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.

Why is everyone assuming that all guests are making a pilgrimage of some sort to the wedding, they could pretty much all be local for all we know.

I think afternoon tea is perfect, but you need to commit to it properly - finger sandwiches, cakes, and scones, with tea/coffee and fizz or wine. Think The Ritz or similar. I wouldn’t make it any more complicated than that. Maybe get those tiered plates and set them out on the table. If you’re getting married at 2pm and guests know it’ll be done and dusted by 6pm they won’t be expecting a 7 course meal and a disco. I wouldn’t bother with the cocktails either. It’s perfectly fine to have ‘wedding, followed by afternoon tea and fizz’. Don’t bother with pizza. that’s for evening stragglers, and doesn’t fit with the theme at all. You’re serving the meal between lunch and dinner and a well worded invitation will make that perfectly clear.

You’d have to pry the olive tapenade out of my cold, dead hands!!

@stichguru

not everyone revolves their life around set meal times. Plenty of people are happy to eat at different times to usual, to miss a meal on occasion, etc - it’s a wedding! Most people are usually having too much fun and socialising to really be thinking all that much about food 😊

@Fiftyandme

Nope, no meat! The horror!! 😱

You’ve inspired me! I love the sound of this I think I’ll try to do this for my wedding if I can ever convince my other half. We’ve little children and I like the focus more on daytime and something that could be family orientated.

No indeed! Also, why would anyone be travelling from 12pm until 9pm for an afternoon tea?

What is your issue with no meat?

I'm not vegetarian, but I really, really don't understand people who cannot envisage an afternoon tea that contains no meat.

@Mrsgreen100 there is loads of food. The OP has updated several times - two whole rounds of sandwiches (8 triangles) per person plus loads of other stuff.

What's happening on this thread, genuinely?

@EmpressOfTheThread Posters aren't bothering to read the OP's updates and are projecting their own food issues, especailly the anti vegetarian food posters who are behaving like they are being forced to eat raw whale meat.

Frustrating isn't it. I think @PermanentTemporary sounds lovely and is planning a lovely day.

@Statsquestion1 OP mentioned Oxford venue and Suffolk contingent, so possible some are travelling. I would have thought very rare to only have local friends

Indeed. Even just reading the initial post would make it clear that this is an afternoon tea. I genuinely don't know why that's controversial as a reception? The subsequent updates confirm about the amount and variety of food involved. Plus the timing has been clear from the start!
It sounds absolutely delicious, and an excellent plan!

Well if I was willing to go to a dear friends wedding and lived 2 1/2- 3 hours away I would travel the night before…but if I could not afford that then I would wake up, have a substantial breakfast, get myself mostly ready (hair, make up etc) and drive as close to the venue as possible and find a suitable place to stop and get changed, fix myself if needed and have a small snack…not hard to figure out! Then I would go up said wedding, fill my boots with afternoon tea and catch up. Hop in the car at 6 and toodle on and be home for 8/9pm have some tea and toast or whatever. I REALLY REALLY fail to see the issue here…

Completely agree. People are just bizarrely desperate to create issues that simply don't exist.

That all sounds so lovely for a summer party.

The farm venue sounds nice and the afternoon tea theme with vintage china. Its good you are not doing the baking yourself as I think you'd end up being a waitress too and laying it all out etc... and that's not your role.

Some good tweaks suggested, particularly being clear about the timings, especially for guests who may have travelled a bit.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

It's like some people have never been to a wedding before and can't plan ahead. There are some strange attitudes to food and failure to imagine what an afternoon tea reception would be like.

OP asked what we thought. Some people find it hard to eat at unusual times To be offered a light meal that is neither at lunch or tea time and is somewhat bigger than a snack but quite light for a meal, might make things hard for those people. OP may not care or may know that her guests won't find it a problem.... that's ok.

If you are that stuck in your ways then attending weddings altogether is probably difficult for you. I've been to about 30 and I don't think a single one had a meal of the size I would expect at that time of day on a normal day. It's always 3 course meals too late for lunch but too early for dinner or loads of canapés then a big meal too quickly after or various other combinations.

Weddings are generally a bit upended like that. It's par for the course and no problem at all if you are able to be a tad flexible and plan for your rigid needs if you have them

Yes. I don't think any wedding I've ever been to has fitted in to a neat slot of a perfect meal at a perfect time for me.
I'm sure, like most people, I like going to weddings, a happy occasion for a friend or relative who has invited me to join in their celebration.
I look at the timings and I plan ahead, and if the food content, style or timing wouldn't be my choice, I say nothing and enjoy the day/afternoon/evening.
However, we're all different.

This! I wonder if anyone has actually turned down a wedding invitation because they didn’t like the sound of the food, or because it wasn’t going to be served at their usual meal time? Surely not?!

I mean most weddings I have been to I have no idea of the meal before hand but there you go.

Also on thinking about it @PermanentTemporary is doing it even better than your average wedding. It starts later in the day allowing people to have time to travel…it finishes early allowing them to make it home and NOT have to stay overnight/travel in the dark. Meaning they can do it all in one day of A/L If they are required to take time off work.

I remember going to a wedding where we sat down to a big three course meal at just after midday, and another one where I was queuing at an ice cream van at midnight!
Apart from the basic information, you just don't know!

This thread is really bizarre! Are people just not reading posts or is it an issue with reading comprehension? It’s a four-hour wedding, people will be home for dinner (or can go out for a meal if they like), there’s plenty of food for that time of day, it’s a vegetarian wedding so there’s no need for OP to add meat. It’s a short ceremony with an afternoon tea. Not every wedding is an all-day epic with multiple meals and people drinking for 12 hours straight.

And surely most grown-ups are capable of adjusting their food intake to account for a special occasion? I’ve done it plenty, a later breakfast, an early light lunch, whatever.

But…but…there’s no dancing! 😂😂😂

Will OP even be married at all if there’s no dancing?!

I haven't RTFT but I have read all of the OPs posts.
Have you considered having the wedding earlier? We had a small wedding in a church at 12 and then we went to a pub for a meal. We didn't bother with a seating plan and everyone found themselves a seat with no issues.
If your church service is similar timings to ours you could be at your venue by 1.30 (we didn't have professional photos either but a few family/group photos outside church.
Then afternoon tea would work perfectly, you could maybe add crisps or pretzels or even popcorn for people to pick at.

An early wedding really worked for us, we was home, in pj's having drinks with out closest friends by 5pm. It was relaxed and easy.

I would add mini quiches to the mix.
Or sausage/veggie rolls.

Still serve pizza too as children will love this. x