4 Ways to Save On Your Reception Menu - Wedding Articles | BridalBook

You're on a tight budget but you still want your wedding reception to be perfect. One of the ways to lower your expenses for your reception would be to have a great menu for less. Below are four ways to save on your reception fare.

1. Request substitutes for expensive ingredients.

Some dishes can still taste great even if slightly modified. Ask your caterer if they can use less expensive ingredients to make the same dish. If you want fish as a part of your reception menu and the kind they use for a particular dish is expensive--like maya-maya or lapu-lapu--ask them to use labahita or dalagang bukid instead. Your food will still be made in the same way, but you won't have to spend as much.

2. Hold the reception at an odd time.

Since these options happen at odd times--the brunch in between breakfast and lunch, and the merienda-cena in between merienda and dinner--your guests might expect  lighter fare. You don't have to stick to a meal with several courses, and you have a wider range of the kinds of dishes you can serve, which, cumulatively, can cost less than dinner or lunch.

3. Drink moderately.

Consider serving less expensive alcoholic drinks, like beer or mocktails instead of hard drinks, or nix the cocktail hour and open bar altogether. Just have enough wine for the toasts. You'll be able to save on the drinks, and avoid having to deal with drunk and unruly guests at your wedding reception.

4. Consider merging your dessert and favors.

Many people give edibles out as souvenirs, so why not give them something sweet to take home? This way, you don't have to have a gigantic wedding cake made. You can do away with a sit-down dessert course, but guests can still have their sweet tooth fix as they leave with the souvenirs.

You might also want to check:

• How to Save on Your Reception
• How to Save on Your Wedding Cake
• Questions to Ask Your Caterer
• Qs to Ask Before Booking Your Venue