Delicious

I went for brunch today at a local restaurant with my best friend and have decided that they would be a prefect cater for my one day wedding. Now here's hoping that they won't charge a fortune when the time comes.

Logistics of preparing the food

I'm still set on the idea of a family style serving for the reception dinner, as I feel its more intimate but with the add specification of having the dinner at a location that doesn't provide access to a kitchen and wanting to self cater the majority, if not all of it, makes the menu difficult.
Previously I mentioned that I would like to serve savory pies but don't know how I would keep them warm. Sunday Suppers, a beautiful and mouthwatering blog, recently posted the mini savory pies they made for a picnic event. They talked about how pies keep their heat well. Does this mean I could have them cooked earlier and then store them in warmers until we served dinner? Would this not make the crust soft? If this works I would be ecstatic!

Also on Sunday Suppers I saw these gorgeous jars that they used to make individual salads. I'm not sure it would be practical for a 150 guest reception but perhaps at the welcome (picnic) dinner, or maybe just for another dinner party.

{via the Container Store}

Savory Pies

{via Ritzy Bee Blog}

As I've mentioned before, I love pie. And not just fruit pies. I love the idea of serving individual savory pies for the main dish at a wedding reception but my dilemma lies in the fact that I most definitely will host my wedding outside or at least somewhere that doesn't have a kitchen. The pies can be cooked ahead of time but how do you warm 150 individual pies with out an oven?

Pie for everyone

I love pie.

As far as I'm concerned cake has nothing on pie, and had decided quite some time ago that when the day comes for my own wedding I'm serving pie for desert. I have envisioned a table with a range of different pies set up for people to pick from and then I saw Williams-Sonoma's Pocket Pie Molds via Hip Hostess this weekend.

I am very comfortable stating that this is a 'NEED' category purchase, of course my desire for instant gratification was stamped out when I determined that Williams-Sonoma will not ship outside of the United States from their online store. But on the up side there are FOUR stores in Toronto, which I will be visiting at the end of August and I've already informed my boyfriend of our shopping excursion. I'm sure he's just thrilled.

I'm already day dreaming about the different types of pies I'm going to make with these, and not just as a wedding dessert.

Serving at your own wedding.

I recently rented Rachel Getting Married and loved the idea of the bride and groom assisting in the serving of the meal at the reception. As much as I love the idea of a party 'all about me', I prefer in actuality, hosting an event where my hands 'get dirty' so to speak.

I think a wedding that feels more like a huge family dinner would be preferable to a highly structured, catered event.

I image a reception that has food made by the bride, groom, and their friends and family. The fathers and uncles standing around the BBQ and a group of close friends act as the servers.

I would give handmade aprons for friends and family that help cater and serve dinner.

It still bothers me that when ever I look up ideas for hosting and catering your own wedding that exceeds 50 guests, I usually find "Don't do it." advice. Hopefully that is changing.

What about burgers?

I know I mentioned in my previous post that I was thinking of a menu that consisted of BBQ'd chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables but what about going in another direction? Others have blogged about weddings that go in a different directions and before I really didn't like the idea for myself but now I really am liking the idea of burgers and other picnic fair (maybe I'm just hungry).

I really like the idea of a wedding that is more of a family/friend reunion. A low key, casual event but food is very important to me and I don't want people to feel like I'm cutting corners so I've stayed away from the idea of a burger style menu previously.

What do you think? For those that know my friends and family would they be receptive to this, if presented with a bit of class?

Cooking for a Crowd

I wish it was more popular to cook and cater your own event. I find it extremely difficult to find resources online for people that want to prepare their on food for their weddings. Basically I've given up searching for 'catering your own wedding' and moved to wordings like "cooking for a crowd" and looking for tips on hosting a family reunion.

It annoys me that everywhere I look I'm basically being told that its too hard and I should just hire someone. I'm considering the idea of hiring someone to provide the BBQ'd meat but honestly I think that would be the part that my father, his friends and my uncles would love to look after since my parents host, with their best friends, an annual pig roast for 50-100 people depending on the year. My father and his friends spend the day enjoying their beers and tending to a spit that roasts the pig. If they can do that I'm sure they could manage BBQ'd chicken.

Before the annual pig roast my mother delegates to her friends different dishes to prepare and it becomes a bit of a potluck. I don't want a potluck. I want to prepare a consistent menu across the board for all the guests and that's where I'm currently looking for advice and inspiration.

What should I prepare in advance? How would I best keep food cool and then hot with out renting a professional kitchen or spending a fortune?

Currently I'm leaning towards a menu like this:

Salad - not sure type (served Family Style)

Main Course - BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, roasted vegetables & dinner buns (served Family Style)

Desserts - selection of pies and cakes (buffet style)