Pasta dishes are always cheap to make and they feed a lot of people. You can make the sauces ahead of time and freeze them. Like alfredo, red sauce, or scampi. A simple garlic and oil sauce can be made that day without a lot of effort. Then the day of all you have to do is cook the pasta and heat the sauces.

I think you're on the right track but rice can get gluey if reheated. What about big pans of mac and cheese, smoky collards, pulled pork, and fruit cobblers. Or, ask a few guests you know are good bakers to help you create a pie buffet for dessert.

Another idea: What about individual pot pies? Make a huge batch of pastry dough up front. Individual containers can be root veggie, chicken, turkey, mushroom, whatever you think they'll like. Freeze, bake off the day of and serve with a green salad with beets and walnuts, or even an appetizer of homemade pickles-- which can also be done in advance.

Good luck! Have fun, too.

For the main course you could make big pans of lasagna ahead of time and freeze them, then you would only need to bake and serve them on the wedding day! Serve loaves of garlic bread and a big tossed green salad family style.

The dollar store sells silverware and white glass china for a dollar a plate. You can order them online in bulk quantities.
For my own wedding most rental linen companies in Wisconsin charged $7 per 90 inch round linen.
If possible you could borrow white table linens for the tables and borrow the cloth napkins and keep an excel spreadsheet with who gave you what and any unique details about the linens.
If your brother and his fiancé are open to a more vintage feel and are willing to do some leg work you can get a lot of vintage dishes and china at thrift stores like goodwill for less than a dollar a plate.

Sorry I don't have a ball park estimate for the cost of the lasagna. You have quite the tall order! Good luck.

I would definitely suggest Italian- you can make lasagna {meat and veggie} ahead of time, and freeze it, then do a tossed salad, with loaves of bread and maybe a compound butter. I would recommend serving family style, and having people pass plates- it makes a really festive and inclusive atmosphere for a wedding! For linens, think about using either butcher paper or brown paper- you can usually buys rolls of brown wrapping paper in the painting section at walmart for extremely cheap, and it plays up the Italian theme! And, check out World Market for china- you can usually buy it there for cheaper than it might be to rent it.

I'd check apracticalwedding.com and offbeatbride.com for some ideas. APW I know talks about self catering (the hows and whats) and probably will have other ideas from wedding grads as to their menus.

Consider a southern theme: pulled pork barbecue, chips and dip. No silverware except forks for the cake, no linens, just paper. I photographed a wedding like that. Everybody had a ball, including the high-class folks who were used to fancy weddings (very carefully leaning far over the tables to not drip on their expensive dresses!). The bride and groom wore matching "bride" and "groom" aprons so they could make a mess.

If you want to do NOTHING ahead, get several friends to lug in barbecue grills and do fancy sausages and burgers. Straight from the bags to the grill.

I also photographed a wedding where the ceremony was timed such that dinner was not part of the reception. The just-after-lunch ceremony was followed by an afternoon of finger foods and desserts, ending around 6, at which time the guests departed in clumps and went out to dinner.

That said...if you just want fancy traditional, yeah, Italian works. Just don't plan on YOU or your family or the bridal party doing anything on the day of the wedding! NOTHING. Have a second circle of helpers. And then trust that it will all be fine. Folks are there to celebrate your marriage, not to get great food. If your helpers burn everything, pass around a hat for cash and order pizza. At the end of the day, the only thing that truly ruins a wedding is an unhappy couple. Even terrible food doesn't ruin it for most guests...it just makes it more memorable, and encourages them all to go out for drinks and second-dinner afterwards, which is more fun than going straight back to the hotel anyway.

What about pork butts? Cheap and easy to cook using the Momofuko method: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/recipe-momofuku-bo-ssam.html . You could have mac and cheese on the side.

Young House Love did a great DIY wedding and have wonderful tips re: food/tableware:

http://www.younghouselove.com/wedding-album/

I like the stew idea for a winter wedding, though I wonder how well the collards will keep in a chafing dish - they tend to get mushy/gray pretty darn quickly. Maybe a winter-y fresh salad would be better? Less cooking for you. :) I'm thinking mixed greens, blue cheese, cranberries, walnuts... something like that.

@baker_d, I love the idea of individual pot pies! But that sounds like a lot of work.

Something I do at home when serving large groups is use bulletin board paper as a “table cloth”. You can buy it online in very large rolls and in a variety of colors. I then use a white marker that I bought at my local crafts store to write on the paper what everything is beside the dish. The marker is one that can be used on all colors, even black. I’ve even decorated around the dish in neat patterns so that everything has a spot. If you don’t want to put the actual food on the tables you can use this idea on the serving tables. In addition, you can create decorative place mats with the marker for everyone’s plate.

You can buy bulk napkins online, or if anyone is so inclined, sew them. Just make sure to wait for a good sale on the linen, or have a good coupon.

I’m not sure what city you live in, but I was recently at a wedding where the food was catered very affordably by a food truck. Specifically they had a brick oven pizza one come out and make hot fresh pizzas with salad, but I know of several people who’ve found food trucks to be an extremely affordable and unique option to food.

Great ideas! Keep 'em coming! But we've pretty much ruled out lasagna - it's a great go-to meal, but I feel it's a lot of work, and I'd like to do something a little different.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but If you're looking at $13/person with food and rentals, you've got a hard row to hoe... Does this number also include servers and people to make sure the buffet is full, and to serve the food? If so, I think you've been giving an insurmountable task.

