Don’t let a strict budget conquer your big day – with a little elbow grease and some planning, your perfect wedding menu needn’t be just a dream. Follow these handy tips that don’t skimp on delicious food but will definitely score you big savings!

1 Keep it simple

At cocktail hour, your reception area will be buzzing. Not only will guests be excited to see you, but they’ll also want to get some light treats in while they wait. Avoid appetisers such as shrimp cocktail or scampi as they’re easily double the price tag of alternative seafood such as calamari or mussels. Don’t be shy to ask your caterer for a list of less costly appetisers or try these snacks for your guests to enjoy during cocktail hour!

2 Do it yourself

As time-consuming as it may sound, preparing your own appetisers is quite simple and will save on costs. Choose foods that can be made ahead of time, frozen and warmed up right before they need to be served. A simple, delicious home-made recipe will do wonders – and your guests don’t even have to know! Most caterers heavily inflate the cost of easy-to-make appetisers, which could cost you way more than if you made them yourself. You could even turn the preparation into a cooking evening as apart of your bachelorette celebrations – don’t forget the champagne!

3 Self-service

Most venues include servers in the hiring cost but if you don’t want to spend a lot on the venue or are using your home, skip hiring servers. Serve your food buffet style and invite your guests to help themselves when meal time comes around – they’ll love having the freedom to choose what they want to eat. Plus, seocnds will be easily accessible too.

Photography Jay Wennington/Raw Pixel/Clem Onojeghuo/Lucas Alexander/Adrien Sala/Unsplash