Alternative Food Ideas For Your Wedding Reception

I often have conversations with couples and friends who worry about the cost of hosting a wedding when they have so many people to invite. One of the major worries is the cost per head of providing a sit down meal for all these people.
I always suggest looking at alternatives to the traditional sit down wedding breakfast .. its not for everyone ... but if you aren't that set on a traditional wedding here are a few ideas for how you can provide food for your guests at your wedding reception that may keep the costs down.

PICNIC

Especially lovely for an outdoor or garden wedding ... spread out blankets and picnic benches and provide each guest with a small picnic for their afternoon meal. Just remember to have a back up plan in case it rains :)

images from http://frenchweddingstyle.com

MODERN BUFFET

A lot of people are put off by the idea of serving a buffet to their 'afternoon' guests .. but done in the right way with some quirky touches it can look beautiful. Especially great to serve seperate tables filled with goodies ... I'm loving the idea of a cheese or pie table!

AFTERNOON TEA PARTY

Increasingly popular this is a lovely way to have an informal sit down meal without having the traditional 3 course wedding breakfast. As the food is placed on lovely china in front of your guests ... it still allows a little bit of formality in that you can easily work in speeches etc as normal .. but small finger food and desserts definately keeps the cost down.