I would be honest with your family and request that if they wish to keep that $2000 budget, they should be more realistic with their guest count. Even bringing the number down to 75 guests will give you $26 per person, which will go further. Regardless of the guest count, to keep within this budget, I would not rent plates/glassware/silverware, simply purchase disposables. And for serving platters, purchase them at thrift stores. When you think about the rental aspect of things, people never leave weddings talking about how wonderful the plates, linens, and napkins were... but they do remember how they felt about the food, the dj, and the overall comfort level of the event.

I know this doesn't give you great ideas for what to serve, but I think sticking within a budget is do-able, but it may take some paring down of the guest list. Best of luck!

Instead of rice I would do a baked potato thing. You can cook the potatoes in advance - I've seen a few sites devoted to a baked potato bar. Instead of soups, think chunky stews, the traditional toppings, whatever.

I'm a huge fan of chili for large crowds. You could make one with your meat of choice and a vegetarian alternative, then set up a toppings bar with cheese, sour cream (Greek yogurt is way better), scallions, cilantro, black fives, shredded lettuce, rice, cornbread, chips... definitely rustic but it would keep well and could be prepared well in advance!

We did burgers & sausages, with a bunch of salads, (it was a summer wedding), and served it buffet-style so there were no servers. We prepped everything, with help from family, for a two days before the wedding. We were lucky enough that some friends brought the family and grilled the burgers for us. It cost very little, (aka, it would fit in your budget).

I think without servingware, plates, etc this is tight but with? If you're going for a home cooked meal, rusticy vibe which it seems you are, I'd say your choices are fine if you know the crowd coming (most I can't imagine would be down with bowls of stew at a wedding. Besides, I just picture dresses and suits and easily spillable foods?) I second mac and cheese, collards sounds good. Maybe a pulled pork type foods? In bulk thats cheap.

For a really rustic vibe I had some friends who asked family and friends to lend them serving bowls and any plates they were comfortable with. It was a tight friends/family group so I'm sure everyone was comfortable knowing they'd get their stuff back in the end but they mixed and matches plates for all the guests, vases on the tables and all sorts of random serving dishes. It was really pretty. Butcher paper looks great for a table cloth like another said. The bamboo cutlery is pretty cheap in bulk and would be a cool utensil option?

That all said, most weddings I've been to where family or friends catered it were smaller affairs. 150 is a HUGE wedding for a family catered meal and pretty big by normal wedding standards. We had 60 and it was almost overwhelming.

You didn't mention- does this budget include a cake (or dessert) and...yikes: alcohol??

I usually don't enjoy chicken at weddings for the same reason I don't order it in a restaurant or buy ready-made in the supermarket. Good quality chicken (free range, organic - do you want to serve anything less at the wedding?) is pricey, so that's something to consider if you're on a tight budget.

How about a Bourguinon-type stew, using cheaper cuts of quality beef and root vegetables? Cooking ahead of time would allow the flavours to develop. It would be a hearty, seasonal and elegant dish for a winter wedding. You could serve with rice or even a variety of breads.

For some couples, guest-list paring might not be feasible or desirable-- if I ever get married, there will be at least 90 people on my side alone, and that's just relatives who I see at least twice a year!

What about chili? It's easy to scale up for a crowd, freezes well so it can be made in advance, and can be made to accomodate a lot of nutritional issues (gluten-free, vegetarian, kosher, full-on carnivore, etc). You could do green salad and cornbread to go with it.

What about coq au vin, onion and fennel tart, and ratatouille? French country emphasizes vegetables (cost effective) and freezes beautifully. Add a salad and crisp baguettes and you will have an elegant meal. Also, it may be more cost effective to buy and borrow plates, silverware, and platters at thrift stores (mix and match with a theme) than to rent. When you're done they can go back to either their original owner or the thrift store (no storage problems).

Pierogi is cheap, can be stuffed and topped with almost anything, and keeps perfectly in the freezer for months. It can be a side dish or a main course, can be boiled, steamed, or fried, and looks great in a buffet or on a served plate.

My favorite recipe (though I got it from my grandma first):
http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/recipes/r/pierogies.htm

To make 400 pierogi:
~15 lbs of flour = $10
~15 lbs of potato = $10
~5-10 lbs of cheese = $50-$75
~3-5 lbs of butter = $15
~2 dozen eggs = $5
~15 lbs sour cream = $30
= about $150, and probably two whole days of your life, if you get help.

You can also saute butter and onions ahead of time and freeze that too, for about another $50.

I love pierogi. Occasionally, my family will get together for a day, and make a million pierogi to divide up. I think we actually get closer to about 500, with three or four people working all day.

Good luck!

This might sound crazy, but have you considered a potluck? A friend got married on a budget, and one of her bridesmaids created a Google spreadsheet of needs/wants and so many people pitched in to create a wonderful evening. She had about 200 guests and we all felt such a part of the celebration. There were dishes to meet dietary restriction needs, family recipes, and all kinds of fun foods. Maybe your wedding guests (who aren't from out of town) could be up for it!

I know the idea has already been posted, but I was also thinking pulled pork barbecue. It's such a crowd-pleaser! Also, speaking from the perspective of someone who can't eat grains, barbecue is easy for those who need to be careful of their food intake. If you have several different sides as well, people should be able to customize their plates at the buffet line to suit their needs. I love when I see a wedding is having barbecue because I know I'll actually be able to eat! :-)

Best of luck!

We hired a family friend to cater our wedding for $1800. It was amazing. We had TONS of food and everyone said it was the best they've had. I honestly can't remember all the items we served, but we wanted many many choices so everyone was happy. We even had several appetizers and dessert options. Sorry I'm not helpful on meal options, but I wanted to tell you it's possible!

