There’s so much to love about weddings. The love in the air, the ambiance of the venue and decor, the looks, dancing, and of course the food. However, when you’re throwing your own wedding, the expenses can quickly pile up as you plan for every detail of your big day.

No matter the size of the guest list, food can be one of the most expensive aspects of a wedding. That’s why today, I’m sharing a round-up of inexpensive food ideas that are great for weddings, especially when you want to save money and be cost effective without it coming across like a cheap wedding.

10 Inexpensive Wedding Meal Ideas

Barbeque

I know someone who was able to feed 150 guests at her wedding for under $500 by offering barbeque. There was pulled pork, pasta salad, beans, and potatoes. Everyone loved it. The sky's the limit. You can do bbq chicken or the pulled pork in a crockpot or if you’re having a summer wedding, you can do barbeque grilled hamburgers and hotdogs if you’re looking for food ideas on a budget.

Taco Bar

What I like about taco bars is the fact that guests can build their own, the amount of flavor, and it’s a guilt free menu option because guests can add as much or as few veggies as they’d like. Tacos are great because guests can get a lot of variety for very little - like you can go with classic beef, chicken, or even fish tacos. There’s also a lot of variety that can happen with the shells, whether guests want to go soft, crunchy, chips, or gluten-free. You can feed 100 people for $800, which breaks down to just $8 per person.

Dessert and Coffee

Depending on the time of day, like if your big day falls in the early afternoon before dinner time, you could get away with simply offering coffee and a dessert bar at your wedding. Imagine your wedding cake coupled with an assortment of other baked goods like pies, cookies, or cupcakes. You can have a full spread of desserts and coffee to feed a large number of guests for well under $300 (or much lower depending on where you get your baked goods from for your big day).

Pasta Bar

When it comes to affordable wedding meal ideas, pasta is one of those dishes that can be bought for cheap and could feed many. If you have a pasta food stations, you can go so many different directions like cold pasta or hot. Just offer a variety of meats, sauces, vegetables, cheeses, and pasta noodles and you’ve got yourself a way to feed 100 people for about $300 give or take.

Pizza

You can feed a lot of people on a budget by offering pizza… buffet style! Think of classic favorites, vegetarian options, and dessert pizza for a fun, cost effective twist. Finger foods like pizza are great for weddings because it helps guests feel full and, and it’s something they can grab and go and eat while on the dance floor.

Soup

Soup is another cost effective wedding reception food idea you can try. In fact, in some cultures soup is a customary wedding food menu item like the Italian Wedding Soup for example. With soup, you can make a large batch to feed many. This is a perfect option for weddings in cooler winter months or even if you’re looking for fall wedding ideas on a budget. You can offer a vegan or vegetarian-friendly option as well as heartier options like chili or the Italian wedding soup.

Go Vegetarian or Vegan

Protein can be one of the more expensive single items on the grocery lists. For this reason, going vegetarian or vegan is another creative way of cutting back on costs. But that doesn’t mean your wedding food has to be overly healthy or boring. Vegetarian just means no meat. Vegan means no animal products (to include milk and eggs for example). Think veggie spring rolls, vegetarian lasagna, mushroom ravioli, creamy risotto, etc. Just think of whatever vegetarian favorites will make your guests taste buds rejoice. The options are out there!

Brunch

Sometimes changing the time of day (or wedding menu theme) can help open your world up to more cost effective options like serving brunch at the reception. Brunch is a very cost effective options whether you DIY, start from frozen items, or have it catered. Think waffles, chicken tenders, cheesecake, and quiche, and for the alcohol make mimosas and sangrias. With this menu, you can totally feed a large crowd for under $500 (maybe even less depending on how much you DIY and how many guests). Start by writing out your brunch menu and making a grocery list from there.

Potluck

Tacky or brilliant? You get to decide. A potluck wedding reception is probably the most budget friendly option on our list. This option works great if the guest list is an intimate group of very close friends and family. This can make it fun and allow the best cooks in the family to share the meals you love from them the most. Just be sure to mention that you’d like everyone (or certain people) to bring a meal instead of a gift.

Food Truck

Look around and you may be able to score a food truck rental that could work for your wedding day. Many start at around $500 per event, but there are some that could be more or less depending on the number of guests being served.

How To Have An Inexpensive Wedding Reception

If you want to have an affordable wedding, then here are a few best practices you’ll want to consider.

The guest list - cut down on the size of your wedding includes keeping your wedding party and guest list on the smaller side

The venue - having the wedding reception and ceremony in the same place
Time of wedding - dinner time is usually the most expensive, so moving your wedding to earlier in the day can help you cut back on costs.
Day of the wedding - booking a wedding on a weekday can help you save money and make your wedding day budget friendly.
DIY - whether it’s the food, the decor, or

Did we miss anything that you’ve tried? Don’t keep it a secret. Share what other budget friendly tips you’ve tried. Maybe it can help another bride save money.