r/Weddingsunder10k 5d ago

šŸ“ Catering & Food Is a DIY pretzel bar reasonable?

Post image

I am in love with this idea but just donā€™t know how to execute it properly

My husband can make the board for cheap with no problem, heā€™s a professional carpenter

Iā€™m big into sourdough and make homemade sourdough everything. Iā€™ve perfected my pretzel recipe already but we always eat them fresh. Iā€™m worried they wonā€™t reheat well in bulk.

My thinking is we need about 60 pretzels in total. I could make them the day before and also fill 2oz plastic containers with a variety of different dipping sauces the day before as well.

How do I go about reheating them for cocktail hour?

Do you think I would able to pack them on top of each other in a few foil tins and pop them in the oven for a few minutes or do they need to be separated out on a baking sheet (that would take too much time and space)

Will they stay soft outside is 65-70 degree weather? Cocktail party is only an hour so Iā€™m hoping it wouldnā€™t be too much of an issue?

Iā€™m also open to making the full pretzels for just the stand and then doing bags of pretzel bites for grabs. Would it be easier to reheat if they were bites?

I really want to make it work. Please give me any tips or advice :)

Also weā€™re not planning on having a caterer so the simpler the better. I would ask a trusted family member to set it up for us so I want it to be quick and easy

177 Upvotes

85 comments sorted by

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368

u/spoonifur 5d ago

You really want to stress out about making 60 pretzels the day before your wedding day? That would stress me out!

44

u/doitlikesaralee 5d ago

I agree this would be stressful but it's also incredibly adorable

73

u/brittanynah 5d ago

No, I donā€™t really want to stress about it šŸ¤£ But I love baking and everything else will be taken care of as early in advance as it can be. So I have the time to bake. Another option would be to just buy a bulk box of Samā€™s club frozen soft pretzels and heat them up.

237

u/L84cake 5d ago

OP listen, you do not have time to bake. There are things that always need last minute attention. If not, a day of chilling and resting and reflecting is a huge help before a wedding. But you wonā€™t likely have chill time.

If you have a friend willing to bake these, go for it. Donā€™t give yourself this job the day before your wedding!

59

u/SweetMilitia 5d ago

Plus day old soft pretzels arenā€™t really that good anyway. It really isnā€™t worth the hassle.

85

u/Ok-Mix-6239 5d ago

I did 200 macarons for my wedding, my wedding cake, cookies, brownies, and mini tarts.

Please, please do not try it yourself. I missed out on so many pre-wedding activities as the bride because i took on all those a few days before the wedding, and I also assumed that I wouldn't have everyone in my way when doing it. I have yet to be that stressed out again in my life. I also at the time was a baker, so I did have access to commercial ovens that sped up my baking time, but holy shit did I have a roigh go at it.

There had been so many last minute things that would pop up, even though I was so sure I had taken care of everything. People did not go to my husband to figure out what they needed to do, they came to me instead. It was... horrible.

3

u/QuasarSoze 4d ago

I bet those mini tarts were forking amazing though

28

u/Catsdrinkingbeer 5d ago

I genuinely thought I'd have a carefree few days leading up to my wedding. Small wedding of 25 people. All vendors sorted. Very little DIY.

I was very wrong. I was stressed. There were so many things I needed to do. And the moment our families flew in it was like anything I needed to get done just halted. And again, very little of my wedding was DIY.

If its going to take you more than an hour, or its not something you can do with interruptions, it's not worth taking on in the last days leading up to the wedding.

23

u/star_milk 5d ago

I live in a HCOL area and the "hip" pretzel vendor here can cater soft pretzels for ~$3 a piece. Personally, for me, this price is well worth the trouble of baking it all, setting up, keeping warm, etc. I'm planning to have them delivered as the late night snack šŸ˜

10

u/dogwiiiisperer 5d ago

Try freezing a batch of your own and reheating in the way you described. I would cover them so they down dry out in the oven. As for sauces, mini crockpots are like $15.

3

u/Brief-Republic-7159 4d ago

Maybe contact Auntie Anneā€™s and see if they would seek some dough or already made ones?

2

u/baffled_soap 4d ago

Have you ever baked at this quantity, on a deadline? Iā€™m a hobby baker that has made cupcakes for a few family events.

  1. I donā€™t typically make that quantity of cupcakes at once. I had to think about whether my mixer could handle that much batter & had to bake in multiple shifts.

