How to Plan a Simple DIY Finger Food Wedding Reception

— 12 Tips for Budget-Friendly Hors d’oeuvres

— When my first daughter got engaged at Thanksgiving, she wanted to get married during the Christmas break, before the next semester of the university started up again. So we had six weeks to pull a wedding together! It was a whirlwind, but we kept things simple and it turned out beautifully.

My daughter was a music major and thus had to put on several recitals during her college career. I helped her plan the reception for most of them and managed the food. I happen to be a piano teacher and I also have put on many recitals and coordinated the reception afterwards. So, I thought, “We can do this!”

Planning a Do-It-Yourself wedding reception can be daunting and is a bit bigger than a piano recital reception. That’s why so many people hire caterers or goto banquet halls that do it all for you. But when you are on a budget, you have to think creatively and look into how things can be done in a simpler, more economical way.

One thing we kept simple was the reception food. We scheduled my daughter’s wedding for early afternoon, so we didn’t have to serve a meal. Instead, we served a variety of easy-to-make hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and of course, dessert.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Here’s what we served:

Hors d’oeuvres Tables:

Fruit platters (strawberries, grapes, pineapple)
2 kinds of fruit dip
Vegetable platters (carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower)
2 kinds of vegetable dip
Olive tray (black, green, mediterranean)
Mixed nuts
Cheese trays (cheddar, monterey jack, jalapeno, colby jack)
Variety of crackers
Pita bread
3 kinds of hummus
2 kinds of tortilla chips
Salsa
Shrimp cocktail trays

Beverage Counter:

Cider & water in beverage dispensers
Coffee (regular & decaf)
Hot water for tea or cocoa
Champagne & sparkling white grape juice (for the toasts)

Dessert Table:

Variety of pies from a local baker
Variety of round cakes from Wegmans grocery store

DIY Tips:

Here are some strategies that helped us accomplish this Do-It-Yourself reception.

1. Figure out how much food to prepare

After doing some research online, we decided to plan on about 10 -15 bites of food on average per person.

We had about 100 people coming to the wedding, so we needed to plan about 1,000 to 1,500 bites of food.

Given our menu, a typical plate might include 3 pieces of fruit, a tablespoon for fruit dip, 5 vegetable sticks, a tablespoon of vegetable dip, 3 crackers with cheese, 2 triangles of pita bread, tablespoon of hummus, several chips, tablespoon of salsa, 2 shrimps, 2 olives, spoonful of nuts. We knew some guests would eat less than that, and some would eat more, but that seemed like a reasonable estimate to use.

If you multiply that sample plate by 100, you can estimate how much food you need:

- 300 pieces of fruit
- 500 vegetables sticks (100 each of carrot, celery, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower)
- 100 tablespoons each of fruit dip, vegetable dip, hummus and salsa (about 50 ounces of each)
- 300 crackers
- 200 triangles of pita bread = 25 rounds cut in 8 triangles
- 200 cocktail shrimps
- 200 olives (maybe go with less since not everyone likes them)
- 100 tablespoons of nuts = 50 ounces

We went heavier on the carrot, celery, and peppers, and lighter on the others vegetables. We ended up with some leftovers, but not a huge amount. Mostly hummus because we accidentally left the pita bread at home! We ran out of shrimp, but other than that, it seemed like we estimated well.

You can use this estimation method for any other combination of finger foods you might like to use for the reception you are planning.

2. Keep recipes simple

We chose not to do anything that needed a recipe in order to keep things simpler and reduce stress. We purchased the dips instead of making them ourselves, but you certainly could if you wanted to save more money. We also purchased all the desserts from a local source, at the bride’s request. (If you have the time and a crew willing to bake homemade treats, you could save money in that way as well).

I had to let go of comparing this reception to the ones you see on Pinterest or in magazines with all the fancy appetizers, for the sake of time and money. People are fine with ordinary food. We made up for the simple fare by arranging it in a beautiful way.

3. Shop at Aldi (or whatever your favorite local discount grocery store happens to be).

You can shop for non-perishable foods, such as crackers, etc., quite early and stash it away. For perishable foods, I recommend waiting until just a couple days before the wedding to make sure it’s still in good shop on the big day.

We did most of our shopping for the hors d’oeuvres ingredients at Aldi’s. You’ll save at least 20% off regular grocery prices. BJ’s also has good deals, but we didn’t have a membership.

We bought enough food to make two trays of everything, so when the first tray ran out, it could be replaced with another tray. Then the kitchen crew refilled the first tray.

Add ziplock bags and disposable containers to your shopping list for holding the ingredients for refilling trays and for bringing home or giving away any leftovers.

4. Use a second refrigerator

I have a second refrigerator in the basement, so we stashed all the ingredients in there. It’s very useful to have a separate place to store the perishable food until the wedding.

