added stress. Hope you have a lovely day.

I think it sounds lovely but I'd be serving some meat sandwiches too. As teens in my family dairy intolerant just cheese not good for them. Maybe some ham sandwiches. I think you could bake the cakes and scones and they do freeze well. I think I'd add the pizza for half an hour before people leave. Do you have many people who are traveling far?

It's vegetarian. Non negotiable.

Perhaps you missed that it's vegetarian.

There is lots of food. The OP is laying on a substantial afternoon tea. She has updated several times and it is a lot of food.

I think your original plan was a bit heavy on the booze and light on food.

I personally wouldn’t consider crudités and hummus as part of afternoon tea, nor pizza. I think some sort of savoury is a much better idea like veggies sausage roll, quiche, tarts, vol-au-vents. If you want some inspiration look at veggie afternoon teas online.

If you want to go down the pizza, crudités etc route I’d call it a vegetarian buffet. I would also mention on the invite that the food will be veggie to save yourself annoying queries on the day.

@firstofallimadelight

@caringcarer

its vegetarian, end of. If people can’t cope without meat for a few hours they have a problem, quite frankly.

Oh yes I was thinking veggie ones but technically they shouldn’t be called sausage rolls

I'm in Oxford and I know exactly where your wedding will be! They do have good pizza. And that walk across the meadow is lovely.

Food wise I don’t think you could or should have the vegan layer sitting in the same case as the non-vegan version.

Timings-wise - I have to be honest I’m your age and would be disappointed to be finished by 6.

Oh, yes - veggie/vegan ones can be really tasty

Agree with this. Add a little more savoury in. Lots of people don’t want to fill up on sugary cake.
otherwise this sounds lovely.

@PermanentTemporary

I can def see your vision and it sounds lovely.

I'm not clear re food service-are ppl walking around with trays or is it buffet style?

I have a nut allergy so understand the cross contamination fears-if it is a buffet ppl don't think about utensils etc but then I agree with someone up thread who says when ppl walk around you never end up getting enough.

I do think you need tables and chairs for eating-maybe not enough tables for every single person but grouped seating options.

Who is making the drinks/doing the serving/clearing up?
I def would not put yourself in charge of any baking/assembling/serving at the event-enjoy being the bride!!

edited to add I think communal dips at an event like this get messy grim very quickly.
Love someone's idea about individual little puddings

I'd be inclined to word the invitation "We'd love you to join us for our 2pm wedding at St Stephen's. Afterwards we will be hosting afternoon tea and cocktails until 6pm at Grange Farm.

For evening meals we can recommend The Bull (website) or The Orangery (website) - booking early is recommended as they are very popular. Please note they only take card payments"

I think it sounds lovely! Afternoon tea is very filling. I don’t think you need the pizzas (although if they are good I’d never turn down a slice). I’m quite sure the guests can make sure they had a big enough breakfast to keep them going until the afternoon tea. Or even a sneaky pre-church pub lunch!