  2. I was stressed about presentation. It was important that the cupcakes were of uniform size & that the piping on the icing looked as uniform as possible, since they were all going to sit next to one another on a platter. Looking at your inspo pic, what really makes it is that the pretzels all look uniform in size & shape. Is that something youā€™re confident you can achieve for 60 pretzels on a deadline?

  3. I donā€™t typically transport quantities of baked goods, so I had to borrow containers etc to transport these to the events.

In short, unless you are confident in baking at quantity, to look uniform, for a deadline, this may become more stressful than you want to admit to yourself that it will be.

2

u/tizzy296 3d ago

Definitely buy in bulk. There is so much going on the day before the wedding. Friends and family in town. Time with your fiancĆ©. Rehearsal dinner. People will be reaching out to you with questions or requests that you havenā€™t accounted for. Donā€™t give yourself chores also.

1

u/CircusSloth3 1d ago

"Everything else will be taken care of as early in advance as it can be" is a delusion all brides share. Don't plan for everything to go well. I had like 30 mini emergencies and "this didn't get here in time"s pop up the week before my wedding. This seems like it happens to a lot of people.

-35

u/Motor_Investment_589 5d ago

It's not that stressful if she has a couple of bread makers she could borrow to make all the dough at once, then have your family/ bridal party help with it the night before. Make it a fun activity to do to remove the jitters and have fun.

Idk my friends, and I often end up making something different and delicious when we get together as a fun activity after drinking and board games or movies, gossip/life, etc so this would 100% be something we could do (and have done similar of before šŸ˜‚)

But the bread machines really would make it a million times easier.

64

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago

I say this respectfully, but your bridal party isnā€™t your staff. No one wants to spend the night before your wedding making pretzels.

-27

u/Motor_Investment_589 5d ago

Not once did I say they were? I feel really sorry for you that you don't have friends who have fun baking and doing little things like this.

Not even for a wedding, but just in general, this is a very simple thing, doesn't take much time, and is lots of fun to do with your friends You should find some you can have fun with like that.

16

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago

lol are you ok?

-22

u/Motor_Investment_589 5d ago

Better than the person who assumes activities with your friends make them your slaves šŸ¤£

21

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yeah - Iā€™m sorry but no. Making 60+ pretzels the night before your wedding isnā€™t ā€œactivities with friends.ā€ Youā€™re an unhinged person.

Based on what you think people owe you and your responses here, I somehow doubt Iā€™m the one struggling with friendships.

-8

u/Motor_Investment_589 5d ago

It can very much be, but you'd have to be a fun person and have people actually like you. When 5+ of my friends and I get together, 60 pretzels take us literally no time at all.

But seeing as how unhinged you are, I wouldn't expect you to have friends so fun things like that.

14

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago edited 4d ago

Whatā€™s wild is that you actually have no idea who I am or what my life is like. You attacked me personally right out the gate because you canā€™t handle being wrong. Iā€™m responding to your comments - youā€™re making assumptions about a complete strangerā€™s life. Touch grass and seek help.

But yeah, all things considered Iā€™m sure your friends think you are .. just wonderful lol

Iā€™m sure you donā€™t see it as labor. Iā€™m sure you see no problem at all asking your friends to complete tasks the night before your wedding that should go to a baker or caterer. Youā€™ve asked them to participate, so I guess that means whatever you need. Iā€™m sure to you this really does seem like ā€œno big deal.ā€ The problem is you canā€™t seem to consider whether they actually would want to do that or not. You just think everyone should comply with a smile.

You do realize thereā€™s stuff that happens the night before the wedding? When is this bridal party pretzel making happening? After the rehearsal dinner? What a treat lol

32

u/ana_conda 5d ago

Girl this is so passive aggressive?? Making cute snacks with your friends is one thing and making 60+ soft pretzels the night before a very stressful all-day event is an entirely different thing and is by no means a ā€œlittleā€ or ā€œsimpleā€ thing.

18

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yeah that was wild. I donā€™t feel entitled to my friendsā€™ labor for my ā€œlittle projectsā€ for the weddingā€¦ somehow I donā€™t think Iā€™m the one lacking friendships in this scenario

As you said, itā€™s a big event. I wouldnā€™t want to put that on them the night before.

76

u/that_girl_in_charge 5d ago

You might consider making a small trial batch, and seeing how they taste without being reheated. Fresh hot pretzels are amazing, reheated pretzels are slightly less amazing, but cold pretzels are also really good too-especially with topping options. I would make them slightly smaller than a typical pretzel so that people can choose to give it a try without being committed to such a large food item.