Be careful when you unload the refrigerator on the morning of the wedding that you check all the spaces you used for storing your reception supplies. As I mentioned earlier, we accidentally left all the pita bread behind, and didn’t discover it until it was too late!

It’s a good idea to label everything, so hungry family members don’t dig into something reserved for the big day.

5. Gather serving ware

First check your own cupboards and family members before deciding how much else to buy. We used some platters and pedestal plates I had in my china cabinet, as well as borrowed some from my mom and sisters.
The Dollar Store is an amazing place to get pretty serving trays for cheap! We got a whole bunch of plastic “crystal” trays and bowls there. Using plastic dishes is great, because you don’t have to worry about them breaking during transport and setup. They also come in handy after the wedding for future parties, recitals, holiday cookie exchanges and sending in cupcakes to school.

My sister made some additional pedestals by hot-gluing glass plates to inverted vases or glass candlesticks! Brilliant! It really made things look nice to have a variety of heights for the serving plates. With hot glue, you can pry them apart afterwards. If you want it to be permanent, use gorilla glue.

We did purchase a pretty tiered pie holder for the “Wedding pie”, since that’s what my daughter wanted to cut and feed to the groom.

6. Make it fancy

“This is something that really set Allison’s reception apart from any I’ve ever been to. The decorations were gorgeous, and yet quite simple!” ~ Aunt Wendy

Gather some decorations to beautify the table. You might already have some things in your house or yard that can be used to add that special touch to the food presentation. Many supplies are also available at your local dollar store.

Some ideas include:

The key to simple elegance is to use natural items that are readily available to you for little cost, and dress them up with simple fabrics and lights.

7. Do a practice set up

Doing a practice set up of the food table will give you an opportunity to try out different arrangements and decorations until you find what works for you. It can very nerve- racking to wing it at the last minute, or to trust someone else to do it and not be happy with the results. I highly recommend doing a trial run of how you want the reception food table to look, then take pictures and draw a diagram so you can remember it or others can duplicate it.

My sister set up a long folding table in her living room so we could do a practice set up of the food arrangement.

We put a white tablecloth on it and put out all the platters, bowls, and pedestal plates we were using, with an index card label on each one with its intended entre.

My sister arranged the serving dishes beautifully and added strings of lights, pine garlands,and pinecones, because we wanted a wintry, woodsy theme. We also added some vases of bare branches gathered from my backyard, plastic snowflakes ornaments, and candles for a wintery decor.

8. Draw a diagram

After doing the practice setup, take a photo of it and draw a diagram so it can be easily replicated at the reception site. Take note of where you will need power cords and outlets.

9. Have a chopping party

For the vegetable, fruit, and cheese plates, you could order ready-made trays from your grocery store or local deli, OR, you can save a significant amount of cash by buying your own ingredients and having a chopping party.

A couple days before the wedding, my daughters and sisters helped me cut up all the vegetables, fruit, cheese, and pita bread for the reception.

We put all the prepared produce in ziplock bags and popped them in the fridge.

The pita bread triangles went back into the bags the bread came in.

The cheese was arranged on platters and covered with food wrap.

10. Hire some helpers for the reception

As the mother of the bride, you do not want to be stuck in the kitchen on your daughter’s wedding day! You probably don’t want to ask other family members either.

I asked some friends of mine from church if they would be willing. I offered to pay them, but they did not want to accept money. I gave them a nice gift instead for all their help. (Since then, I have helped in one of my friend’s receptions and realized how much work it is! I should have paid them anyway!)

We provided them with black aprons to wear and help people identify who the servers were.

11. Write out clear directions

It’s a good idea to type out exactly what you want your helpers to do, step by step, along with time expectations. The more clear you can be, the fewer questions they will have to ask you on the wedding day.

Email the list to your helpers in advance, as well as print a copy to have in the kitchen. It’s also a good idea to let them know by text that they should check their email so they don’t miss it. 🙂

We also put sticky notes and labels on items to make things more clear.

To see sample directions for the kitchen helpers, please sign up for my email list and click the download button below.

12. Use nice disposables

When you are serving simple food, it will seem fancier if you have nice plates and napkins. We got some nice clear plastic plates and used clear plastic beverage cups for the cold drinks. You can get these at Party City or order them online.

We purchased some sage green cocktail napkins that matched the bridesmaid dresses. (When I got married, the fashion was to have the napkins engraved with the bride and groom’s names,but that does not seem to be the style anymore. We had such a short time to plan, we didn’t even consider it.)

We bought some frilly cocktail toothpicks for the hors d’oeuvres and forks for the desserts.

Conclusion

Yes, it is very possible to have a simple, do-it-yourself, cost-effective finger food reception for a wedding. If you are willing to let go of high expectations and think creatively. you can serve simple fare with a beautiful presentation. People will love it!

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Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.