# How to feed 60 wedding guests without losing it

> A Bon Appétit advice column breaks down the exact menus, math, and delegation that turn three DIY wedding meals into something manageable.
- Title: How to feed 60 wedding guests without losing it · Bon Appétit
- Summary: A Bon Appétit advice column breaks down the exact menus, math, and delegation that turn three DIY wedding meals into something manageable. Feeding 60 people…
- Keywords: wedding food, cooking for a crowd, budget meals, meal planning, entertaining, food, lifestyle, feed, wedding, guests, without, losing
- Source: Bon Appétit — https://bonappetit.com/story/dear-bon-appetit-september-14-wedding-recipes
- Author: Emma Laperruque
- Published: 2026-09-14T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: wedding food, cooking for a crowd, budget meals, meal planning, entertaining, food, lifestyle
## The question
A couple is hosting a 60-person DIY wedding at an inn-turned-Airbnb. Pros handle the big meals, but two breakfasts and a lunch fall to them and their friends.

> While we regularly host groups of 20ish at our apartment, 60 people feels like an entirely different beast.
## Delegate, then delegate more
Nominating friends to prep and serve is the single best decision here. Feeding 60 is not a one-person job, and you are the one getting married.

> Delegation is of the utmost importance.
## Bagels and fixings win
The foolproof crowd breakfast is not a recipe at all. Buy bagels, whipped cream cheese, lox, tomato, onion, capers and pickles, then let people build their own.

> Now is the time to buy and assemble.
## Do the bagel math
1¼ bagels per person means 75 bagels, plus 90 oz of cream cheese, 7½ lb of lox, 20 tomatoes and 10 onions. Costco carries the salmon cost.
## Bake it the night before
A ham-and-cheese croissant bake gets assembled a day ahead and baked in disposable aluminum pans. Serve with bagged greens and a quick vinaigrette.
## Scaling the bake
Times eight feeds 64: 80 cheap supermarket croissants, 3 lb Gruyère, 3 lb ham, 40 eggs, 8 pints cream. Mix the custard in two huge bowls.
## Salt brand is not a detail
Use Diamond Crystal or adjust the amount for whatever you have. Grain size swings the seasoning hard once you multiply a recipe by eight.

> The type of salt always matters, but especially so in large batches.
## Skip the olive bar
For pasta salad, that bar gets expensive fast at volume. Raid Trader Joe's or Costco for shelf-stable artichokes, roasted peppers, olives and white beans instead.

> The beauty of this pasta salad is its flexibility.
## Canned beans, unashamed
Marinated mixed beans assemble days early and anchor a spread of crusty bread, a few cheeses, soft-boiled eggs, olives and charcuterie. Thirty cans, bride picks the beans.

> They are delicious and cheap, can be assembled days in advance.
## Drinks, handled
Order travel boxes of coffee from a nearby shop for breakfast. For lunch, a vermouth-spritz bar with seltzer, ice and citrus keeps things festive without wrecking the afternoon.

> Celebratory but won't have everyone sloshed in the middle of the day.
## Key takeaway

Feeding 60 people is a math problem plus a delegation problem, not a cooking problem. Buy assembly-friendly food, scale it on paper first, and hand the serving to friends.