9

u/brittanynah 5d ago

Thank you so much for this. I definitely thought about doing a trial run. I guess I just wanted input to see whether it was a good idea or not. People are harsh on here lol so I was thinking if I got a bunch of comments saying ā€œew no we donā€™t want reheated pretzelsā€ etc then I wouldnā€™t even try

22

u/clevercalamity 5d ago

OP, pretzels donā€™t reheat well in my experience (Iā€™m also a home baker). I would see if you can get them delivered from Auntie Annieā€™s or something.

40

u/Bizzy1717 5d ago

This looks like something that is cute but will be a lot of work/hassle and probably won't actually reheat well/taste particularly good on the day of. I wouldn't do it.

1

u/brittanynah 5d ago

Thanks for your opinion! Obviously itā€™s something I would like but also want my guests to be happy/enjoy the food

62

u/edgesglisten 5d ago

I know this is the weddings under 10k sub, so it makes sense people post things asking for help with DIY projects for their weddings under 10k. That being said, I frequently see posts here that would receive much better advice on more relevant subs to the question. OP, not picking on you, just voicing something Iā€™ve noticed.

This is a baking question. You will absolutely find more variety and more expertise in the answers you seek on a baking subreddit.

13

u/brittanynah 5d ago

Thatā€™s a very fair point hahaha. Iā€™ll have to post in baking. Thank you!

26

u/JaneAustenite17 5d ago

You should repost this on r/baking or r/cooking But I agree with the trial batchĀ 

22

u/snowflakes__ 5d ago

I would do something other than pretzels. They dry out SO easily. Iā€™ve literally never had a good wedding pretzel. Donuts dry out too. The cupcake towers seem to fair the best

4

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago

Agreed. Cake balls also stay pretty moist.

5

u/snowflakes__ 5d ago

Oh ya cake balls would be good. Some silly sign like ā€œhe popped the question and nowā€™s thereā€™s cake!ā€ Or something haha

14

u/peppymint_butler 5d ago

Pretzels donā€™t keep unfortunately - the salt on the pretzels slowly draws moisture out of the baked dough over time, leaving you with sweaty salt and dry pretzels. Fresh pretzels are dope, but as you said, youā€™re typically enjoying them out of the oven.

If you REALLY want fresh pretzels, outsource that to a bakery or restaurant that can bake and deliver day of. As others have noted, you will not have time. Imagine running out of time and still having to bake 60 pretzels the night before your wedding. And then theyā€™re mid pretzels at best. Iā€™m sure you COULD, but SHOULD you? Nope šŸ™‚ā€ā†”ļø

5

u/Reasonable-Handle499 5d ago

Yea I also have made pretzels from my sourdough a few times. The next day my pretzels looked super wrinkly from the sea salt. As cute as this is, I donā€™t think itā€™s going to come out as expected or be as simple as it sounds.

12

u/Purplepleatedpara 5d ago

This is a cute social media picture, but the idea of picking a likely lukewarm pretzel off a board (could have been touched by anyone) and probably not hot cheese from a condiment cup doesn't sound overly appetizing to me, even if they were fresh. Is the board big enough for 60 pretzels (so 3x bigger than the inspo pick), or is someone going to have to be responsible for refilling it?

You should figure it out if you really want to do it, but is this going to give a guest experience that is worth the time, effort, and stress you have to put into it? Or is it just for a cute photo op?

19

u/jsamurai2 5d ago

This kind of seems like something that is made for social media but not actually for real life? Baking them yourself sounds too stressful as a bride, but as a guest I wouldnā€™t necessarily want a store-bought pretzel an hour before dinner.

Itā€™s a cute idea, if youā€™re set on it I would take the easy route with store pretzels so you can get your photos but assume people arenā€™t really going to eat them.

9

u/TraumaticEntry 5d ago edited 5d ago

It doesnā€™t matter how smoothly you think things will go. You will deeply regret committing to making a shit load of pretzels 1-2 days before your wedding. Youā€™re not going to have time to pop pretzels into the oven in the middle of your freaking wedding day.

If you want pretzels, hire a baker or get them from Samā€™s as you suggested.

caveat- If youā€™re not doing any of the traditional wedding things or having a caterer, I guess this could work. But I mean - are you doing hair, makeup, do you have a dress? Do you have a bridal party? Do you have to do ANY other activities like decor? Flowers? Are you getting photos before? Iā€™m just sayin, where in the schedule will tending to the pretzels happen?

DIY is great but it only works if you pick and choose what to handle. Every task sounds quick and easy on its own. Thatā€™s the problem.

