Did anyone order food from a favorite restaurant instead of going with a wedding caterer?

How did that turn out? Did they provide servers or did you have to hire your own?



If you had a cocktail hour before dinner, how did that work for you?Did anyone order food from a favorite restaurant instead of going with a wedding caterer?
The food almost always has tasted better than food from a caterer! One restaurant provided servers, a couple didn't, and then one of them had servers for hire. I'm sure you can work out something with the restaurant you're thinking of.
I didn't for mine but my cousin did from her's. She asked a local Italian restaurant to cater. Nearly all have Family Packages that include 2 family size entrees, salads, and breadsticks, sometimes soup, that is something like Serves 40. She ordered 2 family and got 3 different entrees--2 lasagne, 1 vegetarian pasta, and 1 white sauce pasta. We had it arranged like a buffet.



The place that she rented the silverware, glasses, etc provided some serving dishes. Since we had it set up like a buffet, there was no servers required but the staff at the reception hall was incredibly helpful with stuff like that and setting things up.



If you are doing a cocktail hour I would hire a bartender if you are having an open bar. Otherwise it's difficult. My caterer provided one person just to work the bar even though I provided all the beverages.Did anyone order food from a favorite restaurant instead of going with a wedding caterer?
Q #1)Yes and everyone loved it! I had a small low-key garden wedding. I lived in a suburb of Memphis TN. Naturally we ordered BBQ as Memphis is famous for BBQ and Graceland. Everyone loved it. It ended up costing about $3.50 a person. They sent us packages of buns, the meat in pans, the beans in pans, sauce in big containers and slaw also. 2 of my mom's friends served and then stayed and ate with us. I gave them each $50! It worked great. Since we just wanted it to be very casual and everyone knew that that was the environment we were going for, no one was really surprised. It was kind of like outdoor simple chic wedding meets family reunion! Exactly what I was going for!
I went to a wedding last summer that ordered their food from a local restaurant (not a big chain). The food was great - fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, etc. They brought the food and set them up in trays over heating lamps. No one served - it was buffet style.
What I'm doing is picking up food from a favorite restaurant then taking it to the reception. I am hiring waitresses from a restaurant and they'll give me a flat rate. It's all a ton cheaper then doing a caterer and servers.