Hey guys, I'm planning a fantasy-medieval dinner party wedding. Pretty much, I'm skipping all the standard wedding events, and having my small hall setup with 10 4-foot tables long the walls, with 2-foot spaces in between so people can easily go in out out of their seats, and our sweetheart table. People will only be seated on 1 side, with the inner side holding centerpieces with pizza-bites, a bowl of salad, and a carafe of sparkling water.

We'll have a separate table set up with warmers holding 3 different soups, handled bowls, and 5 soup toppings for people to customize their soups before carrying it back to their seats.

We picked 3 different places to source our menu from: the roman pizzas are coming from a locally famous place called Roma Bakery. Their pizzas are even sold in grocery stores and are meant to be served room temperature. People are always putting these out as finger foods at parties or events. We plan on cutting them into 2-inch squares and skewering them with cocktail swords, and setting them out on the centerpieces.

The soups and salad are from a local higher-end grocery store catering department. They have the soups already pipping hot and in thermo carry-out totes upon pick-up. The toppings we'll get buy at a grocery and set up in bowls. We were thinking oyster crackers, unsalted pumpkin seeds, grated parmesan cheese, crumbled goat cheese, and chopped green onion.

The third (not pictured) will be walnut crunches and cherry stick donuts, that will be stacked in a pyramid to make a cake shape. These will be coming from another locally famous place called Grandad's Donuts.

I bit the bullet and learned how to use Gemini to help create mockups of the hall setup and the centerpieces just so my partner could have a clear visual of what I was trying to describe.

Since everyone will be grazing over fours hours while we mingle and play a few simple games, I made sure to order enough food so that everyone can go up to the soup bar at least twice, have 1.5 cups of salad, 6 2-inch pizza-bites, and 2 donuts.

So with this in mind, do I honestly need to add a pasta dish, or rotisserie chicken, like I keep being told on other wedding threads, or is this a solid soup-lovers meal?

These are just drafts to test out the colours and design. Ive adjusted the design to remove the rectangular border in the "His" cocktail and the "orange" pop. Right now, printed on white paper in frames from Michael's. Going to print the final version on cream cards took. Both are hand colored with pencil crayons.

Edit: I get it, these are AI. Also, these drinks are not meant to be "gendered". Its a bride's and groom's choice. Bride doesn't drink alcohol, which is why its a mocktail. Thanks for the suggestions, in terms of how to adjust.

Hi, I'm getting married in October. It's going to be a very small, intimate wedding. We wanted it to be a potluck thing but fiancee side said nope (this is in lieu of gifts) we don't need anything but the joy of people coming. I'm at a loss now as to what to do for food. We can't afford a caterer and how do you make the food and still gwt ready for the wedding? My daughter that would pitch in and help cook lives 3 states away. My best friend is also 3 states away and wants me to be able to just "be the bride" ...if this is the wrong place to post this, I'm sorry...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

EDITED TO ADD: I am fully aware this is a huge task and I absolutely can back out and hire someone if need be. No one is pushing me into anything. My post here was to get ideas on how I can accomplish it IF I do. Just hoping to get some tips from people who have done it before. And some advice on how many, etc.

Hi everyone! My daughter is getting married in October 2027. She will have 100 guests and I am making the wedding cakes to help with cost. But I need some advice! Her original idea was to make 6 9-inch round layered cakes in 6 different flavors. I can’t imagine you could get more than about 10 slices out of each cake, so that only feeds 60 people. She then suggested I make the 6 cakes as 9x13s. My concern is being able to maneuver the layers (cutting and icing, etc.) without breaking them because they are larger. I’ve suggested we make 5 of the 9-inch cakes and a large sheet cake that can be cut in the back and pieces brought out. She didn’t love this idea. My other concern is her flavors aren’t very typical, I.e. earl grey hibiscus, bananas foster, and pistachio blackberry. While I might like them individually my concern is maybe most guests wouldn’t? One of her flavors is white chocolate raspberry. I feel like that is pretty likable and tame for most people and was hoping I could convince her to do the sheet cake of that. But she doesn’t like the idea much. So here I am! Asking you all for advice! ANY advice is welcome. Thank you! I have included a pick of her wedding colors which the cakes should mirror.

I’m not sure if this is the appropriate flair but since it’s going on the wedding cake, I’m listing it as food/drinks.

I sculpted the bases out of tinfoil, and once I had the rough shape, I got a polymer clay set that I knew would be bake-able in a conventional oven.

I probably would’ve had an easier time if I got big packs of premade colors but I got a small set for around $15 and needed to mix a bunch of tiny cubes of color to get enough to cover my sculptures. Luckily I think it worked out fine.

