Cook Talk

DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
Briana
05/08/14
Ellen- Your site has been a life saver!

We are trying to figure out how much to make of each dish. This is what I have come up with from info I have found on your site. Does this look right to you?

Appetizers-
Humus- 3 gal
Tzatziki- 3 gal
Pita Bread(cut into 1/8ths) - 100
Cucumber- 6 lbs sliced
Celery- 6 lbs sliced
Baby Carrots- 6 lbs
Cherry Tomatoes- 10 lbs

Dinner-
Pulled Pork- 85 lbs (finished weight)
Dinner Rolls- 396
Pasta Salad- 18 lbs Dry Pasta (This is being made by someone else)
Cole Slaw- 40 lbs
Pre-Dressed Green Salad- 26 lbs mixed lettuce
- 2 gal Dressing
- 6 lbs Craisins
- 10 lbs Crumbled Feta
- Croutons ????
Beverages-
Ice Tea- 8 gal
Lemonade- 8 gal
Water- 20 gal
Beer- 54.25 gal (3.5 kegs)
Wine- 4 cases (2 white & 2 red)

There will be squeeze bottles of BBQ sauce & margarine tabs available in the buffet line.

We will have pretzels & peanuts to snack on later in the evening.

What do you think?

ellen
05/08/14
DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
Doing great, I appreciate your working it up!

This counts as about 175 adult servings, so if you do 200-worth you would probably have some leftovers.

Humus- 3 gal, good, garnish with sumac or paprika, drizzle good olive oil, maybe some crushed pine nuts
Tzatziki- 3 gal, good
Pita Bread(cut into 1/8ths) - 100, plenty. With this many kids, you might consider a few pounds of pita chips as well.
Cucumber- 6 lbs sliced, maybe increase to 8
Celery- 6 lbs sliced
Baby Carrots- 6 lbs
Cherry Tomatoes- 10 lbs
If you have a middle Eastern Market or a Restaurant Depot, I suggest you consider adding
3-4 large cans of dolmas/ stuffed grape leaves at about $9 per can (I like Aetna or Aegean brand) and a gallon or so of pitted olives. I like black, you could do both.

Pulled Pork- 85 lbs (finished weight)-OK
Dinner Rolls- 396-OK
Pasta Salad- 18 lbs Dry Pasta (This is being made by someone else)- 15 would be enough
Cole Slaw- 40 lbs- OK
Pre-Dressed Green Salad- 26 lbs mixed lettuce- probably 20 enough, kids aren't big salad eaters
- 2 gal Dressing-OK
- 6 lbs Craisins-OK
- 10 lbs Crumbled Feta- suggest you put this on the side or the tables, not everyone likes feta
- Croutons ???? about 8 pounds small, on the side
Beverages-
Ice Tea- 8 gal- would do 12, 1/3 unsweetened
Lemonade- 8 gal
Water- 20 gal
Beer- 54.25 gal (3.5 kegs) this is 150 people's worth at 4 glasses each- seems like a lot- each keg serves 40 beer drinkers
Wine- 4 cases (2 white & 2 red)- might do one more white, buy from a place where you can return unopened bottles

With this liquor, I would serve dinner level coffee with dessert and have available before going home. Estimate you coffee drinkers and use the numbers on the beverage planning page.

squeeze bottles of BBQ sauce & margarine tabs available in the buffet line. Suggest you put them on each table, it will slow down the lines the buffet (you need 3 lines, or 2 double sided).

Have a fine party. If this saves you time, trouble, or money, please make a donation, maybe a dime per guest, to support this site. Thanks.

Briana
05/08/14
DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
Thank you so much for your quick response. We currently have 149 adults & 22 children confirmed as coming. I imagine this number will jump some in the next 10 days as the RSVP date on the invites is a week away. As of now, I am just planning for 200! I really appreciate your feedback as to overages. Too Little food is what I've bee worried about but I don't want a bunch of waste either.

We actually have 3 different white wines and 2 reds. I am going to have to do some thinking on the beer. We are pretty big beer drinkers & are actually doing custom pint glasses as parting gifts. On the other hand all of the beers we are serving are micro brews & have a higher alcohol content than your average Coors or Budweiser. We were planning on 2 kegs of a light cream ale, 1 keg of Hefeweizen, & 1/2 Keg of Vanilla Porter. Guests are encouraged to get a drink before the ceremony and enjoy appetizers during. They will be seated at the dinner tables during the ceremony. The arrival time on the invite is 6pm and I imagine we will go until around 11pm. Should we cut down to 2 full kegs & 2 1/2 kegs?

The wedding is on June 21st, the longest day of the year. The wedding is outside, in an open field. The average high for this date is 86 but the long term forecasts are saying we will have unseasonably hot weather in the low 100's. I assume this will affect the amount of beverages I need?

ellen
05/08/14
DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
Good thinking.

Do slice some lemons and cucumbers into the water containers or pitchers, it is pretty and tasty. If you put a pitcher of water on each table after filling glasses, more will be used.

Consider offering a really interesting, slightly tangy tropical fruit blend punch to start, if it is hot, the beer could go early and hit hard alcoholically speaking.

The advantage of 2 full and 2 half kegs is, it is about the right amount of alcohol, With the wine, yo are actually in the high alcohol range for this size party, and you don't want anyone to come to trouble, let alone your legal responsibility as host; in many states nowadays, if a guest is DUI'd on the way home, the bar or host can be held co-responsible!

Long life and happiness!

Briana
06/13/14
DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
I forgot to add baked beans to the list. Do you think 6 or 7 gallons?
ellen
06/13/14
DIY Wedding for 200 (160 adults & 40 children)
Hello again. 7 gallons, maybe some left.
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