A couple’s wedding catering has been slammed online after a guest secretly photographed the ‘pathetic’ spread and shared it on Facebook.
‘A wedding feast for your eyes,’ the anonymous guest, believed to be from the US, captioned the photos which were posted in a ‘wedding shaming’ group.
The images reveal hundreds of slices of ‘plastic cheese’ laid out in rows, trays of celery and carrot sticks, cubes of melon, oranges slices with the stickers still on them, and a tray of rather sad-looking iced brownies.
‘This is basically what we served at my three-year-old’s birthday party. Except we had quiche and strawberries,’ a baffled commenter wrote.
An American couple’s wedding catering has been slammed online after a guest secretly photographed the ‘pathetic’ spread, particularly the rows of unwrapped ‘plastic cheese’
‘A wedding feast for your eyes,’ the anonymous guest wrote along the photos which were shared in a wedding shaming Facebook group and revealed bizarre dishes like cubed melon
Criticism: Facebook users were quick to bash the spread, insisting it looked more like food from a toddler’s birthday party than a feast for wedding guests
The poster’s mocking tone sparked debate among fellow members of the group, with some joining in to poke fun at the low-cost spread, while others chimed in to defend the couple, noting that they may well have been unable to afford anything expensive.
Many comments were made about the lack of professionalism involved in both the preparation and the presentation of the food, with one writing: ‘This is what happens when you ask your family to cook for your wedding.’
A number of comparisons were drawn between the budget spread and other events were such food might be more appropriate.
‘This makes more sense for toddlers than a wedding, in my humble opinion,’ another added.
One simply blasted the food as ‘pathetic’ before going on to say: ‘This looks like a catering spread for work – a low budget one.’
Others were baffled about the decision-making that went into the spread, pointing out that the caterers, whoever they were, had chosen to spread their time in a rather odd way.
‘They took the time to unwrap hundreds of slices of fake cheese but couldn’t be bothered to take the sticker off the fruit?’ one questioned.
Chopped up carrot and celery sticks also featured as part of the humble spread
The catering features chopped up oranges, which still had stickers on the skin (left), and iced brownies (right) that had an odd-looking lemon decoration on the top of them
‘I don’t even know how they cut orange that way. It must have made it harder as usually, you cut in half then into quarters. That looks like a third,’ said another.
Commenters also wanted an explanation as to why a pile of napkins had been left unfolded, with one picture showing a stack of them that had simply been thrown on top of one another.
Commenters also wanted an explanation as to why a pile of napkins was left unfolded
According to Wedding Wire, couples in the US spend an average of $4,000 on catering for their wedding, with a majority opting to splash out anywhere between $1,800 and $7,000 to ensure that their guests have a delicious feast to enjoy on their happy day.
Meanwhile, figures show the average Australian couple spends AUD $9,100 on catering for their wedding, which includes a full sit-down meal for each guest.
In the UK, Bridebook suggests that couples should plan to spend around £3,100 on catering for the wedding, noting that this fee will get you a three-course meal for around 100 guests at a manor house-style hotel.
While this type of catering is generally the expectation, according to Easy Weddings there is a trend toward serving food in a banquet style.
‘Serve food on large platters that are perfect for sharing, and serve finger food where appropriate,’ they suggest.
While this can reduce the cost, it was recommended that the function be catered by professionals who are across contemporary culinary trends.