What about roasting a whole pig? My CSA farmer sells a 200lb whole pig for around $800, but you could probably find one for less. Beg or borrow a roaster. You would need volunteers to tend it, but it would make one heck of a splash.

I've been to a wedding where they roasted a pig, it was great! (I was a kid at the time and a little freaked out to see a pig carcass... but now I think I'd see how unique it was. It's not everyday that you have enough people to bbq like that).
BBQ is a huge crowd pleaser - just went to a wedding this summer where they served bbq (made by the father of the bride), beer (brewed by a brother-in-law), macaroni, some corn and black bean salsa, chips, and I'm not sure what else. They had sparkling blueberry lemonade and water in pitchers on all the tables. This was also a formal wedding and they had about 200 people there - I'm not sure how they pulled off making the food on their own.

My personal advice would be to go with chicken barbecue. I refer of course to the Chicken Barbecue that we here in the New England / New York region know and love: Cornell Chicken. Cooks Country had a superb recipe for it a few seasons back and it's my go-to summer outdoor chicken. But that's just me ...

Turkeys and hams are easy ways to feed crowds on the cheap.

My wife and I had (thanks to her parents who put their foot down and chose the meal) a choice of Chicken Scalopini or a "steak" covered in a sauce that tasted like it was scraped out of a shoe. From what I heard, most people thought the food was crap. In fact, most wedding food IS crap. Have something that people actually want to eat. Don't feel you have to go all fancy schmancy.

A wedding is a party. The vows are what's important.

I second the idea of hitting yard sales and thrift stores and freecycle to pick up dishes and linens. I did that and got everything cheaper than it would have been to rent them (about $75 for 60 guests). Sure nothing matched, but no one cared and a side benefit is that it's easier to find your glass or plate when they don't all look alike. I asked my local friends to help us wash the dishes and set up the venue instead of giving us gifts (we have more than enough stuff anyway.) I kept some of the dishes and linens that I really liked and gave the rest away.

This may be a bit too much for 150 people but a couple of years ago I saw a fun idea for dishes. The couple asked their guests to each bring a plate of their favorite pattern. They brought permanent china markers and asked each guest to sign their plate on the back and they kept the plates to use for fancy dinners and parties.

I catered my son's wedding dinner and it was a great success- inexpensive for 100+ people and satisfying food. We made meatballs ahead of time and served them with pasta, marinara, fresh pesto, roasted zucchini and eggplant that was seasoned with a bit of heat, olive oil and freshly grated mizithra cheese. There was a salad of romaine, tomatoes and red onion and also rolls with butter. It was buffet-style so guests could make their plates as desired.

Good luck!

In keeping with a French theme, you could serve onion soup (with Roquefort croutons, perhaps), and some homemade terrines with crusty bread for a rustic starter. And how about apple/pear tarte tatin with homemade ice cream for dessert? All very affordable, tasty and easily made ahead of time.

My brother and sister-in-law had a wedding on a serious budget and had 2 caterers who brought Mexican and Jamaican food and served it buffett style. Tacos and patties were the main dishes and rice and beans made most of the sides. When odering tacos, you usually expect to pay less than $1 for each and have about 4-5 tacos per person. Tamales can also be ordered inexpensively. Even if you're not going with Mexican or Jamaican food-corn on the cobb and fruit on skewers make great & inexpensive sides.

At my wedding, I placed a big bbq order...3/4 lb meat per person, plus sides, sauce, bread, and condiments for about $1100. I had 120 guests. Bought linens, silverware, and chafing dishes and served buffet style. With a meal like that, I think you could do paper plates, but we bought plates and glasses from Ikea for super cheap. I don't remember how much the plates and glasses were though. I'm sure you could find some stuff at a dollar store for pretty cheap too.

We mostly self-catered our modest wedding last year on a very tight budget. My husband is from North Carolina so we choose a Southern food theme. We bought the nicest disposable plates we could find {there are lots of options but we ended up with bamboo for the feel}, bought mason jars for glasses and bar towels for cloth napkins for the tables. We bought white Ikea flat sheets for table clothes.

Our menu included pimento cheese and crackers as starter while guest had cocktails and we set the buffet. We order fried chicken from our favorite place but other than that I made all the side myself ahead of time. We had collards and a blackeyed pea salad plus biscuits and green salad for all our vegetarian friends. For dessert we asked friends to bring cakes or pie to share.

Granted we only had 50 people but we had a $800 budget that included beer, wine, and liquor too.

What about doing a polenta bar instead of stews over rice? -You could use the same stew concepts or serve braised meats and veggies. Or maybe a risotto bar? That might help with freezing and thawing the rice part of the equation.

I went to a wedding where they served each person a sourdough bread bowl and then had like 6 types of soups (chili, chowder, broccoli cheese, etc). It was so fun, all the work was done ahead of time and you can eat the food container when you're done. I thought it was a GREAT idea!

Crazy, but .... my local Dollar Store sells the best lemon pound cake I have ever had. They also have traditional vanilla. ( I am not a junk food person. I love good fresh food from Whole Foods, farmers market etc) It would be great with a berry sauce. Or, maybe a Leche sauce for winter ? A carmel and apple sauce over pound cake might be good and wintery. I love the mac n cheese, pulled pork, collard, fruit cobbler idea. A ham would be about 100x EASIER then pulled pork. Just something to think about .... Also, there are some good mashed potato recipes that use cream cheese and can be frozen. Yams are a great make ahead side dish. Good luch. Have fun. Your brother and his bride are blessed.

