Punch and Cake Reception For About $100
Here in the South, receptions and showers often feature a simple menu of punch and cake. While this may not be socially acceptable in some parts of the country, count yourself lucky if it is!
I helped a friend host such a reception for 100+ people. Here's how the budget worked out, in real numbers:
- 3 Costco sheet cakes for $51, with 48 servings per cake
- 6 gallons punch for $12 with orange juice, ginger ale, limes/lemons
- fruit tray for $13: 10 lbs. small strawberries $10 and 3 canteloupes for $3
- 80 cupcakes for children for $8: 3 boxes mix + homemade icing
- 200 fancy napkins $2 on clearance at cake shop
- 200 dessert plates $4 at restaurant supply
- 130 punch cups $9 at restaurant supply (not including 3rd unopened pack in reserve)
- 150 forks $3 at Big Lots
- Coffee provided by church (you can buy 5 lbs fresh ground for $9 at Costco)
- Pitchers of ice water (free)
TOTAL= $102 for refreshments, give or take a little. Lower this figure with real plates and glasses.
We concentrated all the decorating on one large table in the center of a historic hall. For a centerpiece, we combined garden clippings with a $4 bundle of yellow roses from Aldi, the discount grocer. The $1 vase required one brick of wet floral foam from Dollar General.
The banquet table was covered with a yellow floor-length cloth from a thrift store. We topped it with white lace from Family Dollar, a discount chain. Its 102-inch cloth costs $5, the cheapest available for long tables.
We added shine with silver serving pieces, garnished with lemon balm and citrus fruit. If you can't borrow from friends, a 3-gallon silver punch bowl and tray can be rented for about $15. We elevated the fancy sheet cake for show, while cutting the other 2 cakes in the kitchen. In order to keep the table pretty, we served the pre-plated cake slices before cutting the main cake.
Such a simple reception won't work for everyone. A cheese ball or finger sandwiches would have improved this menu greatly, but were not possible in this situation. However, if you are short on time, talent or money, this cost breakdown might encourage you. A simple, frugal reception can be done!
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13 Responses to “Punch and Cake Reception For About $100”
April 12th, 2010 at 7:31 am
That is awesome!
April 12th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Amazing! I wish you lived close so you could help with my daughter’s graduation reception.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:58 am
It sounds lovely!
April 12th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Wonderful! I kind of miss the simplicity of cake-and-punch receptions around here. Everyone is trying to go fancier and fancier, which bugs me. I’m very impressed with how many people you fed on with so little money!
Oh, and pictures! Thank you for that. I’d wondered why no one ever includes pictures with their posts here…
April 12th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Wow, I haven’t seen strawberries for anywhere near $1.00 a pound near me, nor canteloupes for $1.00 each! Great job!
April 13th, 2010 at 8:37 am
This sounded lovely. I love to help with weddings and punch and cake can really be elegant.
The flowers, too, look beautiful. I did the same thing for my bridal bouquet – I bought roses and my gifted aunt took cuttings from her house plants (it was December!) to fill in. I still have the ivy that my grandmother planted for me from those cuttings. That was a precious gift, by the way, and much simpler I think than trying to root the roses. And ivy means fiedelity – appropriate for a wedding:)
Oh I just love weddings!
April 13th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
We lucked out with Aldi produce this week, although both Harris-Teeter and Publix offered 1 lb. strawberries 4/$5, too. I think it must be the first Florida harvest.
Strawberries are so quick for a fruit tray because, if you leave the stems on, there is no cutting involved.
April 13th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I live in Western PA and I have never seen a cake and punch reception. The cookie tables alone would cost more than that. Sounds very nice though.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
The flowers were lovely and I think a cake and punch reception can be elegant in its simplicity if beautifully presented and the cake exceptionally good and generous. I am just wondering how on earth you managed to serve over 100 people with only 3 canteloupes and 10 pounds of berries. Were they for garnish only and you put them with the cake when you plated it or was the fruit on a tray and you hoped everyone took a very small portion?
April 14th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Thanks for the recap, Meredith.
I miss the simple receptions I grew up with, nothing like that here in Northern Virginia. It everything in excess.
April 14th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
I love that bouquet. I really admire your sensibilities.
Here in the North, no one does cake and punch receptions – too bad. It’s so elegantly simple.
I also admire your breakdown of costs and suggestions for innovations. Thanks for such a practical post (well, I don’t have any receptions to plan, but you know, thanks).
April 15th, 2010 at 8:33 am
She had fruit left over at the end, so it must have been sufficient. I used a large rectangular silver tea tray and the fruit was literally heaped to overflowing on it. Guests could serve themselves however much they wished, in addition to the cake or in lieu of it.
One thing that helped was that the strawberries were small–ie, one pound yielded at least 20 berries, as opposed to the giant berries you get from california.
The catering book suggests as a general rule that for every 100 guests you prepare 300 finger sandwiches or 300 pieces of fruit.
April 17th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Wonderful break down, and don’t forget that if you where only going to present one cake for view then you could bake and frost the precut cakes yourself as well, cutting down the costs even further.
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