Hello lovelies

Haven't been on for a while been super busy! Just want your help and advice about the evening food.

Our 'do' isn't fancy in the slightest. We're getting married in the church then doing everything in the church hall. Married at 1:30 food approx 4:30-5pm. This will be a buffet.

Evening guests are arriving 7:30ish and I don't know what to do. My day guests will have eaten and so presumably my evening guests will eat before coming.

I know it's 'normal' to feed evening guests but I've been to an evening do before and not been fed and actually not thought anything of it!

My MIL has her heart set on a cheese cake. Not the New York kind, the actual rounds of cheese kind. This will cost £200ish and truth be told I HATE cheese. She's wanted this since we got engaged even though I have countlessly said no.

(At the risk of being called bridezilla I apologise now) I hate the idea of paying for something I do not like. I am as adventurous as cathedral city. Occasionally pilgrims choice. And if one more person says 'you won't eat at the evening do anyway... You need to think of your guests' I swear to god I will have an aneurysm.

So dear ladies I need your advice on cheap but cheerful food for the evening.

Thanks for reading.

Apologies for rants and any spelling mistakes xxx

Bacon butties and chip butties for the veggies?

Bacon or sausage sarnies?
Or someone here had chips in cones - I would've loved that

Or if you aren't fussed about actually feeding evening guests - how about just nibble type things - crisps/nuts etc - and serve wedding cake in the evening ?
x

We had hog roast.

I'd love to get chips at someone's wedding evening buffet!

mayeb you can hire a chippy van which can serve suppers for an hour or two outside the hall. Might get a deal on one for a few hundred pounds for the night xx

You have my complete sympathy, it's a bit of a mare.

Personally, I don't eat before going to a wedding reception - if you factor in getting ready and travel time, it's normally before tea time, and most people will expect something to eat...so will maybe just have a light snack if easy thing before they go out.

This is probably going to be a bit unpopular, but I would be disappointed with no food whatsoever, or just cake and I know that a lot of the older guests who are coming to our wedding would be unhappy. I have been to wedding receptions where there has been no food served in the evening and it kind of died around ten o clock when everyone went off to the kebab shop round the corner...

Having said that, there's no reason why it has to be expensive - most people would be happy with a few sarnies and sausage rolls. Bacon baps are great as well.

There's likely to be a fair amount left from the day buffet, could you not just add a few bits to that and tidy it up a bit?

Xx

We went to a wedding (full day) and ate the three course dinner around 4pm and bacon barns were served in the evening and IMHO it wasn't enough xxx

I'd make her pay for the cheese cake and see how much it would be for the crackers, chutney, etc. While you don't like it a lot of guests will and it'll mean there's extra food during the evening. Basic things sausage rolls, crisps, coleslaw, etc are always appreciated.

Get some baby bells and put a candle in it?? Job done ;-)

get your self to land of ice and get loads of there buffet food and put that out, honestly it will go even if people aren't hungry as it is finger food.

we did this at our house warming and thought no-one would touch it, we ended up going out and having to buy more so honestly people will eat whatever is there if they are hungry.

Or you could do a pot luck supper? These have worked really well at parties etc.

Ask a few guests who you don't think will mind to bring a dish - not every guest but if you can get, maybe 15-20 guests to bring a couple of quiches, tray of sarnies, salad, roast ham, sausage rolls you'll have a decent buffet for next to Nowt! Xx

living in the lovely cornwall i have enlisted thehelp of the local pasty company they will be delivering 150 meat pasties and 50 cheeses pasties (cocktail) for £170 then going to local wholesaler the book one and buying their petit fours cuz i LOVE them they do meat fish veggie and sweet £8 for a tray of 50! and they are amazing then making some scones with clotted cream and jam plus my cupcake trees, few crisps,nuts maybe a ham and thats it! will cost around £300 tops for everything which i think is pretty good. my mum and mil and a few lovely ladies have offered to go ahead of me from the venue to set it up and make it look pretty! then when the pasties arrived they will be put on to platters and off they go! simple ,traditional (well for me lol) and easy. I thought about not doing food then thought not a good idea with 150 drinking and nothing to soak it up i thought it was asking for trouble!

not read all the replies, so I apologise if this has been resolved, but id be reminding her who's wedding it was. if she wants it that badly, suggest she pays for it as you haven't budgeted for it and you aren't cutting back on flowers/food/décor whatever so she can have a cake made of bl00dy cheese.

I think you definitely need to provide food in the evening. First, as another poster said, not everyone will eat before they come; I typically don't eat much, if anything, before a party, as I'm too busy getting ready, and hate feeling full-bloated. Second, your day guests may get a 'second wave' of hunger, esp if they're drinking; I know I always get pretty peckish after a drink! If I'm going to a proper party, I do expect that there will be a buffet of some sort, and would be disappointed if there wasn't.

That doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune though; as you're having it in a church hall, could you buy in food from a supermarket? Eg things like sandwiches, sausage rolls etc are simple but filling. Or, if you go down the catered route, I second something like bacon butties/chips, as usually they're not too expensive, but are very satisfying.

If you REALLY can't afford it (and TBH food and drink are our top priorities and I'd make cuts elsewhere if that were the case), then you should mention on the invite that there will be no food in the evening, so that people know what to expect, and know to have a proper meal before they come.

That sounds ace higginzajac!

My guests sit down at 4.30pm for a full 4 course meal, evening guest arrive at 7.30, and at 9pm we are having bacon/sausage butties and cones of chips. My mum wanted a whole buffet but at £16 per head she's got monkeys chance!! bacon butties and chips is £2.50 per guest. As for the cake of cheese - i dont think any of my lot would touch it - so i wouldn't get it! tho i would get a pork pie cake - venue wont allow tho :(

Can you a mass order of pizza to be delivered at a set time? Then you don't have to worry about keeping food chilled (especially meat or dairy, which can go off easily as there probably isn't much provision to keep these cool until your evening do?)

Lol, if you don't want a cheesecake, don't have one!

I felt the same way about sausage rolls tbh...xx

Chips and pizza sounds great! Perfect for the drunks lol

Hahah, you don't know my MIL. I have said I dont want a cheese cake since we got engaged and she is still persevering on the idea including going to a cheese factory to get quotes and leaflets *sigh*

In Scotland, for the evening do - or just about every single one I've been to - they usually serve stovies! Might be an idea to make something in a big batch so it's cheaper & maybe hire a soup kettle or bin marie? Maybe soup? Bacon butties will be cheap and easy. Everyone will expect food, BUT, having said that - once they've had a couple of drinks (or 5), they'll be happy with whatever they get! x

P.s Cheesecake?? Not something I've ever had a penchant for when i'm tipsy - savoury all the way!

Aaahhhh, I get it lol! Mmmm cheeeeeese lol! x

tell your mil you will sort out a cheescake but to leave you to get on with it but if she brings the subject up again you will cancel it....then convenietly "forget" to order it.

Bacon rolls and crisps and dips will go down a treat too and mini pizza never mind if people complain about what they get tell them just to be grateful you paid for their feed xxx