A minimum for a plated dinner, and I mean bare bones, skillful shopping, experienced crew, not counting beverages and set up (plates, etc), would be around $2400, simple, buffet service. Plus 12-16 servers at about $125 per person.

Gilbert, your friend will either have to find plenty more money or switch to a 1 pm wedding with a cake reception. My suggestions would be to get the bride involved, cut the guest list way down, give up the idea of a plated meal, and do some local pricing to get a more realistic idea of what might be possible.

chicken
Pasta
veg

vs

ken Alfredo with Vegetables

Grande Classic® Malibu Blend
Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share Share on email Share on print
Ingredients

1 ¾ cups Olive oil
18 ¼ lbs. Chicken breasts, sliced into strips
4 cups/3 ½ qt. Alfredo sauce
3 ½ cups Shredded parmesan cheese
4 Tbs. Salt
4 Tsps. Ground black pepper
56 lbs. FLAV-R-PAC® Grande Classic Malibu Blend
(Broccoli, Bias Cut Carrots, Cauliflower, and Bias Cut Yellow Carrots. )
1 ½ cups Sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
½ lbs. Parsley

Directions

In each of two large skillets, heat half of the oil. Add sliced chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Heat until hot.
Add 1 gallon of water to each of 6 large stockpots and divide the FLAV-R-PAC Grande Classics Malibu Blend Vegetables among the pots. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove lid, stir to separate vegetables and drain. OR Steam vegetables in a pressureless steamer (2 1/4 bags per slotted, full steam table pan) for 4 minutes. Divide cooked vegetables into 6 hotel pans or large containers.
Divide chicken and heated sauce among cooked vegetables and gently toss.
Mix gently and serve. FOR INDIVIDUAL SERVICE: Plate 14 ounces of Alfredo Chicken with Vegetables over pasta and garnish with sundried tomatoes and parsley. FOR VOLUME FEEDING: Fill hotel pans with hot Alfredo Chicken. Arrange sundried tomatoes and parsley around the edge of the pan.

Yield:100 (12 ounce) Entrée Servings

Thanks!!

Frankly, I would consider making it all the day before and casseroling it- much less demanding day of.

It is also not clear if this is a pasta side salad? In which case, you would need about half the amount.

pasta- 24 pounds
pesto sauce- about 1 pint per pound (will just coat- not juicy)
chicken-28 pounds skinless boneless
artichokes- 2-3 ounces frozen, chopped, per person, depends on taste and budget
sundried tomatoes- I recommend Bella San Lucia at Costco- non-GMO-2 pounds 3 ounces per jar- 1 pound per 6, so you would do 10 jars.

It is unsafe to partially precook chicken. You must take it to 165 to make it safe, and that is cooked.

Also, how are you planning to cook and reheat the noodles? They wont hold nicely unsauced/naked, unless you slightly undercook and reheat. So you wll either be saucing them ahead or reheating, and for 100 people you would need 2 serving areas f reheating, not one.

As main courses, 2 pounds each pasta and boneless skinless chicken and 2 quarts sauce per 10. If teens or college age, about 50% more. So for 200, 40 pounds pasta and 40 quarts=10gallons sauce.

Do make at least 1 pan meatless, as you will have some folks who don't eat meat or chicken. Veggies are good here.

Have you considered doing an Italian style Christmas party? Most kids like red sauce pasta better than whites, and it costs less.

For lowest cost, good bread, salad, and some veggies help with lowering costs.

Do make at least 1 pan meatless, as you will have some folks who don't eat meat or chicken. Veggies are good here.

However, if costs are an issue, please consider NOT doing a dinner. A 2 pm wedding with a cake reception to follow can be beautifully extravagant for quite a bit less than a cheap dinner would cost, and is easier to set up and offer. A dinner this size requires 3-4 people who are not in the wedding party in the kitchen and another 12+ out front to set up, serve and clean up- hired help. A reception requires about half that much help, further reducing the costs. Read my article
www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/wedding.html

Remember that your guest is spending 200-500 to come, by the time they do gifts, outfit, travel, etc. Whatever you choose, it can be beter than cafeteria food, and you MUST HAVE HELP!

All of these are in the plan for 100 lists and you can figure them.
Caesar Salad
Veggie Medley
Fruit tray
Dinner rolls or bread sticks
Ice Tea

For the fettuccine, first read all the info on the spaghetti page

With the potato, I would do about 10 pounds of dry pasta and about 1 quart of sauce per pound, or about 2/3 the alfredo recipe on the spaghetti page. Lots of help there.

18 pounds of rolls, get good ones. 4-5 pounds of butter

For salad, use the plan for 100 page, do 1 1/2 times the amount for 100.

This is a light meal unless you add at least one more dish. For simplicity's sake, what about roasted veggies? 34 pounds ready to cook

For veggies in the alfredo, chopped broccoli, peas, tiny cubed carrots, mushrooms. Use the alfredo for 100 on the spaghetti page and increase times 1 1/2. This will make about 8 steam pans. Add NO chicken to one pan for the vegetarian dish. For 150 people, about 30-35 pounds chicken meat, cooked before adding.
.
PLEASE read the spaghetti page. Water takes about 20 minutes per gallon to boil for pasta.

Reheat casseroles covered in the oven. About 1 quart sauce per pound of dry pasta.

18 pounds of rolls, get good ones. 4-5 pounds of butter

For salad, use the plan for 100 page, do 1 1/2 times the amount for 100.

For 100 people, you want 12 9x13 pans of spaghetti, involving about 130 pieces of chicken (16 whole chickens or 70 leg quarters cut up). a pound of pasta and a quart of sauce and about a half pound of cheese per pan. Make one pan meatless for any vegetarians in he group.

Bread, dipping oil, salad, roasted veg (about 34 pounds ready to cook). Antipasto style appetizers. Pleasant affordable wine such as Trader Joe's Moonx red blend or sparkling Freixnet brut prosecco.

Each pound will take 1 quart of sauce, 1 pound to 1 1/4 pound of boneless chicken. About a half cup of Parm to top, if you use that.

Each pound fills a 9x13 pan, will take 1 quart of sauce, plus 1 pound to 1 1/4 pound of boneless meat. About a half cup of Parm to top, if you use that.

The Sam's club full size foil pan when full holds just over 4 9x13 pans. For your size crowd, 3 pans each, not 2, to be sure of no running out. And they are HEAVY when full! you MUST put a sturdy cookie sheet or jelly roll pan under each to move into and out of he oven, or risk having i bend and collapse on the floor.

Also, if refrigerated, the pans take up to an hour n a preheated oven to reach 165 (safe heat) the middle of he pan. Do check with an instant read thermometer before serving.

Do calculate HOW you are going to ge hem all hot with your available oven space. Remember if you decide to use preheated electric roasters for reheating, that plugging in 2 on he same circuit will blow he circuit. That usually means they have to be plugged n in different rooms...

The spaghetti page has precise help for cooking and reheating large amounts of pasta, there are good hints, please read. www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/sphagetti.html

My Alfredo sauce for 100 and a recipe for mozzarella sausage pasta are on that page and can be used as guides to adapt your preferred recipes. If you want, you can post the recipes you have calculated and I will check them before you cook them.

www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/sphagetti.html

Each pound of pasta will take 1 quart of sauce, 2-3 cups add ins-pound of boneless chicken is cups. About a half cup of Parm to top, if you use that.

The spaghetti page has precise help for cooking and reheating large amounts of pasta, there are good hints, please read.

Write back, but do read this onsite article first