All of the items will be prepared in advance. The event will be at my mother's house with the ceremony taking place outside as will the reception. The plan is to set up the appetizers in the sun room (with 3 entrances and exits) long enough before the ceremony to allow them to reach almost room temperature so that right after the ceremony guests can get a snack and drink. In this room there will also be a drink station (with some wine, a keg of beer, and sweet tea) and the wedding cake table. There will be another drink station set up outside consisting of more wine, a keg of lite beer and more sweet tea. The appetizers will help direct anticipation away from the final setup of the meal which will be set up for serving in the kitchen. My brother in law and brother will reheat the chicken on the grill and the potatoes will be reheated in the oven. We haven't figured out how long this will take, but we expect the food to be ready in shifts to help minimize traffic in the kitchen (any tips for reheating the potatoes and chicken efficiently?- would the convection setting on the oven help to reheat all the potatoes at once or should we reheat half at a time?). The food will be set up so that 2 people can get to the oven and fridge without bumping into anyone waiting in line.

Do you have any tips for making this wedding run any more smoothly than I have planned it? Do you see anything I am overlooking? We are not hiring outside help, but given the formality and the number of people there will be to help out no one should be spending too much time away from the real action. We are trying to watch our money and my sister and mother desperately want to do this for me. We've given several large parties and bbq's for a crowd this size, just nothing quite as put together as this. For clean up we decided to go with disposables so that everything can be dumped in 3-4 big trash cans and the rest left until after the guests have left. I wanted no one washing dishes on this day!

This sounds like a practical party, thanks to the size and the simple menu. I have a few specific suggestions:

Don't forget unsweetened tea and water- some folks don't do sugar. If children attend you will need lemonade or punch also. Also, one urn of coffee with the wedding cake.

Choose boneless chicken pieces, they cook faster and more evenly, can be cooked or reheated/ served in sauce and are much pleasanter to eat without spills on the dressy clothes. Get one package of veggie burgers for the non-meat eaters unless you are CERTAIN you won't need it.

Baked potatoes don't reheat well at all- either make twice baked/stuffed (a lot of work, but can be done ahead) or make scalloped potatoes, augratin potatoes, or another potato dish. A service idea is to make in a Nesco roaster pan using partially precooked potatoes, then reheat the pan in the roaster on a low heat during the ceremony. I might do one and one half of potatoes and one of a great veggie casserole.

Make a written list of ALL the chores and pickups and post-ceremony returns, who is to do each with the date and phone number, and find a nice compulsive person besides you or your mom who takes this on as their chore.

Consider buying some new trash cans with wheels, or the cardboard ones used in specialy events. You can decorate those nice clean tops.

Restaurant supply houses sell bigg better quality plasticware, it is worth it for this event. You want to allow 3 forks per person.

If you had two roasters you could cook the potatoes from scratch the day of, but if it is a casserole you would still need to do your peeling and prepping the day before and then store.

This sounds like a very nice dinner, but, you have not picked an easy menu for self catering if you want to attend the wedding. I would not do the Yorkshire pudding or the fried rice, both of these are best finished right before serving and that means being in the kitchen during the wedding! There are many delicious rice casseroles that can go into the oven and be left- I have no solution on the Yorkshire pudding, except possibly consider either having the pudding and maybe the beef catered in and delivered, or hiring 1 person to come in, handle the food and serving and clean the pots after.

You should already have borrowing arrangements or rental reservations on dishes, glasses, tables and chairs, chafing dishes, crock pots, etc.

Recruit specific persons to do pickups at specific times and days for everything- you do not want to be driving around frantically. EVERYTHING SOMEONE ELSE CAN DO ARRANGE FOR THEM TO DO.

2 weeks before, buy all the non-perishables and frozens, get out every serving and cooking/mixing dish you need to use- you may need to borrow or buy addtional pots and pans. Buy the storage or freezer bags and containers and check the space in your refrig- beverages and ice need to be cold, too- one family bought a second refrig and put it in the garage- still saved over catering in. Get/ line up the coffee urn and any extra Nesco roasters or crock pots.