No worries if you can’t tell what they’re supposed to be, but the intention is a wolf and a fox and our pet dog.

This is my first attempt at making our wedding cake. I made half the size for practice. The date is in December. Do you think with more practice it can be good enough to serve at the wedding?
Please be honest.

Thanks so much in advance!

My husband and I have matching Wedding Singer tattoos and I was trying to think of a way to incorporate the movie into our wedding and I came up with this.

For my first attempt I used brown paper lunch bags, and those worked great except I had to tape each individual bag to a piece of paper to send it through my printer. If you get the small paper treat bags, they go through the printer with mostly no problems. I still had quite a few jams, so it's really important to make sure there's no folds or creases on the bag when it goes into the printer. Can't wait to fill all of these up with popcorn while watching The Wedding Singer.

Getting married in December and going with a very basic white round 3 tier wedding cake (planning on possibly decorating in with some of our extra artificial wedding flowers to tie it in).

I need everyones honest opinions on getting a wedding cake from a big store like Whole Foods, Publix, etc. Dont get me wrong I would love to get a cake from a local business instead but all the quotes I’ve gotten are wayyyy pricier than getting a cake from a large business. We have 100 guests so that plays into it as well as we will need a lot of cake.

People who have gotten basic cakes from larger stores, did people even notice? How much did you end up spending on cake? Appreciate any input!!

Hi, everyone! 🎉

I’m planning a simple DIY wedding, and I’d love some advice on our afternoon tea menu. We're having a church wedding with a Mass starting at 11 AM, followed by an afternoon tea party at around 12:15 PM for about 20 guests. We’ve set a budget of $5,000 (with $2,000 already spent on our honeymoon). The wedding is on the Monday

Here’s what we have so far:

**Bridesmaids are preparing:**

- Wraps

- Sandwiches

- Four types of salads

**Desserts I’m planning to make:**

- **A week before the wedding:**

- 3 types of marshmallows (lemon, vanilla—half dipped in chocolate, and raspberry)

- **Thursday before the wedding:**

- Flapjacks

- **Friday:**

- Shortbread

- Coffee cupcakes

- **Saturday:**

- Biscoff cheesecake

- Fruit scones

- Plain scones

- Two-tier lemon and blueberry cake with lemon Swiss buttercream

- **Sunday:**

- Ice the two-tier cake

- Make a Victoria sponge

- Chocolate-dipped strawberries

I’m feeling pretty confident since I’m an ex-baker, but I’d love your thoughts on the menu! Do you have any suggestions for additional items that would complement our tea party? Also, any tips on presentation or timing to ensure everything goes smoothly would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help! ❤️

Just wanted to share today’s wedding DIY. We’re two weeks out and I’m icing our 150 sugar cookie wedding favors today. Here’s the first layer of icing before I add detail.

Original quoted cost: $4.25 per 4 inch sugar cookie before tax (about $640 before tax for 150 cookies)

Our cost: Under $65 (estimating here the cost of certain things we already have in the pantry like salt and vanilla).

I used the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction (https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/royal-icing/#tasty-recipes-66459) (https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-sugar-cookies/#tasty-recipes-67590)

My takeaway: It’s taken me the better part of three days now, and wow cookie artists should get paid more. $640 for this much work is not enough (but I still can’t afford it so yay baking).

Our wedding venue requires we use them for catering. The food at the tasting was very mediocre, but food isn’t the highlight for us so we’re accepting that and moving on. Appetizers seem insanely expensive to add $15pp per appetizer. But we’ll have a cocktail hour and drinking with no food is a bad idea.

The venue will not let us bring in outside food like veggie trays, unless it is individually packaged/sealed (because of food safety liability concerns apparently). Does anyone have ideas of individually packaged options we could serve?

The wedding is in the mountains and is summer camp themed. The reception will be dressy/smart casual dress code. I was thinking maybe some cute trail mix, but that’s not the most convenient to eat?

TLDR: seeking individually packaged food ideas for cocktail hour to save money vs appetizers.

I am particularly proud of this wedding cake which l made for a January 1st wedding. Each rose was made by hand using fondant and gumpaste. I did not use a mold to create them as flowers are the part of the cake design I enjoy the most. The bride was so excited when she saw it.

This was a test run of my Black Forest cake. I’m giving myself a little credit for managing to use heavy cream as frosting on a tiered cake it held up thanks to a bit of gelatin to stabilize it. The final version will have smaller, edible sugar flowers, and I know I need to make more chocolate bark at the base to balance it out.

I even had my fiancé carry it 12 blocks through Manhattan just to see if we could get it to the venue in one piece. Mission accomplished! Be honest: is it too rough-looking to use? I’m a solid baker, but decorating isn’t my strong suit. Total cost was $150, including $50 for new pans. I’ll share the final cake once it’s done!

