Help me with the logistics of a pizza and pasta wedding buffet!
April 24, 2015 12:34 PM   Subscribe

My fiance and I want to have gourmet pizza and pasta from a great local restaurant to feed the guests at our wedding reception. How should we logistically tackle this? How do we keep pizza hot on a buffet table? How much of each item (pizza/pasta) will we need? Details below.

I'm starting to plan my wedding which will take place about a year from now. Fiance and I are paying for the wedding ourselves so we're trying to cut costs where we can. We have an amazing location for the reception already booked, and they let us bring in whatever food/catering/alcohol we want, which was my #1 priority. I looked at a couple of traditional caterers' price lists, but it looks like they will be way out of budget. Our guest list will probably be around 200 people, and we would love to keep food costs (not including alcohol) at around $10 per head. I realize in wedding money terms that sounds INSANE, but I think it can be done. I have a ton of family that is in town and willing to help and we are fine with using nice-looking disposable dishes.

There's a great local restaurant that we love and we're thinking about trying to use their food to self-cater the reception buffet style. They serve gourmet pizzas and several different kinds of pastas. Here's a link to their catering menu.

Pasta trays -- feed 20-24 people -- $90 (roughly $4.09 pp)
16 inch pizzas -- feed 4-6 people -- $21 (roughly $4.20 pp)

Obviously, this is very reasonably priced compared to using a wedding caterer. And we already know the food is awesome! I'm thinking we'd probably choose 3-4 flavors of pizza and maybe 2 kinds of pasta and set them up buffet style. We'd also probably DIY some big bowls of Caesar salad to go with it. Here are my questions, though, about making all of this work.

1) How would we keep the pizzas warm on a buffet? The house we're using for the reception has a kitchen we can use, which just has a normal-sized oven, nothing industrial or anything. I would probably arrange to send someone to pick up the food (or have them deliver) right before dinner will be served, maybe an hour or so into the reception. The pasta won't be hard, we can buy or rent chafing dishes to serve it from, but the pizzas will be more of a challenge. I'm assuming we probably won't want to set out ALL the pizzas at once, so could we just stick the other ones in the oven and have someone replenish them? Would the pizza get cold sitting out on a table while people stand in line to fill their plates? Would people care that much if the pizza wasn't sizzling hot? Can you put those little flame cans that go under chafing dishes under some sort of pizza tray apparatus?

2. How much of each item do we need to buy? I'm assuming most people will probably eat some pasta and some pizza; should we go ahead and get enough of each for a full serving for each person, or can we decrease that amount a little bit, assuming they'll take less than a full serving? Has anyone ever planned a similar event who can comment on the ratio of pizza to pasta eaten?

3. Will pizza, pasta, and Caesar salad be enough choices for the "meal" portion of the night? We'll probably have some little appetizer type things for people to munch on at the beginning of the reception, and will have cake/dessert later on in the evening.

I'd like to add that we are in Alabama, and wedding food is very commonly buffet style or heavy hors d'ouevres here. I know from reading enough wedding forums online that these affairs up North are much different and there is often the expectation of a huge sit down multiple-course fancy dinner; that is not the case here, and I'm not at all worried about what people will think of our food options. I just want the presentation of it all to go smoothly and for no one to go hungry!
posted by pimmscup to Food & Drink (22 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Regarding #1 and pizzas, you may be able to rent heat-lamp stations from a well-stocked event rental business.
posted by werkzeuger at 12:38 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


If you go that route, you may need extension cords to plug the heat lamps into different circuits in the house.
posted by werkzeuger at 12:39 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Does the restaurant have access to serving/buffet equipment? If they themselves don't have the stuff, they might be able to hook you up with someone who does.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:41 PM on April 24, 2015 [4 favorites]


My first step would be to call the restaurant and ask what other groups have done. Since they have an actual catering menu (as opposed to you just looking at their regular menu), that makes me think they do a fair amount of catering and probably have a good idea of how people keep food hot and how much is needed for groups of different sizes. They might even send someone over to help with serving and/or hook you up with rentals for a reasonable fee. You could also ask for "references" of weddings or other large groups that have used them before, and then talk to those people (or groups) to get a sense of what they did and what worked (or didn't) in their set-up.