Make a detailed time schedule of all the cooking, times, what burner or oven, etc. You don't want to be needing 2 burners for the gravy, etc, where you need five burners and 2 ovens at the same time and you only have 4 and 1. Include the 2 days after- whoi will be returning what to where- for example, some liquor stores will allow return of unopened bottles or cases.

Food can be stored safely for 48 hours, so you can start 3 days before. Dont know what kind of casserole your carrot casserole is, but can it be mixed the day before? Add 50% more time to the cooking time if it starts refrigerated.

2 days before get the bag salad and perishables. Check the pickup list- who is getting the cake etc.

Macaroni can be boiled al dente the day before, coat with dressing to chill. Cole slaw improves made the day ahead. Augratim potatoes can be made, then cooked day of, cooking time can double if the dish is cold and lyers are deep.

You don't say what time the wedding is. Meat is basically day of, you may need second oven or Nesco roasters for all the hot food.

Could you please tell me how many pounds of pork I will need to feed 200 people. Listed below you will find my menu. Just want to make sure I have my calculations correct for each item. Thank you for your help!

I am wondering how many whole turkeys will it take to feed 200 people. I am also having the following items:

You need 4 serving lines (2, 2 sided tables) minumum for this size crowd.

You need to specify, plated, self serve buffet or server buffet. You need at least 3 cooks and 12 servers, and an industrial/ commercial kitchen, if you are doing this from scratch.

fried chicken- have this catered in by the bride's favorite local chicken place, it is VERY tough to do with the rest of this menu.. Get 80-90 pieces
stuffed pork tenderloin- do day of. Pork does not reheat well. Finish at least 1/2 hour before slicing.
mashed potatoes with cheese/sour cream/bacon- Make freezable holdable mashed potatoes from big pots. 28-30 pounds of potatoes. You will probably have some left because of the jambalaya, but it is a cheap insurance. You will need a gravy- could be pork or chicken. Make that ahead and reheat.
jambalya - chicken and sauage- allow 1/2 t0 3/4 cup for every person

chicken parm
Sausage & peppers
Penne Alla Vodka
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken legs (drums only)
Mozzarella sticks
Salad

Also having a chocolate fountain items to dip:
Strawberries
rice crispy treats
bananas
pretzels
cookies.

Assuming this is buffet dinner and teens, this is what I would do:

Appetizers:Cocktail weiners wrapped in dough, Southweastern Egg Roll w/dipping sauce, vegatable tray & dip, Cheese & crakers, chips, pretzerls.

Dinner: Meatball, Roast Beef in gray, Italian Sausage w/peepers & onions, Mini wraps, mini sandwiches, coleslaw, macaroni salad, italian pasta salad, dinner rolls,

Desert: Wedding cake, brownie bites, Italian cookies, fruit tray.

Appetizers
Cocktail weiners wrapped in dough, 2 per person
Southweastern Egg Roll w/dipping sauce, 1 per person
vegetable tray & dip, I would do fruit trays here instead, better with the cheese and you need some sweet, see fruit tray page, 3 of the tray for 25
Cheese & crackers, 6-8 pounds cheese, some can be logs or spreads, and 4-5 pounds crackers
chips and pretzels, about 6 pounds
Add at least a non-alcoholic punch punch or an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic punch

Meatballs, 2 ounces per person
Roast Beef in gray, 4 ounces per person plus 1/4 gravy per person
Italian Sausage w/peppers & onions, 3 ounces per person plus equal weight onions and peppers
You need some kind of hotstarch here, maybe 5 pounds rice or spaghetti
Mini wraps, and mini sandwiches, have some vegetarian, 1 per person
coleslaw, 2 gallons
macaroni salad, 2 pounds pasta
italian pasta salad, 3 pounds pasta
dinner rolls, 1 1/2 per person, get GOOD bread
butter 3 pounds