Eat My Wedding

Happy February!

Sorry for the two week hiatus, if you follow me on twitter you know I’ve been away on my delayed honeymoon. My husband and I decided to go to the fabulous paradise of  Belize.

I just wanted to share some amazing food we had the pleasure of sampling while on our Honeymoon!

Ceviche, ceviche, ceviche! One of my all time favorite foods, is ceviche and we had ceviche galour! You name it, we tried it – even Octopus ceviche. However, our favorite was an Ecuadorian style ceviche made with grouper, cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro and pickled red onions at Wild Mango’s.

I started thinking about it, and voila! What a great station idea for a wedding! Serving a variety of different ceviche’s station style during either the reception or cocktail hour.

We also indulged in traditional, local fare such as salbutes, papusas and panades.  Salbutes are tortilla masa, often with flour added, formed into a small, fairly thick tortilla, fried until crisp and light, then topped with shredded meat and vegetables. A specialty of the Yucatan

Pupusa’s are a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: queso, cooked pork meat, and refried beans.

A South American panade is a corn tortilla filled with fish, beans or pork, folded and fried. Our favorite variation was Plantain Panades with refried black beans and jalapeno crema, Yum!

Fry jacks are a staple in Belize cuisine. Usually served as a breakfast item, fry jacks are deep-fried pieces of dough, often accompanied by beans and eggs, or jam and honey.

via Travelious

Stewed Chicken with Coconut Rice and Beans

Smoked, Pulled Pork

Smoked and Grilled Chicken Wings

Pulled Pork Taquitos

Stuffed Jalapenos

Freshly caught red snapper flambeed in tequila and served with tropical salsa

Delicious Desserts we had the pleasure of devouring!

Banana Chimichanga

Tropical Carrot Cake

Apple Empanadas

Caye Lime Pie

Just a few of the amazing drinks consumed pool/beachside:

Belikin Beer - Belikin is the leading domestically produced beer brand in Belize.

Caipirinha’s

 How Much to Budget for Catering for Your Wedding

Congratulations! You just got engaged, you and your fiancee are absolutely glowing and excited to dive right in into wedding planning!

One of the first things couples start with (or should start with) after they get engaged is their overall wedding budget. This helps guide couples through which venues, vendors and decor elements will fit into that budget. A large part of the wedding budget that you and your fiancee come up with is your catering budget, about 40 – 50% of your overall budget.

Knot Note: The average cost for a 150-person wedding is about $27,000 (higher in urban areas).

From Cost of Wedding: On average, couples that live in the Washington, DC area spend between $23,838 and $39,730 total for their wedding.

The totals above are based on the average number of guests estimated between 159 and 173. This means a single guest could add between $172 and $211 to the overall cost of your wedding.

That is a huge amount! 50% of 40,000 is $20,00o! Breathe, I’ll help break down that cost so you can see where and what that amount is going towards.

Included in that cost, most catering companies provide other services besides just food, for example: bartenders, chef’s, waitstaff, linens, rental equipment (china, flatware, glasses, etc), kitchen staff, kitchen equipment, soft beverages, coffee, ice, and delivery fees. Phew, that’s a lot!! Don’t you feel better now?

However, these costs are completely contingent on the type of set up, venue and dinner service you are having. I’ve gone over the cost comparisons before, in a previous article, but to quickly sum up again, plated is your cheapest option, followed by buffet, then stations, then family style. Yes, yes, plated is less expensive, I know, I’ve just rocked your world. See my explanation why here.

These costs, again, are contingent on the type of food you pick, the linens you select, the china pattern you fall in love with, flatware,  glassware, etc. For example Filet is more expensive than Short Ribs and Halibut is more expensive than Trout. Also, I should preface that the pricing I’m quoting is for the Washington, DC metro area, if you are not in this area, good news your catering quote may be less!

To help break down that $20,000 dollars, here is a rough estimate:

Food – 26%

Service – 26%

Equipment -24 %

Linens – 7 %

Alcohol – 13%

Soft Beverages and Ice – 3%

Delivery – 1 %

 Here is a good cost estimate on what you can expect to spend per person for everything (food, linens, staff, etc):

Plated Dinner – $75 – $150 per person

Buffet Dinner – $85 – $160

Stations – $100 – $175

Family Style – $110 – $190

Also, don’t forget to include Sales Tax in your configurations!! Here’s a great site to find out how much tax to expect to spend state by state: http://thestc.com/STrates.stm

Hopefully this will help you and your fiancee come up with a comprehensive wedding budget to have the wedding of your dreams! And remember, don’t panic! There are so many great tools out there to help figure out how to budget your expenses, and if you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll already have some great ideas on where to save some money.

Brooke Schwab Photography

Happy 2012 Everyone!

What are your New Years Resolutions? Mine? To post on my oh so fabulous blog more.

Stay tuned later this week or my first post in an ongoing series all about a catering countdown to your wedding! From initial budget to last minute tips on how to save some money on your menu!

Until then… Bon Appetit!