DIY Wedding Reception Buffet

I have always loved to cook and throw parties!  And our family is also famous for it's frugality (and by famous I mean there was once an article about our budgeting in the Johnson City Press).  So when it came time to plan Rebecca's wedding reception, I naturally turned to thoughts of doing it myself.  This was especially true because she and Joseph had decided on an afternoon wedding - which meant more "party food" than an actual meal (turns out that "party food" is actually a little more expensive than a meal, but I don't think knowing that would have made us change our minds).  Emily Post says afternoon weddings don't even have to have refreshments beyond cake and punch, but for me, nothing says "special occasion" like plenty of good food!

The bridge and groom also wanted cheesecake instead of wedding cake!  Turns out I had been working on my cheesecake skills, and Joseph's mom already made a wonderful classic cheesecake.  I could never have decorated a traditional wedding cake, but cheesecakes sounded really doable.

I had several experienced mothers-of the-bride (MOBs) tell me that I was nuts and that I wanted to truly be able to savor that day without cooking responsibilities.  I could see the wisdom in that, so I decided on a compromise.  I would cook the food (and accept any help that friends gave me), but I would hire kitchen help to serve it and clean up.  That worked really well for us.

I actually planned the wedding menu while my Dad was in hospice.  My sisters and I had lots of time on our hands while Dad would nap, and I had an audience to discuss ideas with.  I concentrated on things I knew I could do that would freeze well AND that would make good leftovers (because it's always hard to estimate who will eat what).  We made it more like Super Bowl Party food. We have quite a few celiacs on both sides of the family, so I decided to make everything gluten free.  The only exception was also the one thing I didn't make - chicken nuggets from Chic-Fil-A.   Here's the final menu. Of course, just like a restaurant you have to come up with some fancy names:

Buffet Menu

Fresh Fruit and Marshmallow Crème Dip

Assorted Veggies with Southwestern Dip

Southern Chicken Salad

Coronation Chicken Salad

Marinated Cheese

Assorted Crackers

Sweet and Spicy Smokies

Sausage Balls with Maple Syrup

Chicken Bites

with Honey Mustard BBQ, Hawaiian Sauce and Cuban Remoulade

Sante Fe Spinach

White Cheese Queso

Mexican Street Corn Dip

Cowboy Caviar

Peach Mango Salsa

Corn Chips

Coffee, Sweet Tea, Water and Strawberry Lemonade

I made a spreadsheet to keep up with ingredients to purchase, cost, serving dishes, and most importantly when to make the items.  I wanted to have as much done as possible BEFORE the week of the wedding.  

I started first with sausage balls.  I had experience using gluten free Bisquick to make them and knew that they are every bit as good as the ones with gluten.  My boys like sausage balls with maple syrup (sort of like a McGriddle), so we decided to serve them that way to make it a bit more fancy.  

Next up was spinach dip for 150:

And then I started in on the cheesecakes (another thing that freezes well).  I also tried out some simple decor and Rebecca worked on her cake toppers which she painted to look like a whimsical version of her and Joseph.  

Jeannie (Joseph's mom) also made a few cheesecakes as did my friend, Shauna.  Altogether we made and froze 11 classic cheesecakes and 6 chocolate ones.

I made some homemade sauces to go on the cheesecakes - ironically during the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which occurred the week before THE WEDDING.  Rebecca got up early to watch it live with me. Pictured here are raspberry royale and pecan praline sauce.  

I made chicken salad (two kinds) and Mexican Street Corn Dip just a few days prior to the wedding. Don't worry - I didn't serve it in Tupperware. We have some class. 

I also cut up a ton of carrots (because we're not fans of baby carrots), but I left all the other veggie and fruit prep to my wedding day kitchen help.  Here's a photo of my happy helpers - Emily and Joanna Peterson.  They did a great job and helped me pull off my vision!

 If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat!  But I don't have any more daughters!  A few things I would change: (1) I would have borrowed more serving pieces as that was an expense I probably could have avoided,  (2) I would have arranged to leave my van at the wedding site and have hired people pack up the leftovers and deliver them to my house, and (3) I would have made at least twice as much strawberry lemonade mix as the hot weather made that one of the most popular items!  

All in all, the reception food and drink (including serving dishes, set up, hired help, take-home cookie treats for guests, etc) cost $16.37 per person, which was a bargain for the amount of food we had!