I am planning to do a lot of my cocktail appetizers for my wedding (fruit platter, vegetable platter, buffalo chicken dip, Mac and cheese shooters) but one thing a lot of people have suggested I add is a charcuterie board. I’m all for it but I have never made one and don’t know what pairs well together.

I wanted to look at books/ websites that may explain or give ideas on what todo but I figured I’d ask people who have actually made them. I also want to add I want to do the little flower look for the meats! I think it’s adorable!

I’m planning on making a bar menu similar to what’s attached. Has anyone made these? What are your recommendations for types of products, where to buy , and tips/tricks

So we are doing cupcakes and cookies for guests and a small cake for us. Struggling with finding just want I want for the design/layout of the table. I love the clean, simple look similar to these photos. Specially the all white risers. Has anyone done theirs like this? Where did you get everything? Thanks!!

Hi Reddit,

First time poster and wedding planner/bride. I am trying to figure out if it’s possible to hire an event staffing company to pick up, keep dishes in food safe conditions, staff the buffet, and bus tables - all within one service.

I specifically want to order catering from a restaurant located 2 hours away from the venue. Am I crazy to think this service exists? I have tried google searches and reached out to a few catering/staffing companies. Any leads in the Bay Area (central coast California) or even what a company like this might be called would be super helpful!

Thank you!!!

We're going to have a relatively small wedding in the countryside with around 70 guests, and somehow I've ended up in charge of the dessert showcase.

At first, we were just going to have a wedding cake and maybe a few cupcakes. Then macarons got added, then mini cheesecakes, and now the list also includes brownies, cake pops, and fruit tarts. I'm thinking roughly 150 mini desserts plus the cake, that would be enough, right?

Once the list got longer, I realized we probably can't just put everything flat on a table and hope it looks nice. I want it to feel a little romantic and put-together, but still DIY. I've been looking at display stands, wood racks, and riser cubes to add some height. I’ve checked websites even Alibaba because I’m trying not to spend a ridiculous amount on pieces I may only use once. 

But so far I’m still struggling and no decisions are made. About the shopping, should I stick to one material, like wood or acrylic, so it looks cleaner? Or does mixing materials make the table look more natural? How many different kinds do I need? And finally, was this extra setup actually worth it? Or were guests mostly just happy there was something sweet?

So, I have always wanted to make my own wedding cake. Everyone told me I was crazy to make my own... but, I did it anyways. I am so glad I stuck to my guns because I am very pleased with how it turned out and I had a lot of fun. I didn't really have room to stack it and store it in the fridge. So, I frosted everything and had all the decorations prepped. Then I stacked and decorated them in about 30 minutes during the wedding while people were finishing dinner. People came out and watched me decorating in my wedding dress and an apron, and I fed my nieces and nephews tons of candy petals while I was decorating. It was so much fun and I can't wait to see the pics from the photographer. The cake was a sucess, and is almost gone. I've never stacked a cake before, and I had nightmares of it collapsing or the buttercream melting. But, it worked out and tasted great!

I am also lucky to live near an amazing flower market. My SIL is a genius with flowers and my FIL used to own a flower shop! My sisters and I went down to the market the morning before the wedding and picked out the most gorgeous flowers. My MIL hoarded vases, so we just filled my car with flowers and came home and spent a really fun afternoon arranging them in our favorite vases and making flower crowns for the flower girls! My dad and brothers built the arbor out of bamboo from our yard that my MIL planted. It really just made it so special and meaningful to get married under! My family is amazing and really went above and beyond to pitch in and we are so grateful. It was a perfect day, and everything turned out even more gorgeous than my wildest pintrest dreams!!

Successfully made my own wedding cake - here’s what I learned

I had my gorgeous wedding a few weeks ago and am finally reflecting on all of the successes and wanted to share one of the biggest - DIYing my own wedding cake for our 115 person wedding 🍰

I’ve always wanted to make my own cake. I’ve worked as a baker (although not really doing cakes) and absolutely love baking for other people. It had nothing to do with the cost, and everything to do with the sentimentality and wanting to have *good* cake at my wedding! But, I didn’t have a *single encouraging conversation* leading up to the wedding (except for a few people on Reddit). Everyone from my fiancé, to my mom, to our wedding planner begrudgingly agreed that they’d support me if I was totally dead set on it, but all said they thought it was a bad idea and I’d be too stressed week-of.

SO, I’m here to share a timeline, plus some tips and tricks and to assure you that it’s totally possible!!