I would just order food from my favorite restaurant, especially if you're having a buffet.

But if you're set making dinner yourself, I think that a taco bar would be great and economical. I'm talking about carnitas, carne asada, and/or chicken tinga, though if Tex-Mex (ground beef tacos) is your thing, go with that. All these are easy to make in bulk and can be made a week in advance. Salsa can be bought or made the day before . All you would need to do on the day of the wedding is get the fixins' (tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc) together and onto the buffet table. Beans (black or refried) can be made ahead too.

Last year, I ordered carne asada and al pastor from my favorite Mexican restaurant. Along with handmade corn tortillas, salsas and garnishes (chopped onions, cilantro, lime wedges), it cost $150 for 20 people which was a good deal. It was plentiful and guests loved it.

We had pulled pork and a bunch of sides at our wedding, and without the rentals it would have been close to that amount for the food. I refused to do paper plates and plastic and we hired the staff. The quality of the sides was a bit low and disappointing though, but you get what you pay for.

It's a tall order and it can be done, but you'd have to pull a lot of strings and do a lot of work yourself or your family/friends will. We decided to go all out so our friends wouldn't have to.

That potluck idea sounds like a lot of fun!

Using an estimate of 700 dollars for rentals, because we all know how much of a rip off rental places are, and 1,300 for food. Your best options for raw ingredients at Costco are going to be salads, pasta, rice, potatoes, soup, chicken, tilapia, pork shoulder, beef tri tip, pork tenderloin, beef brisket, and a select few types of sausages. Knowing from years of catering and restaurant experience, people LOVE starches and will usually take an equal or greater amount of starches compared to proteins. This works out greatly to your advantage as not only are they more cost effective but the savings will allow you to implement a greater variety and in effect making the party seem more "elegant". Something that I've always done with huge success is a potato "bar". This would include different types of cooked potatoes such as baked, butter whipped, roasted, etc. On that bar you can put a dizzying array of condiments that not only pleases your guests but WOWS them at the same time. It's not often that guests go to a wedding that they get a bar dedicated to the almighty potato. You can also create another bar for the pasta with the same effect. Keep in mind that the AVERAGE person is going to take about 5 ounces of meat and about 7-8 ounces of starch. For the meat, that is really going to be up to your preference and your time schedule. Chicken is good and cheap but you can't reheat chicken because we all know that after you cook chicken and let it cool, the juices leach out when you reheat it resulting in an inedible brick of dry styrofoam that is not pleasing for anyone to have to endure. Tilapia would make an easy fish taco that would be cheap, and would please most vegetarians and carnivores alike. Once again you could create a separate station for this with multiple toppings. Fish takes no longer than 15-20 minutes in the oven at 350 especially a thin fillet like tilapia. You could also do a tri tip which is from the bottom sirloin. It has a lot of marbling, tons of flavor, and the best part is that it is a relatively cheap cut of meat. This could be easily cooked ahead of time to mid rare, sliced, and put into hotel pans to serve as a hot or cold (sandwich) type entree. Add a cold pasta that can obviously be prepared ahead of time and you should have money to spare. I live in california so Tri Tip costs about $3.50/ pound. Taking into account that most people will take around 5 ounces of meat, we can be safe and estimate 7 ounces per person. Tri tip has a high yield, especially if cooked mid rare. That would come out to around 520-550 dollars. That leaves you a LOT of playing room for potatoes, which cost about $15 for 50 pounds wholesale, salad, toppings, and pasta. The tilapia fish tacos would be even less than that. For the dessert, reach out to the people coming to the wedding and have them bring some interesting desserts. It makes it fun and easy for your guests. Good luck and enjoy! Take care

Potluck. The couple provided the main items that they bbq'd: burgers, hot dogs, salmon burgers, chix breasts (all Costco I believe), buns and condiments. They assigned people to run the bbq. The wedding cake was cupcakes made by a friend. Everything else was brought by in-town guests. It was actually amazing. Had the best mac n cheese of my life at that wedding, and there was more than enough food to go around. Linens were butcher paper, utensils and plates were compostable bamboo. It was very classy and homey at the same time. My wedding was catered, but if I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate with a potluck

I did my calculations wrong with the tri tip. You would need around 75-85 pounds of tri tip and that would come out to 260 - 300 for the meat. Even better!!

Our reception was a little like a potluck. Some members of my family have their tried & true recipes they are known for. I asked them if they might agree to making a large amount of their specialty for our wedding (considered a gift) so we had my grandmothers provide their signature brisket & chicken salad sandwiches. My dad has won several awards for his jambalaya which freezes and thaws extremely well, so he made a huge pot of that (we live in New Orleans). I even had a chef friend smoke a few halves of salmon. It was so personal, people are still talking about how amazing it was 3 years later!

We did a taco guy at my wedding-plenty of food for 75 people and it was less than 500$. I live in Los Angeles so it's easy to find one here but it was great-it lent itself to a casual fun atmosphere, everyone loves mexican food and you can still have variety-we had beef and chicken (my parents wanted organic so they bought the meat themselves), tons of toppings and hot sauces-you can usually also have quesadillas, guacamole, etc too for not much extra.

I love the winter stew ideas you had. A big warm hug of a meal on such a special day. I have done some large parties before and found that large amounts of great roasted veggies (mushrooms, potatoes, root veg, brussel sprouts, garlic etc) are great at room temperature. Toss in fresh herbs, or serve with a herb vinegarette on the side would be great. Could do a version with sausage too for meat eaters.