Also: YUM, this place sounds awesome!
posted by rainbowbrite at 12:42 PM on April 24, 2015 [12 favorites]


If you have someone who can man the pizza situation, you could see if your restaurant will give you half-baked pizzas. These will be mostly cooked, but need another 5-10min in the oven, and you just set them out fresh.
posted by ktkt at 12:43 PM on April 24, 2015 [3 favorites]


Will pizza, pasta, and Caesar salad be enough choices for the "meal" portion of the night?

Yes. It will be plenty.
My daughter did a pasta buffet for her wedding reception. There was lasagna and some kind of pasta w/alfredo sauce. A salad of some sort. And breadsticks from Fazolis (The bride and groom like Fazolis' breadsticks). The pastas and salad were by a local woman who does catering on the side. It was all fantastic. She had her own buffet pans and stuff.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:45 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I was going to say - it might be easier to figure out these logistics if you know exactly who's staffing the buffet. The thing about buffets at large events (200 guests!) is that a few people need to be keeping an eye on things and replenishing constantly.

If you have these folks designated, no reason they can't time the pizzas for you. Since you're saving a lot of money getting food in at under $5/head, it might be worth it to pay for someone from the restaurant to be there the whole time to make sure everything goes right.
posted by Pearl928 at 12:48 PM on April 24, 2015


If you have to choose how to allocate your "keeping things hot" space/time/tables/ovens/heat lamps/personal energy, I would focus on the pastas (assuming they're meant to be served heated of course). Lukewarm or even room temp pizza is still a delicious treat, more so if it's any sort of gourmet-style. I can't remember one time that I've been served pizza en masse when it's been actually piping hot. I imagine your guests would be 100% accepting of this, especially if your reception is being held in a house with obviously limited space and kitchen facilities.

So if it were me, I would focus on chafing dishes + sterno lamps for the pasta, and do the best I could to keep the pizza warmISH without actually fretting too much about it. The suggestions to ask the restaurant for tips are smart though.

Also I would be so thrilled to be fed pizza at a wedding reception!
posted by jessicapierce at 12:55 PM on April 24, 2015 [2 favorites]


Do a search in your area for pizza warmers for rent or ask your pizza place if you can rent something from them. Large flat heated metal things that will hold several pizzas at a time.
posted by domino at 1:04 PM on April 24, 2015


The easiest way to do this is just to have a mobile pizza oven cater your wedding. A Google search has indicated at least two exist in Alabama.
posted by saeculorum at 1:12 PM on April 24, 2015 [3 favorites]


How far is the pizza place? My friend had a pizza bridal shower and I was a little disappointed with the kept warm pizza.
Can you ask them to deliver 10 pies every half hour for 2 hours? Or have four or 5 friends each take a turn picking it up?
I think the pizza place might be glad to do that - easier and more representative of how great their pizza is (200 potential customers).
posted by beccaj at 1:12 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


I came in to suggest mobile pizza oven too! I see them a lot at fairs and it's usually reeeallly good pizza. Depending on how many ovens and how many guests, it would wind up being less of a buffet and more of a constant rotation of right-out-of-the-oven pizzas.
posted by usonian at 1:28 PM on April 24, 2015 [2 favorites]


This sounds delicious and fun!

Pizza bags, like the kind delivery places use, are available on amazon, and some of them can fit multiples pies at once. I see some of them are advertised as keeping pizza hot for two hours and warm for six. They are pretty cheap.
posted by umwhat at 1:37 PM on April 24, 2015


Pasta trays are super straightforward to keep warm with sternos. How dedicated are you to the idea of doing pizza too? To buoys in the hood's point, you could possibly accommodate low carb eaters or Celiac patients by getting a few trays of a gluten free entree to round out your meal (e.g. some kind of chicken with sauce) and ditching the pizza. There are definitely ways to make pizza work, but I don't think they're compatible with doing this as cheaply as possible unless you're happy serving it lukewarm.
posted by telegraph at 1:40 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Can this restaurant kitchen handle food for 200 people at once? Plus delivery?

For the pizza, rolling banquet cabinet. Does the restaurant have them? Can you rent it in your area?

Then heat lamps and chaffing dishes for serving.

You will need cooks, servers and busers to heat and replenish the buffet, clear dishes, and empty trash + keep the place neat and tidy.