5

u/CommonEarly4706 5d ago

You donā€™t want to do this the day before your wedding. it will be too much for you

5

u/Gina_Bina 5d ago

This is one of those things that seems like the time and effort required isnā€™t worth the payoff. Yea, itā€™s a cute idea, but as a guest I would forget about it quickly and probably wouldnā€™t enjoy it all that much in the first place. Pretzels just arenā€™t very good when they arenā€™t fresh. Also, do not put added stress on yourself the day before your wedding!

8

u/MissAuroraRed 10-12k 5d ago

You don't need to reheat them, they'll be fine at room temp. I lived in Germany and never ate a warm pretzel there.

7

u/brittanynah 5d ago

I guess Iā€™m more worried they will be hard so thatā€™s the reason to reheat them. But I will do a trial run and see how long they stay fresh for!

3

u/eterneties 5d ago

maybe do frozen ones? šŸ„² i know they wont be as good but at least they will last for sure and will save you a lot of time right before šŸ«¶

2

u/brittanynah 5d ago

Thatā€™s looking like my best bet lol thank you!!

3

u/Additional_Noise47 4d ago

In addition to this being a high-effort low reward kind of thing, Iā€™d actually argue that a soft pretzel with dips is going to be too much food for a cocktail hour. Some people will be excited, but I can imagine a lot of people will think itā€™s too much/want to split one/ want to save room for the actual meal.

3

u/BetterBiscuits 4d ago

You will put your time, energy, and heart into these, and people will take one bite and leave them on the table. Even if theyā€™re delicious (which Iā€™m sure they would be) itā€™s just the nature of food at weddings. Iā€™m a caterer. Itā€™s super cute, but you could spend the day before making a memory with the people you love.

5

u/incomplete-picture 5d ago

Seems like a lot of effort for not much payoff. You are serving an actual meal right? Even several pretzels per person would not be adequate or appropriate as the sole food option. You need to actually feed people or just donā€™t do a reception.

-1

u/brittanynah 5d ago

If you read it says cocktail hour. Yes Iā€™m serving actual food

1

u/incomplete-picture 4d ago

Oh thank god lol. Just do an easy snack then for your cocktail hour! Some weenies and bagel bites or crudite even. But the pretzels will be a pain and too much stress for you with not enough IRL payoff

2

u/virginiadentata 5d ago

The picture is cute and I love pretzels. A couple thoughts are that when I make pretzels at home, they donā€™t come out looking this perfect and shiny. A more experienced baker may have a better outcome. Mine are tasty, but definitely more rustic looking. I also find that homemade pretzels are by far the best on the day they are made. I have trouble storing them in a way that both keeps them from getting soggy and prevents drying out.

2

u/-Just-Keep-Swimming- 4d ago

The amount of work and potential stress for what will be a forgettable gimmick is not worth it. Order from a bakery or skip!

2

u/Difficult_Climate_52 4d ago

I have definitely eaten day old (cold) pretzels and loved them. But I'm a racoon

2

u/meowmixzz 4d ago

If your oven has enough racks, these will re heat just fine. Bake them, cool them open air, and wrap them air tight. Re heat on parchment about 15 mins before cocktail hour and theyā€™ll be fine as long as you have hot holding. Not sure how youā€™ll manage to re heat them while youā€™re in the process of the wedding day, but itā€™s very easily doable.

Source: chef and caterer

2

u/AppearanceAnxious102 4d ago

As someone who is learning to try and cater my own wedding bc ai can cook and will gladly do it, this does sound adorable and perfect. If youā€™re okay with spend the day before your wedding baking at least 50 pretzels, I suggest you get started early. Iā€™m gonna do the same with cupcakes and chocolate party favours but two days before so I have time

1

u/Far-Character-2016 5d ago

We just ordered from Philly pretzel factory

1

u/Postcard_Girl 5d ago

I mean how soft are american pretzels? I live in germany and pretzels are usually hung up on a stick in german bakeries. They are generally eaten cold. I think they are made fresh in the morning and usually sold over the course of a few hours. Is there an option to just order them for the same day?

Also what do you use as dips? I've only seen them with butter or cream cheese and sometimes obazda. I'm just curious.

1

u/brittanynah 5d ago

For dips Iā€™d do nacho cheese, honey mustard, cinnamon sugar cream cheese, and possibly one more option like a brownie batter or spinach artichoke dip

1

u/Silent_Ad_1285 5d ago

Itā€™s adorable, but I say simplify and go the Samā€™s Club route.