I second/third Rustic French Food!! Perfect for a winter wedding. Giant vats of Coq Au Vin, beef bourguignon, and ratatouille (covers the veggie crowd), tons of French baguettes with hunks of good butter, or garlic bread, a large platter of french cheeses (grocery outlet has amazing prices on cheeses), rustic French wine on the tables (you can ask each guest to bring a bottle of French wine!), and tarte tatin and tarte au citron with coffee for desert (or a selection of rustic fruit pies). Find mis-matched rustic plates at the thrift store, use white sheets for table clothes (also from thrift store) and use rustic jugs filled with herbs and lots of thrift store candle sticks as decoration (smell divine). I think it wold be so classy and different

I agree with above poster's in regards to your budget. My suggestion, if you do not mind & you are going for elegant, is to borrow nice china, glassware, etc from family and friends. As well as, hit up garage sales and thrift stores. Check with local churches and organization and inquire about rental of lines, tables, chairs, etc. Rental Company's are expensive. You can always think outside the box and use bed sheets.

As far as food goes, you certainly want to do buffet (even if you have to rent chaffing dishes) Being it is winter you go do an assortment of different types of soups/stews that can all be cooked ahead, frozen and heated the morning of. This would keep it simple, you would only have to rent bowels, which would cut down on rental cost. Have an assortment of breads to go with. I am from New Orleans, so I can think of many dishes that are super buffet friendly.

The other thing you may consider is a small local restaurant. Check with them about doing a pick up. Typically they charge menu price and will bulk package it for you. You can even bring them the pans from the Chaffing dish and they will use that then all you have to do is slip it into place!

I am a Personal Chef and Onsite Caterer and have done many low budget weddings. It is not easy, but it is not impossible. I am actually doing my brother's wedding in October as well on a tighter budget than yours!

If you need any other advice, I would be happy to help

I love your ideas for the stews. Maybe add some family-style touches by having a large bowl of toss salad (in lieu of the collards?) and a bread basket (in lieu of the rice?) to be shared at each table? I suppose those things are more perishable, but otherwise pretty simple and cheap.

My sister just got married Saturday, so we've been dealing with all this on a tight budget. There were probably 100-130 people there, though about 160 were invited. We were lucky because my uncle is part of a bbq cookoff group so they have all the professional smokers and stuff to travel and were willing to do it cheap, we just paid for food and for them to travel out to the venue. My dad made a bunch of Velveeta mac and cheese and we also had beans and potato salad with the brisket, chicken and sausage. Everyone loved the food and any leftover food has been getting eaten by all the family in town following the wedding. Instead of renting dinnerware, we just bought heavy duty plastic plates and silverware and had no problems eating any of the food with that and it was easy cleanup. My sister bought tablecloths online (I'm sure you could rent those somewhere though). My advice-be sure there's plenty of food, my mom kept telling us how her mom always remembered going to a wedding where they ran out of food, so she didn't want that to happen. Also, my uncle recommended having servers based on his experience with cook offs (we had some family members volunteer to serve) because otherwise people will take too much and it gets thrown away or runs out.

if the budget can stretch to allow for it, include a starter or side dish to make it feel like more of a celebration. Take advantage of the season to keep costs low. My fave winter dishes that are big on flavour are pumpkin or potato soups or my go-to salad for feeding a crowd for $5: roast a bunch of beets and garlic with some oil and basalmic vinegar. Let them cool and toss the beets with cooked lentils (canned if you're lazy, dried ones if you're broke). Add a handful of dried tomatoes (the ones that aren't packed in oil are much cheaper but just as good), some fresh parsley and a dressing made up of that roast garlic, a dollop of mustard and more basalmic. It's cheap, flavourful, super filling, covers all dietary concerns and best of all, it'll keep for days and days.

I get all my cheap party supplies in Chinatown and Ikea - like a previous poster said, it's often cheaper than renting. And don't forget that Ikea has a fabric section - can get charming fabric as table runners over that butcher paper or plain white linens. I've also known friends who used leftover slate tiles or cut and sanded slabs of raw wood from their yard to use as serving platters - it all looks like you spent a fortune even though it was actually free.

Call me crazy, but I don't think the budget is totally un-doable: my own wedding was small (about 40 people) and the food budget was $1200, but that includes restaurant/caterer mark-up. And we had tons of truly gourmet options: air-dried buffalo jerky, smoked tuna & blue corn blini, crab cakes, spring rolls, satay, then 'main course' items like smoked salmon, spinach lasagna and a Rocky Mountain game platter with salad, rolls, etc.

I didn't want a sit-down dinner (as I find them the most boring part of a wedding reception) and, as it turned out, that saved us a lot of money: not having to rent lots of tables and chairs, fewer servers, no need for X place settings for every person attending, as in a cocktail hour/buffet style they don't plan for every single attendee to eat at once.

As for recipes, I throw a big holiday party every year and serve about 50 people with all homemade food: mini, bite-sized pizzas are always a big hit (it is easy to make several varieties ahead of time and freeze them just before cooking & serving), mini savory scones are another winner (like these: http://localkitchenblog.com/2010/04/27/cheddar-parsley-scones/), also easy to make ahead & freeze, spinach-potato frittata made in mini muffin tins, also quite freezable, or there are these mini quiches which always win raves (although making the shells is a lot of work, I'll warn you: http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/12/21/dark-days-swiss-chard-quiche-minis/ and for budget purposes, I'd replace pine nuts with walnuts).

