We met with a caterer yesterday, and got a quote from another earlier in the week. I knew wedding catering was expensive, but this.. was insane. To us, at least. Eamon's family has offered to pay for the catering, but we just can't make ourselves feel right about them spending 6-10k on food for one day. We have these two kids, and that is just a *lot* of money when thought about in terms of what it could be doing for them long term.

So, we have some ideas. We may in the end decide that going with a caterer and paying that insane sum is worth it, for whatever reason. But please, tell us your opinions and advice about these ideas! Pretty please!

1) We do hire the caterer, for station service. It is lovely, everything is taken care of for us, we don't have to worry about anything.

2) We have things like burritos from Moe's, Sushi from either the co op or Whole Foods, fresh fruits, and dips. We hire a couple of people to help with serving drinks and things, a bartender, and clean up. We buy a couple of kegs from local breweries, and some wine from a local vineyard.

2a) We use compostable disposables to eat with and on. Or we rent reuseable things. (issue being, with one no clean up and it's pretty green, the other is more green but we hire people to help clean the dishes after, and there is no kitchen on site)

3) We have a pot luck. We ask our local peeps to please bring a vegan dish, anything they want that is vegan, enough for 10-15 people. We lay it all out, and just have the pot luck. We still hire a bartender, and still buy the beer and the wine. We don't need servers for this option.

Other things I want your opinion on :

- If we do not hire a caterer, we will have to rent equipment like warming ovens, and get things full of ice to put trays on. How much of a hassle would this be, and how much less will it be money wise.

- What about not having any centerpieces, and instead having like, a pile of burritos, sushi, fruit, and dips in the middle of every table instead. We would have servers just to refill those platters of food and drinks.

- What do you think of having a couple of kid's tables, where kids are welcome to be but don't have to be, and parents are welcome to sit with them or not. Our sitters would sit there too, to help keep things in check. There would be crafts, toys, etc for the kids to do.

- Do you have any other ideas, tips, suggestions, things we should consider? We'd love to hear any of them.

Thanks!