So a caterer is too much for you? You want to go a cheaper route for the food but still want to serve a full meal? Then I suggest buying and preparing your own food. You can save a lot of money this way but still provide a filling and satisfying meal for all your guests. To ensure you create a meal everyone can eat, below are a few suggestions.

• Include vegetable dishes for the vegetarian and vegan, and also for a balanced meal.
• If using bread or gluten products in the menu, either include a sign so people needing to avoid gluten will know to avoid it, or include a gluten-free option. As a lot of people these days need to go gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian, these are the diet options you'll want to be most aware of.
• If you include a spot on your RSVP for people to notate their dietary needs, you won't have to guess what food you should prepare.
• Great food items to include in your wedding meal:
  • Sandwiches
  • Mac 'n' Cheese (for the kiddos)
  • Water, lemonade, and tea
  • Assortment of veggies or a salad
  • Open house food like meatballs
  • Build-your-own taco bar
  • Build-your-own-anything bar

Now, what I'm about to say sounds contradictory to what I said earlier, but when creating your own menu, keep it simple. You really don't have to go overboard to cater to everyone's needs. Choosing something as simple as guests building their own sandwiches, along with a plate of veggies and two or three other sides like pretzels and mac 'n' cheese allows guests to pick and choose which foods they can have while still getting their fill. Also, the less stuff you have to cook, the less preparation you have to do.

Did you know?

When prepping for your wedding, it's often necessary to enlist the help of other people, people that will most likely be guests. Like your grandmother and women from your church. People will offer to help for your wedding, and though you may fear someone stepping over their boundaries, or that you'll take too much advantage of your volunteers, things like food prep need lots of able-bodied helpers. Don't feel too bad about asking for assistance at this point, because it's not during the actual wedding (and won't take away from guests' enjoyment during said wedding), and people are usually very willing. I wouldn't volunteer someone who hasn't asked to help, though. But there are plenty of other willing people. While you may be worried about stressing out other people, it's just not possible-without a substantial budget-to do everything yourself. Make sense?