Something like a blini bar can include gourmet toppings, but still be relatively inexpensive (they are pancakes, after all) but it would need a server/blini maker. As for soups & stews, the favorites in the past have been chicken & sausage gumbo, pork chile verde, and roasted pumpkin soup w/ crispy sage. I think this year I might do this kale & potato curry (http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/07/09/kale-potato-curry/) as it seems like another crowd pleaser.

I'm sure you'll find a way to make a memorable meal within your budget: good luck!

Food-wise I would stay away from anything requiring a protein, which tends to be the most expensive thing. I like the bread-bowl/soup idea.

I also like the pasta idea but wonder how easily that would be to cook in large batches without commercial equipment.

Consider BUYING table linens/napkins/plates/etc. instead of renting. I found that I could buy a large table linen for $7 when they were being rented for $16. So do the research, and buy as much as you can instead of rent. If anything, you can resell on craigslist for some of the money back. But sometimes it's nice to have linens/extra plates on hand for parties.

For alcoholic beverages, you might consider wine only. Good wine, obviously, but hard liquor drives up your costs, both in itself and in its accompaniments: mixers, garnishes, extra glassware.

(That's not the primary reason to have only wine. The primary reason is that this policy leads to fewer grossly sh-faced wedding guests. If they want to get really hammered, let 'em save it for the after-party. But ask your brother and his fiancee--obviously, I think getting really drunk at a wedding is tacky; on the other hand, I know some people feel that withholding hard booze at a wedding is tacky. See what the happy couple thinks.)

Another consideration: The menu you suggest sounds delish (as does everyone else's)--but stew (ragout?) can be messy to eat. You might want to go heavy on the napkins.

Baked ham and scalloped potatoes. Both made ahead - and I served them at my wedding. People loved it. For vegetarians, something else.

We did a hog roast with cold salads (greens, pasta, cabbage-based slaw) and palak paneer at our wedding. It was mismatched, delicious, and inexpensive!

We did a hog roast, bbq chicken, potato/macaroni salad, chips, and deviled eggs at our wedding and people raved about the food. We fed ~125 people for probably less than $1000. You can buy all the sides from Gordon Food Service or Costco or Sam's. For the deviled eggs, we bought a huge box of already hardboiled and peeled eggs and made our own deviled eggs the day before (pizza boxes worked great to put the eggs on a platter and refrigerate).

Also check out GFS for table coverings, serving dishes, and dinnerware. If you belong to a church, you might also check with the church to see if they have any of these you can borrow or rent for a reasonable cost.

I have worked for one of the biggest caterers in Montreal, and am the chef/owner of a small catering outfit, and I'll be honest, this doesn't sound like such a great situation. I have just recently catered a wedding for a couple on a budget, they received 100 guests at the reception, and the very conservative rental order came out to $1500 on it's own! If there really is no way to either up the budget, or drop the number of guests, then I would suggest a cocktail dinnatoire. Prepare lots of canapés ahead and freeze them, and come up with some stations. I would suggest doing a pasta station, some sort of carved meat or smoked salmon or even doing passed mini plates. This style of service cuts down on staff and rentals big time, no need for pricey table cloths, a variety of dishes (most of the items will be eaten with a napkin), and you are likely to cut on oven space required. As for dessert, make a few different mini tarts (fruit, lemon curd, chocolate ganache), the shells can be made ahead and frozen, then filled the day before, mini cakes and squares are also pretty easy, or even chocolate dipped strawberries and orange segments. If you find some wiggle room in your budget and the wedding happens to be taking place in Montreal, my final suggestion is to call "Café Grand Traiteur" (a little shameless self promotion never hurts... right?)

Good luck,

What Asian Hot Pot? You could have a Hot Pot on each table and a buffet of all types of items for it. It is different, interactive and people more or less make their own food.
Another thought is getting honey ham from costco and making sides. Costco also carries disposable chaffing containers. What about contacting a food truck? They may be willing to do it and cut you a break if they get some exposure such as simply mentioning their name and thanking them for catering.
Are they set on dinner? What about a brunch?
Also, if you are looking for inexpensive wine, Whole Foods carries a line of wine that is $3 a bottle. It's not bad.

I'm an event planner and I've found that rentals are always expensive. There's really no way to get around renting tables, chairs and linens unless you have a place to borrow them from. It's usually better to choose a place that has furniture to use that's included in the venue rental fee.

DollarTree has a great bulk selection online for table settings, if you don't mind disposable. They also have vases and glassware and accessories for centerpieces. A good trick is to use smaller plates. The larger the plate, the more people think they can eat and they'll fill up before the plate is clean.

As far as food, if you're planning to cook, try looking online for bulk foods.

I've been a wedding caterer but for my own wedding we had a bbq buffet delivered. I was lucky in that our venue provided chairs and tables for free as well as some serveware. We shopped around to find the cheapest place to rent cloths and incidentals and my wonderful aunt drove to get them. Since I had no desire to scrape and rinse dishes or make anyone else do it, I bought bamboo plates and utensils from the Webstaurant Store. They can be composted or even added to a campfire (great for our fall wedding in the GA mountains) I also got plastic party glasses from Party City for fear of breakage on the long drive up and down the mountain. My mom baked the cake and my maids and I decorated it the morning of the wedding. We got a keg and bought wine from Aldi (which did not suck!)

All that being said, I think 2000 for the whole reception for 150 is pretty damn tight. I would say you should do a buffet to save on service and plating time. Also, I would definitely recommend potatoes for your starch: scalloped, mashed, baked...everyone loves potatoes. Everything else would depend on the venue. A whole hog is an amazing presentation if you have the right outdoor space. Stew sounds great but presentation wise and for portioning, it's tricky.