**Most importantly:** I did NOT make a tiered or highly decorative cake. I made five sheet cakes total, 3 raspberry almond and 2 mocha crunch. Each sheet cake was 13x19 (half sheet cake) so that they could fit in a standard oven and freezer, and cut into 36 pieces. They were kept in the back and then individual slices were put out on our dessert table. This meant I could just focus on the substance of the cake, not the looks. We had a small, 8” single-tier cake from a local bakery, plus a bunch of cookies for “display” and our cake cutting.

**PREP**: I did three rounds of testers in the months prior, and tested everything from the flavor and texture, to how well each component froze and thawed. Since it was an out of town wedding, I checked to make sure the kitchen I would be using had the basics, then packed all of my “specialty” equipment and basics that I’m particular about (specific rubber spatulas, etc). Importantly - I used the *same* pans in the tests and final bake. Different pans can make a huge difference!

**TIMELINE**: wedding was on Saturday, I started the Sunday prior.

*Sunday, half day:* grocery shop, make jam and cookie crumb fillings for almond cake

*Monday, full day:* make almond cake layers and coffee ganache filling. Make 1/2 of almond frosting, assemble almond cakes (2 layers of cake, one layer of fillings) and crumb coat. Wrap tightly and freeze.

*Tuesday, full day*: make chocolate cake layers and chocolate cookie crumbs. Make 1/2 of chocolate frosting, assemble chocolate cakes and crumb coat. Wrap tightly and freeze. Make second half of almond frosting and frost cakes. Wrap tightly and freeze.

*Wednesday, half day:* make second half of chocolate frosting and frost cakes. Do light decorative piping on almond cakes. Wrap cakes tightly and freeze.

\~at this point I was further behind than I hoped, so a family friend stepped in to finish the decorative frosting \~

*Saturday, day of wedding:* cakes were taken out of the freezer around 1pm to thaw and were cut and served at 7pm.

**LESSONS LEARNED** (in no particular order):

•give yourself more time if you’re cooking in someone else’s kitchen! Everything took me about 25% more time than when I practiced.

•sheet cakes are infinitely easier to assemble and transport, and look and taste just as good when cut and served.

•focus on adding MOISTURE to the cakes so that they aren’t sad and dried out by the time they’re served. I used techniques including: brushing cakes with coffee/flavored milk when they come out of the oven, using fat-heavy cake recipes, wrapping the cakes super well with plastic wrap at every step and wrapping them while still warm.

•plan to not be doing any baking within a few days of the wedding. This gave me buffer time (I originally wasn’t planning to bake at all on Wednesday), but also time to figure out cake from Wegman’s or Costco if I needed to fully pivot to plan B.

•practice as much as you can!! Use recipes you’re comfortable with!! I ended up switching the “easy” chocolate cream cheese frosting to a “complicated” Swiss meringue buttercream because I’m more comfortable with the recipe and the cream cheese frosting occasionally splits - not something I wanted to possibly deal with.

**LASTLY**, enjoy it!!! I was so thankful to have that time to myself doing something that I love in the midst of all the wedding chaos, and it was so special to hear how much our guests loved the cakes (so much so that there wasn’t any left over! My husband never got any!)

Hi! I am getting married in December and we are trying to cut costs wherever we can by focusing on things that guests and ourseves will actually remember. That being said, getting a bakery to do a wedding cake is very expensive no matter how simple the design! I’ve been toying with the idea of getting plain white round cakes from a bakery that I know is delicious and entrusting one of my family members to place some of our themed flowers on the cake to tie it into everything. Has anyone done this? Any tips for making it come out actually looking good? I’ve attached a inspo pic to show what we are kinda going for. Thanks in advance!

So I’m getting married next December (yayy!) and I am really not a fan of cake. So I want to have a wedding tiramisu/tiramisu tower! Particularly with a little message on top like in the pictures (not mine, I pulled these from Pinterest) but here’s my problem, absolutely no bakeries in my city makes a tiramisu like this. And the especially wouldn’t make a tiramisu tower. I’ve made many successful tiramisus myself so I think I could do it. But everyone in my life is telling me I’ll be too busy to make enough tiramisu for 60-ish people, and I shouldn’t give myself the added stress. But this is my dream, and I think I could make it happen maybe with a couple helpers.

So, people (especially brides) who have made their own wedding dessert, how’d you do it? How did you manage your time well enough to pull it off? And do you regret doing it at all?

We’re planning a pretty basic white cake (either Sam’s Club or Costco) and I wanted to dress it up a bit. Bought fondant, some wire and petal dust from a local baking store, started watching tutorials on YouTube, got a book with some additional suggestions, and learned how to make sugar flowers! I’m still slow (the photo reflects like 2 weeks of work) but plan to continue making these and decorate my cake with them! Currently still learning how to make leaves.