Anne-Charlotte PasseraOne of the most expensive items on your wedding planning list will be food and alcohol. How do you budget that? It will all depend on your wedding style and your number of guests. If you can have your own caterer, here is what we suggest to do for the food and alcohol, based on our experience.
HAVE A BUFFET
A 6 or 7-course meal will cost you a lot more than a buffet.
We opted for having a Méchoui which is a type of roast as part of a hot buffet. By doing it this way, I didn’t have to bother figuring out who wanted to eat what, especially since I wasn’t doing assigned seating either!
I’d rather dance and have fun than spend long hours at a table. Therefore, I said no way to the 7-course meal. We had appetizers and the Méchoui (roast) was served with a potato and different salads we had picked from a list of options. It also came with coffee and tea. Having no waiters will also save you money. The cost per person was about 35$. We took the least expensive option as I didn’t want paper plates and plastic utensils. The food and service from Méchoui Chez Vous were excellent. You can find them in Montreal and Quebec.
However, a cold buffet will cost you a lot less. Another option that I used for my first wedding, as we really had no money, you can have your reception in a restaurant where everyone pays their share and bring their own alcohol.
VINTAGE DISHES
On the other hand, I splurged a little and rented vintage plates with La Vie est une Fête which went well with the vibe I was trying to create. I also allowed myself to rent their blue velvet napkins for the classy touch. The reason behind this little extravagance was because I wasn’t sure that there would be enough dishes for everyone in the house we had rented for the venue. I didn’t want to have any unpleasant surprises the day of. Besides, that way we didn’t have to do the dishes! However, the dish set didn’t include the wine glass which was too much for our budget (they were made of crystal!).
Therefore, I had our wine glasses personalized through Weddingstar and it cost me less to have them made then to rent them (about 2$ a glass). They were a huge success!
There is nothing better to enjoy food and a glass of alcohol around a whimsical table.
BRING YOUR OWN ALCOHOL
It goes without saying that having an Open Bar will make your Wedding Day a success, especially if your guests can sleep on location!
Since we had rented a house for our Wedding (ceremony and reception), we could bring our own alcohol instead of renting out a bar service.
If your budget is tight, this is really the best option.
Since we had rented a house for our Wedding (ceremony and reception), we could bring our own alcohol instead of renting out a bar service.
If your budget is tight, this is really the best option.
Furthermore, I splurged once again, I do mean I, as my husband could have not cared less about it and rented out a caravan to make it my bar. Yes, you read that correctly. Admittingly, it was a struggle to make it happen, but I’m glad I persevered with it. I rented it from Coeur Bohême who accepted to bring it all the way to Québec. First of all, I didn’t want to simply put the bottles on a table nor rent one of those wooden bars that would have stuck out like a sore thumb in the garden. Secondly, this wasn’t a prom after-party either!
My eldest son (Junior) bartended during the cocktail hour and then our guests could just serve themselves.
We had asked our guests to each bring a wine bottle and had given them 3 options to pick from. The 3 wine options were of good quality but nothing extravagant, and at an affordable price. We didn’t want to find ourselves with too many different wines at the tables.
We served our guests cocktails we had made ourselves during cocktail hour and we also had bought a couple bottles of hard alcohol, beer, juice, and soda. The cost of the alcohol was approximately 400$.
Cocktails
As for the cocktails, 2 or 3 months before the wedding, we organized a small Cocktail Party at our house with some of our guests. Everyone was responsible for bringing and creating their own cocktail. We then did a tasting of the different cocktails and voted for the two we preferred the most. It was also a good way for some of the guests to get to know each other before the wedding. Anyway, we always find an excuse to have a drink!
THE DESERT
A wedding cake is not a necessity to have but you do need a desert! Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a cake, why not buy cupcakes of different flavors and sizes instead? It will cost you a fraction of the price.
My cousin and a family friend from France brought with them my favorite candy and cookies (Crocodiles by Haribo and Barquettes by Lu). Between them and the cupcakes, everyone was happy! Trust me, you won’t have any left to take home! Furthermore, I had even created a special desert playlist on Spotify (Carlotasweb’s Desert)!
The 70 cupcakes and mini cupcakes cost less than 200$. The best in Montreal are from Les Glaceurs. They don’t deliver to Québec City, but ours survived well the trip from Montreal to Quebec City. It’s best to order them a good month in advance and they can be ready at the time that best suits you.
Do you need more tips to save money on your Wedding aside from food and alcohol? You can read our 13 Tips to save money on your wedding.
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