My rule in catering was: two protiens, two starches, two veggies, bread, two desserts. This is what I would do for your winter menu: scalloped white potatoes, roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes, wilted winter greens, roasted green beans with cherry tomatoes or red peppers, lemony chicken drumsticks, and a roast (pork or beef), homemade rolls (have a day to prep and freeze the dough) and just the wedding cake for dessert. I have no clue what the cost would be for that, but since all of the items would be in season, you should be ok.

Good luck.

Keep in mind ease of eating when you choose. Some of these suggestions sound fun but maybe a little messy at an event where people are dressed up. For example, hot pots are fun, but I'd hate to get oil splatter stains on a nice dress. I was also once seated next to aggressive spaghetti-twirler at an event that served family-style Italian, and I ended up with his marinara on my cocktail dress. Ugh.

I like the suggestions for a winter stew, but would steer you away from bread bowls. I know that many people can eat that much bread, but many others can't or don't want to eat an entire bread bowl, and when you're on a tight budget already, that's a lot of waste.

I've been picking up mismatched fine china from thrift stores for years and it gives a table a chic, Anthropologie-ish look. My only warning is that it can be hard to find bowls. I think they're often the first thing to break in a set of nice china and it's why the rest of the set ended up in a thrift store. Get a plain white bowl to pair with the mismatched plates.

Wow, I didn't think renting dishes and linens was so costly. I like the paper tablecloth idea, and using mismatched china from thrift stores/friends and family can be charming (I know of someone who did this very successfully at her wedding). Priority should be on the food, and on a tight budget I would go with simple, hearty dishes done well - your guests will love it. Cheaper cuts of quality meat lovingly stewed to deliciousness would be very appropriate, You could serve a simple salad (blue cheese, pear, walnut and endive would be seasonal) to balance the heavier main course. Good luck!

I self catered my own wedding for 50 in 2010. I prepared braised beef short ribs (in red wine), ricotta stuffed shells in marinara, roasted potatoes plus salad/rolls/ and fresh cut fruit and summer sausage with mustards for grazing before dinner. I did this for under $1000 inluding napkin/silverware rolls (high quality disposables), spare plates, champagne glasses (high quality disposables) plus a caterer to just set up the buffet on the big day ($200). I made the beef and shells the week before and froze them, turned out fantastic. The potatoes were roasted that day, but I wouldn't have done those for 150 people. The supplies you need depends on your venue. Can you borrow any chafing dishes or dinner plates/silverware? Will you have a kitchen at the reception site where you can bake off your hot dishes that day? One oven might not cut it.

The best place to buy stuff like napkin rolls (seriously, get the stainless look disposables, they look super good and you don't want to be washing all that crap), plates, serving platters, etc is your local restaurant supply store. If you don't have one check out webstaurantstore.com. Goodwill will sell you plates and real utensils dirt cheap if you don't care that they don't match. Call a small local caterer and ask to rent their chaffing dishes and linens.

What about hiring a food truck? I've seen some caterers in a food truck advertise (basic) meals for $8 a person. Plus they come with take away containers that reduce the need for rentals. Not the greenest option, but if you want to go for real dishes, Value Village (etc) make a good option. Or go with other suggestions from above, and borrow!

You can always supplement with salads, etc.

Food trucks! You can do these for both the meal and the dessert.

Also--for my grad party, we did catering from our favorite Chinese place in town. I would see if you could borrow family china for eating---it's nice to bring out something fancy.

Did someone already say quiche? Eggs are cheap.

How about paella?

If you live near an IKEA, you might get the best deals on plates, linens, and flatware there. Some examples:

ÖPPEN clear glass plates and bowls, 0.99 each
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20137912/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40137911/

LUGN beige plates and bowls, 0.79 each
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00133123/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80133124/

FÄRGRIK mugs for coffee or soup, 0.99 each
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60143992/

BONUS 16-piece flatware set (4 each of fork, knife, spoon, teaspoon), 3.29 per set
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50087185/

REKO clear glasses, 1.49 per 6-pack
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80094014/

SVALKA red wine glasses and champagne flutes, 4.99 per 6-pack
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30015123/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50015122/

POKAL clear glasses, 2.99 per 6-pack
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60081734/

MÄRIT place mats in black, white, or beige, 1.49 each
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80151783/

MÄRIT table runner, 7.99 each
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60151784/

And lots of cute colored paper napkins for cheap:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/eating/20560/

Plus, there's always Amazon for the ever-present porcelain spoons:
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Porcelain-Soup-Spoons-B745/dp/B0006GX9G0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

All of this still adds up, but it's cheaper than some of the rental prices quoted and for some things, even cheaper than the dollar store. Plus, it's IKEA; you don't really have to worry about whether or not they'll have 150 of the same plate or not, you know?

For food, unless you want to go with pasta or chili for a crowd, I would probably go with an appetizer/side dish buffett. Ideas: bruschetta, caprese skewers, meatballs (or vegan meatballs), hummus and pita chips, salsa and chips, samosas, cheese-stuffed jalapenos, potstickers or eggrolls, spinach tarts, baked mac and cheese, carmelized onion tarts, a cheese board, crudites, table grapes, mini quiche, a variety of salads, roasted potatoes, chicken satays, spiced nuts, etc. Most of these can be served at room temperature or cold, or just need a quick reheating before you put them on the table. For dessert, cupcakes, some pretty pies (especially galettes), fresh or chocolate-dipped berries, or elegant cookies.

