My 9th anniversary is next week! My family did all the food for our wedding. We had lasagna, salads, rolls, ham of some kind, and fixings to make sandwiches out of the ham if you wanted to. There were some finger rolls, I think, as well. My mom made a dozen lasagnas ahead of time and froze them, and then we heated them in the convection oven at the reception hall. Our cake was white cake with white frosting, with silk daisies on it that looked so real I thought they were real until we were cutting the cake! A friend made our cake as our wedding gift, and it was delicious! We had punch and coffee and tea, and there was a cash bar. I know a cash bar is a faux pas in other places, but in our family and in our social circles it's what everyone does. Our food was great, there was plenty of it (my family ate leftovers while we were on our honeymoon), and all our friends still talk about what a lovely reception we had. I paid for most of the food and my family provided the labor. We fed 150+ people for just over $200.
I'm the youngest of 8 (last one married) and my mom did the food for 7 of her kids' weddings. She swore she'd NEVER coordinate wedding food again...till 2008 when her oldest granddaughter called in tears: "Grammy, all the caterers want $2000 to make finger sandwiches and salad!" So mom called all her kids and gave orders! That time, though, she was much better at delegating! The aunts and grown cousins all brought something, and it was a great party.
I'm pleased to see so many people here have posted about having simpler foods at a reception and/or having family do the food. In our family, that's always how it's been done. There's no such thing as a small wedding when you have 7 married siblings and dozens of nieces and nephews, and we couldn't afford to have a wedding catered for such a big group. Many of our friends' weddings have been similar, with family and friends, or the church women's fellowship group doing the food (for a donation).
