Expert: Teri Davis Newman - 8/6/2009

Question
I am planning a wedding reception for 175 people and have the following menu, but not sure how to plan the amount of food I will need to prepare,  Can you please advise.

ALLY’S RECEPTION MENU

WEDDING CAKE

4 tiers (8, 10, 12, 14), three 2” layers in each tier, pound cake, chocolate cake, Italian cream cake layers covered in butter cream icing and fondant, decorated with snowflakes and lights,

PUNCH

Two punch bowls, one with Champagne Mimosa Punch and the other with non-alcoholic fruit punch.

BEER

Canned beer

SWEETS

Mexican Wedding Cookies, Chocolate Latte Brownies

MEATS

Beef Tenderloin, Smoked ham, thinly sliced, with mini-croissants, horseradish, honey mustard, mayonnaise sauce; chicken salad in puff pastry shells and Meatballs in barbeque molasses sauce,

SEAFOOD

Shrimp Louisiana (marinated shrimp with onions, bay leaves, Old Bay seasoning, vinegar & oil) served in blue glow martini glasses on glass shelves,

VEGETABLE & CHEESE DISPLAY

Cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, celery, green peppers, red peppers,  grape tomatoes, decorated with mushroom flowers,  turnip & carrot flowers, and radish roses; cheddar, swiss, colby and monterey jack cheeses, cubed and sliced, with onion and ranch dip,  with a brie cheese round wrapped in pastry with walnut honey topping,  Served in 3 tier, 5 station tray display covered with navy cloth.

FRUIT DISPLAY

Pineapple (whole & cubed), strawberries, cherries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, cherries, with cream cheese fruit dip, served in 3 tier, 5 station tray display covered with navy cloth.

DIPS

Shrimp dip, Hot Virginia Dip, and Rotel Mexican cheese dip, served with assorted crackers, bread sticks and taco chips.

OTHER

Watermelon pickles wrapped in bacon, Water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. And scallops wrapped in bacon.  

Answer
You've lost your mind in wedding fever and you are about to spend a ton of money for things you don't need!!!  You are taking about THREE ENTREES and have NO IDEA who will be eating what--this is why at wedding receptions they have a "chicken or beef" card in the RSVP.
Ditto for the salads--you are doing wayyyyyy too much food. You need to cut back on your menu items in a HUGE way because if you don't, you are going to have tons of leftovers and waste and the caterers are going to clip you for 10 grand for food they will THROW AWAY OR RESELL.  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.