$10 per person. Hmmm. 200 people. Hmmmm.

Pasta is mostly OK made ahead and reheated. Pizza, not so much. But it totally could work. They'd have to fire the pizzas off and transport in the banquet cabinet just before service. On a truck. Do they have a truck with a liftgate?

Toppings slide off of pizzas when they get shunted about.

Actually, I would go with flatbread + toppings fired at the house where the party is and stored in the banquet box, NOT pizzas cooked offsite and delivered. Not at that quantity for love or money. Nope.

Do you have any cheffy friends or family willing to mass produce flatbreads w/ toppings for 200 people during your party? Or maybe hire some kids from a local culinary school for this part?

I know you'll do this, but please tip your staff or restaurant or friends. That's a lot of guests to feed and a lot of work. I totally think you can come in on budget, but please do be generous afterwards. Congratulations and good luck!!
posted by jbenben at 2:14 PM on April 24, 2015


I know you said you want this pizza from this restaurant, so this is not wholly answering the question, but is it possible for the restaurant to make cold sandwiches that mimic the ingredients of flavor profiles of the pizzas you love? This seems like a much less stressful way to have 200 people serve themselves, buffet-style, than wrangling the financial, physical and emotional logistics of that much pizza without professional servers or industrial facilities.

It might even be easier on people with dietary restrictions (especially if the condiments are self-serve and not included) and they could be cut into smaller sizes so people could sample all the flavors. Congratulations and have a great time!
posted by tyrantkitty at 2:38 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Honestly, a buffet for 200 people sounds like a nightmare; even if you call each table individually, people are going to be waiting a long time for food.

I would have a bowl of salad and breadsticks on every table, for sure. If possible have only two pizza options total (cheese and veg?) and have them delivered (on stands?) to each table as well. This will eliminate the running around and "will we run out" fears. After, someone can round up the leftover uneaten pizza and put it on a communal table for late night scavengers. People get hungry after dancing etc.
posted by Flamingo at 3:00 PM on April 24, 2015 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I definitely plan on getting in touch with the restaurant to see if they have any ideas or equipment I could use. The restaurant is only a few blocks, maybe half a mile or so, away from the reception site, so the transportation of the food would be relatively quick.

Flamingo -- Honestly, I don't think I've ever been to a wedding that didn't have a buffet! It's the norm where I live. We aren't going to have assigned seating, either. I've only been to one wedding in my life that had assigned seating and it was a nightmare -- everyone I talked to was so annoyed they couldn't mingle/sit by who they wanted to sit by and we felt trapped at our seats that were next to people we didn't know. Usually, receptions I've been to people are walking around, mingling, or sitting wherever, and then when the buffet opens up people slowly start going to get food, but usually not all in one big rush. (I realize this is not the norm in other parts of the country... it's really fascinating to me how vastly different people's perceptions can be of what is "normal" at a wedding!)
posted by pimmscup at 4:11 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Ooh, just occurred to me: if you do end up going with pizza (and I hope you do), I'd suggest asking for them to be square-cut. More pieces makes for guests being able to sample more varieties as well as not commit to a giant portion if they're also having pasta or whatnot. Easier to eat, too.
posted by jessicapierce at 4:28 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Please also consider food choices for the lactose intolerant. Pizza and pasta has lots of cheese.
posted by coldhotel at 7:47 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Pizza, pasta and salad sounds fine in general -- but if you do go with Caesar salad, or other salad with croutons, I would suggest putting the croutons on the side. That would help both the gluten-free folks (though I think you would also need to make sure the salad dressing was gluten-free) and those like me, who are low-carbing it. I would never dream of telling you this if I were a guest, but if there is a salad option, if you could make it genuinely low-carb/gluten-free, I think you might please more guests than you realize.
posted by peacheater at 8:57 AM on April 25, 2015


Response by poster: To those concerned about guests with dietary restrictions: I plan on putting a spot on my RSVP card for anyone with dietary restrictions and will, of course, accommodate them in whatever way possible (whether that be a gluten free pizza crust, a pan of an entree without cheese, etc.) I honestly don't think I know anyone who has celiac; of course there might be a few but I don't anticipate it being something we need to accommodate on a large scale. Thank you for the reminders though!
posted by pimmscup at 11:07 AM on April 25, 2015


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