7 Cheap Alternatives To A Wedding Breakfast

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Wedding food is one of the biggest and most expensive parts of any wedding day. Here are some cheap alternative wedding breakfast ideas that should save you some cash.

While a three-course Wedding Breakfast is generally considered the norm these days, many couples are now opting for cheaper alternatives – whether it’s to save money or to create a more informal atmosphere, choosing the food you really love is important.

It’s often only the bride and groom that will remember exactly what was served – so there’s no need to feel your guests will be missing out if you don’t provide them with a fancy three-course dinner as part of your wedding catering.

Here are some ideas for a wedding breakfast on a budget.

Cheap Alternatives To A Wedding Breakfast

Even if your chosen venue only offers a set menu it’s worth discussing with them whether something else could be created with you and your budget in mind.

For example, switching roast beef to chicken could be more cost-effective. As could serving soup as a starter instead of a prawn cocktail.

Remember you are the paying customer and they should be trying to accommodate some of your needs. They may not be able to do everything you want, but at the same time, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

1. Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea is one of the best perfect cheap alternatives to a Wedding breakfast. It’s classy and elegant and with some vintage crockery, looks beautiful too.

And who doesn’t love cake?

It is also often substantially cheaper than forking out for a three-course meal as it costs much less to provide and as there’s no hot food, it’s easier for venues to cater.

Plus guests don’t need to fill out individual menus to choose what they eat – much less stress for the bride and groom.

It also offers a lot of choice for guests – most people should be able to find things they like to eat.

Afternoon tea can also be placed on tables before guests enter the dining room meaning there’s no waiting for everyone to be served and then plates to be cleared for each course.

This would be my top choice for wedding catering and is exactly what we did at our wedding.

2. Wedding Breakfast On A Budget: Hire A Food Van

Having street food vans as your wedding caterer is a trend that is becoming more and more popular.

It can offer something different and fun, especially if the bride and groom love a particular type of cuisine. However, as many cook to order it can take a little bit of time to get everyone fed – even if they are given numbers and food choices upfront.

Fresh fish and chips served from a van could be perfect for a seaside Wedding Breakfast, for example.

The biggest issue I’ve seen people have with the food van option is where Pizza is being served as they are individually made, topped and cooked taking up 6-7 minutes per person. This would be a much better option for evening food when people are more relaxed about getting something to eat and won’t be so touchy about having to wait.

There are also companies that provide huge pans of one or two foods – such as Curry or Paella. Guests would still need to queue but the food is already hot and waiting for them rather than needing to be cooked.

Related Post – 5 simple ways to save on your wedding

3. Plan A Picnic Or A Ploughman’s Lunch

Both a Picnic or Simple Ploughman’s lunch offer something a bit more substantial than Afternoon Tea but still have a lovely rustic vibe for wedding catering. Both could be served in Picnic Baskets which would give a lovely quaint feel. This is also a great option if you plan to do the food yourself as it can be made beforehand and with no hot food it means everyone gets to eat at the same time.

4. Serve the wedding Cake As Dessert

Wedding cakes are such a huge expense that many couples are now choosing to serve them as dessert – and why not?

When you’ve spent hundreds of pounds on it, serving instead of dessert means that it could save you money as you’re not paying out for an extra course on the wedding breakfast.

Plus guests are likely to eat more of it if they’ve not already had something sweet earlier on in the day.

5. Have A Cheese Wheel Wedding Cake As The Evening Food

Many couples are eschewing a traditional wedding cake in favour of an actual cheese and honestly, it could well work out much cheaper than a normal cake anyway.

The idea is then to serve this instead of food in the evening, just adding a selection of crackers, breads and chutneys.

While not every venue will let you do this, some might, so it’s worth asking if it’s something that appeals to you.

It’s also a really easy and cheap way to provide evening food if you’re doing wedding catering yourselves.

5 Reasons To Have A Cheese Wedding Cake

6. Cut Back On The Number Of Courses and Menu Choices

Wedding venues are there to make money and will always show you their more expensive menus and dishes when looking at food. Don’t be afraid to ask if they have cheaper wedding catering options, if you can leave off the canapes or cut the wedding breakfast down by a course or two, depending on what they are offering.

7. Try an American Style ‘Pot Luck’

Potluck is popular in America and is where everyone brings one dish or pot of food to an event to be enjoyed by everyone.

If you’re hosting your super-budget DIY wedding and don’t want to spend loads on catering this could be a perfect alternative and guests could be asked to provide items for the Wedding Breakfast instead of gifts.

While I don’t think it’s fair to dictate exactly what people should bring, I think some guidance is probably wise – such as ‘meat’, ‘vegetarian’ ‘potato dish’ etc so you don’t end up with 30 bowls of the same thing!

If you do decide to go down this route, here is some Pot Luck advice from Chef Jamie Oliver

Every couple and every wedding is different and if having a fancy 5-course wedding breakfast is what you want and within your budget then you should go for it.

ut if you want something simpler and maybe a bit cheaper, I hope this post has given you plenty of ideas of what could be possible when it comes to a wedding breakfast on a budget.

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Why we chose to have an independent wedding celebrant 

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