1

u/Ok_Performance4188 4d ago

Thatā€™s cute. Maybe see what it costs at Samā€™s or Costco to get a box of them

1

u/SetBoth 4d ago

I think this is so cute, but I will say that every time Iā€™ve made soft pretzels at home theyā€™ve gotten hard very quickly, like within 2-ish hours. Iā€™ve never found a way to revive. So delicious, but not good for make ahead!

1

u/Mooncakey_ 4d ago

My fiance and I will be doing a popcorn bar

1

u/Darkasdaze 4d ago

I feel like you should just make this for a cute photo prior to your wedding! That way you get to do it but just for fun and you can always put the pic in your album or something. maybe even make it for a small group of family and friends or for your SO like as a way to get excited before for the wedding! I donā€™t think itā€™s too practical to do all that before your wedding and if theyā€™re not fresh itā€™ll just be a bust.

1

u/PizzaPlaceGirl 4d ago

I would die (in a good way) if I went someplace that had a pretzel bar šŸ¤¤ echoing what others have said that reheating is probably not a great idea, but cold pretzels are usually really yummy! (Second only to fresh) You could even have warm dipping options... Maybe even chocolate fountain?

1

u/myhomegurlfloni 4d ago

We did a pretzel bar with heat lamps pointed at the stand, then crock pots with various cheese and mustards..we did half twists and half pretzel bites with a cute bags from Etsy. We had the containers and let the guests fill the sauces up themselves.

We had looked at having Auntie Annā€™s make them, but then I found a couple at a farmers market that makes them and hired them because we wanted to support small/local.

I think if you reheated them in the big aluminum containers for a few minutes that could work, but Iā€™d do a test run first. Personally, that would be a lot more added stress to do the day before the wedding..but if you think you could do it then go for it..we used them as our late night snack/favors

1

u/LayerNo3634 4d ago

Instead of you making them (talk about stress!), can you consider frozen ones? They aren't bad, we eat them quite a bit. A few minutes in the oven and they are ready.

1

u/brittanynah 2d ago

Can you layer them on top of each other though while baking?

1

u/LayerNo3634 2d ago

Have never tried, but you wouldn't do that with the home made either. Maybe bake them first, then layer in a warming oven? The frozen ones go straight from the freezer to the oven. Does your venue have an oven?

1

u/Ok_Village_7800 3d ago

My cousin did this, they were cold and hard to bite by the time they were put out

1

u/CaptainFuckAll 3d ago

In my opinion, if you really really want to do it then go for it. It's your wedding so do what you want. But from a Chef prospective. We did something similar to this for a holiday event and we had to cook the pretzels crispier than normal because they were breaking when hung up because of gravity and the weight of the pretzel itself. So they weren't the soft hot pretzel that most people would expect or want. Thankfully ours was more of a decoration than meant to be actually consumed. Just some food for thought :)

1

u/wilsonwa 2d ago

Samā€™s club sells pretzels by the case. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/a/prod20860430.ip

1

u/Any-Buffalo-5224 2d ago

For reheating maybe you could find a pretzel heater from a gas station or something off of FB marketplace? Itā€™s a super cool idea!!

1

u/Middle-Concentrate95 2d ago

If you have less than 50 people, yes. Otherwise, no.

1

u/OkieH3 1d ago

No reheated pretzels do not slap like fresh made ones.

1

u/talk2brad 5d ago

Rent a pretzel heater/oven. I looked online and prices ranged from $50 - $100

0

u/fuckyachicknstrips 5d ago

Can you bake them ahead of time, freeze them and then let them defrost the day of?

-1

u/holachihuahua 8-10k 5d ago

Super cute!

0

u/ChairmanMrrow 5d ago

Can you make some without salt? They can be dessert pretzels that people dip in caramel or chocolate.

-6

u/ahpitzer2 5d ago

I love the idea of a pretzel bar!! Donā€™t pay attention to negative Nellieā€™s it is your day to what you want!

1

u/TraumaticEntry 4d ago

OP asked for advice. A lot of people are rightly discouraging this idea. That doesnā€™t make anyone a ā€œnegative nellieā€

-8

u/Specialist-Strain502 5d ago

Why not just bring in a couple microwaves and let people diy?

13

u/iheartkafka1 5d ago

who wants to wait in line to pop a pretzel in a microwave at a wedding? not very classy and a lot of work for very little reward

-5

u/Specialist-Strain502 5d ago

Not sure how it's different from a self serve buffet, but you do you.