Alternatively, you could take the route my brother did a decade ago and have a soup, salad, and bread dinner. They put out huge tureens of three kinds of soup, garden and caesar salads, and warm bread. One or two people whined about the lack of meat but I thought it was easily the best wedding food ever, and it would be super appropriate for a family-style winter meal.

And to save money on drinks, ask guests to bring a bottle of their favorite inexpensive wine or champagne to share (easier on them than doing a potluck). Then just put out pitchers of ice water with citrus slices and you're good.

Or rustic Italian? They know a thing or two about feeding a crowd. A porchetta style roast pork, roasted squash, and winter greens would be doable within your budget, I think.

My friend ordered food from her favorite Chinese and Indian restaurants in buffet size portions for her wedding. She bought the warmer setups and serving materials as well as the disposable plates and utensils. On the day of the wedding I picked up the food and other friends set up the buffet and warmers.

We had our wedding later in the day(7:00), so we only served cake and punch. We were able to purchase a wonderful cake and provide drinks for everyone. You do not have to serve a full dinner. We stated on the invitation that there would be a cake and punch reception.

For a large family dinner I hosted recently, I was able to serve 40 guests for $12 per person. Appetizers were taco dip, pigs in blankets and veggie trays. Main meal was tossed salad,, grilled chicken and steak (5 oz steak and 2 chicken tenderloins per person), and twice baked potatoes (2 halves per person). Dessert was lemon cream cheese cupcakes and chocolate roses. I baked the potatoes and mixed the filling the day ahead, just filled them when we got to the party. We used paper and plastic plates/utensils/napkins and no table linens. My biggest bargains that I found were bags of frozen chicken tenderloins (Tyson brand at Sam's Club) and they also had giant bags of premixed salads for $2 (I did chop tomatoes and radishes, and bought preshredded carrots and croutons from my regular grocery store). It turned out amazing and we had plenty of food.

I also have served soups when I host Christmas (we did Chicken with wild rice, beef Chili and Vegetable soup -made them ahead and froze them - kept in slow cookers to that and keep them warm. we provided breads and appetizers to go along with it - turned out fantastic. we bought the dishes for this at Walmart - ceramic bowls for 88 cents a piece and 2 bundles of spoons were $8 each) Everyone loved this idea

I'm feeding 50 people for $800. Our menu is artesanal sausages/brats with fresh-made rolls, plus all the toppings, deep fried turkeys, mac and cheese from a favorite BBQ restaurant, grilled vegetables, potato salad, mixed greens salad, and pies for dessert instead of cake.

Our food is top quality, so to cut the costs down, we've begged, borrowed and enlisted the help of friends and family to help with linens, cooking, serving dishes, silverware, etc.

If you stick with that menu and the guest list includes children, it would be better to include familiar foods for kids like a pan of macaroni and cheese plus baby carrots and apple slices. We do this at church potlucks, with a sign saying reserved for kids and they usually empty it. Kids often pass on unfamiliar foods and it's no fun for anyone, especially if there's a long night ahead.

Once we went to a wedding and the owner of the facility went around and asked all the kids what their favorite food was. When the meal was served, that's what the kids received instead (it was at a hall/restraunt). We chatted with the owner and he said he'd seen way too many kids not touch the planned meal. One of my sons had pancakes at that wedding and my nephews had shrimp and macaroni and cheese!

I did a banquet that needed to have a family feel and made spaghetti with a simple meaty sauce, bread, and a nice salad. We could serve generous portions without breaking the bank and I didn't have to worry about kids and unadventuresome eaters going hungry since most everyone will eat spaghetti (which isn't the case with collards). Everyone was fed and happy--and I had many requests for the recipe.

I once went to a wedding (and am seriously contemplating doing this for myself….) where dinner was breakfast. That’s what the couple wanted, and that’s what they had! Frittatas, home fries, pancakes, etc. big serving trays of scrambled eggs and sausages and bacon. These could easily (except for the scrambled eggs) be made in advance and reheated the day of. Just a thought!

Faith~
I like your idea of chicken & bacon stew, but I would add a beef dish, too; how about beef stroganoff? Easy enough to make and serves a crowd...I also like the idea of butternut squash stew. I use cranberries and carmelized vidalia onions...good luck!

We just catered a wedding for 250 people for 1600 (food and labor coast) this meal included drinks and light snacks too!! We bought our chicken by the box at Cosco or Sam's if you go to the meat counter and ask them if you can purchase by case price they will normally allow this (normally cuts the coast by 20 to 30 cents a pound. We prepped all the chicken a few weeks out by trimming, cut them chicken breast in half and marinating it with basil olive oil and fresh garlic. Then the rest you prep on Wedding day or you may cute up veggies for Salad a day ahead. Our menu was: Basil Chicken with Wild Rice (for the gluten free crowed) or Pasta with Spring Mix Salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and carrot's and Garlic Toast. With out labor coast food cost alone was around 900.00 !!

A typical Tex-Mex small town budget wedding reception in Texas involves lots of smoked beef brisket, pots of home-made beans, pans of Mexican red rice and cole slaw, all made by family and friends, and most of it donated by the cooks, served buffet style with stacks of tortillas and bottles of sauces and salsas. Toward the end of the night, when everyone has had too much to drink, menudo and more tortillas are served to the party-goers. All of these dishes are easy to make in advance and hold well. Disposables are the order of the day, but with most of the food donated, use the budget for service upgrades.