Expert: Teri Davis Newman - 9/8/2008

Question
I am going to attempt to do a do it yourself reception.  We are planning on
doing a lasagna dinner.  I have no clue how much of everything we would
need.  How far in advance should I make this?  Do I freeze it or just put it in
the fridge? We want to do salad and some type of bread with it.  How much of
each of these will we need?  Also salad dressing. We will be using the 13x18
dishes with the little warmers underneath to keep it warm.  I'm assuming we
will need about 8 - 13x18 sized dishes to serve that many people but wasn't
sure.  How much ingred. of each item will we need?  What much pop, iced tea,
lemonade, water, etc should we have?  We are just planning on doing 2 liters.  
Also, in addition to this we think we should have something little for them
while we take pictures.  What would you recommend and in what quanities?  
Our wedding...we just moved up to Dec 20th of this year so we are now
pushing time.  I want to thank you in advance for any help advice you have to
offer!!!  Thanks!!! Chrissy

Answer
Here's the rule of catering as to how much you will need per person:
7 ounces of cooked meat entree
4 ounces of each side dish up to 3
3 ounces of salad greens
1 4 ounce dessert serving
6-8 appetizer bites per person
16 oz of non-alcoholic beverage
2 oz of chips per person
1 oz of dip per person
Multiply the ounces times the number of guests and then divide by 16 to give you pounds of food and the beverage by 128 to give you the number of gallons of beverage you will need.
Let me know if you need more help.