Expanded wedding guest list.. now i'm worried

This is a bit confusing, especially where you mention your husband having 400-500 people invited? I'm going to ignore that part.

If you have 150 guests attending your wedding and you ordered catering for 160 there is no need to order more. It sounds like you have more than enough desserts, and if that is reflective of the rest of the meal you will have ample food. If you do increase the amount of food, it should be expected that the caterer is going to increase the cost or potentially not be able to accommodate (depending on your contract, usually final guest count is required 30 days out).

I would take a deep breath, it sounds like everything should be fine.

View Quoted Comment Sorry for the confusion. We are having two separate ceremonies (cultural thing) his is HUGE with 500 people mine not so much (150)


Its common tradition in our culture to always give our guests the spare food, especially to close family members, that’s why i panicked. I understand if the caterer is gonna demand more but im scared she would double the price just because it’s last minute. If we maintain the same rate then fine by me.
I hope it makes sense?

Your post is confusing with the various contradictory counts and prices. If you want a specific guest count, then you have to be firm. No matter what you do in life, when you don’t set boundaries with consequences and you let people do what they want, then you are the ones who end up being hurt in the end. People take that as a sign that you don’t have boundaries and will toss anything your way knowing they’ll get a yes no matter what. As hosts, you set the budget and guest list and don’t go over that. Don’t get assistance from loans that you will be repaying years down the road. If you don’t have the firm budget and cash in hand now, you don’t have the money to work with so adding extra people is not an option.


Have invitations and save the dates gone out yet? If not, don’t send them. Revisit your guest list and budget and reel it in back to what you can realistically afford. If parents want to invite extra people you have no relationship with, they can host an event in their home at a completely separate time that doesn’t coincide with your wedding.
When you invite extra guests, you have to order extra food from the caterer. Along with rentals for tables and chairs, adding to your bar bill, and maybe finding a bigger venue which has its own consequences of paying for 2 venues instead of one because not all allow you to legally up and forfeit your contracted wedding date. Also, just because something is traditional (regardless of culture) doesn’t mean it is law because you can choose which traditions you keep that work for you and cut out the ones that don’t. Traditions change every day, while etiquette (navigating social situations to avoid unnecessary discomfort and offense) never changes as long humans continue to interact with each other. That applies to guest count as well. If anything over 150 (though another area you said 60) is too much, then you stick with that number and don’t go over regardless if your culture expects 5x that many. As hosts, you are responsible for not going into debt and keeping your mental health in check.
As for giving away extra food, you may not be allowed to. Many caterers, at least in the US, do not allow people to take it home. Yes you paid for it but they are covering themselves legally because if someone gets sick from food left out without refrigeration or that is reheated incorrectly, the caterer is the one who will be blamed and they are protecting themselves from the lawsuits by not allowing leftovers to be taken home. If you order catering from a local restaurant where they drop off the food and then leave, you are free to do whatever you want.

View Quoted Comment Giving guests the spare food doesn’t mean you have to order a bunch just to have extra. You’re catering for more than your guest list as it is, so you’re fine. Wait until the final count comes in and then give the caterer the number you want. You might have some no’s, so there’s no sense doubling your order until you know for sure.


We invited 166 and have a final count of 125, so you don’t know yet.