Catering a 60th Wedding Anniversary Dinner for 80 Guests

My daughter, sister, granddaughter and I were busy recently catering a 60th wedding anniversary dinner for 80 guests. It was a labor of love from start to finish! The evening turned out beautifully — from the thoughtfully planned menu to the elegant buffet setup — and I wanted to share all the details, including tips, recipes, and what we learned along the way.

A beautiful celebration filled with love, food, and a whole lot of teamwork!

🍽 The Menu: Summer-Ready and Crowd-Pleasing

We wanted dishes that were flavorful, festive, and would hold up well in summer temperatures. Here’s what we served:

• Chicken skewers (2 flavors)
• Quinoa salad
• Pesto pasta salad with salami
• Fruit Platters
• Sourdough Bread (2 flavors)
• Cupcakes (2 flavors)
• Lemonde sprite punch

🍢 Chicken Skewers (2 Ways)

• BBQ Chicken Skewers – A classic favorite! Marinated in Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, Weber’s Beer Can Chicken seasoning, a pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lemon. I brushed them with more BBQ sauce just before serving for a glossy finish.
• Mediterranean Yogurt Chicken Skewers – Creamy, flavorful, and spiced just right. These were a lovely contrast to the smoky BBQ flavor.

🧾 Mediterranean Chicken Skewers Recipe

Ingredients for a small batch:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into chunks
• 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 4–6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Weber’s Beer Can Chicken seasoning
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Instructions:

1. Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, seasoning, and cilantro.
2. Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken to the bowl and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Prepare for roasting: If using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes. Thread chicken onto skewers.
4. Roast: Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 15 minutes, flip, and roast for another 5 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165°F.
5. Garnish: Sprinkle with additional fresh cilantro before serving.

*We bought 30 lbs of chicken breasts and divide in half for this big crowd.

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🥗 Chilled Summer Salads

We chose two salads that were refreshing and could be made in advance — ideal for a large gathering in warm weather.

🧄 Quinoa & Roasted Yam Salad for a small batch

Ingredients:

• 1½ lbs yams, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 small red onion or green onion chopped
• mix of yellow and red peppers
• 1 english cucumber chopped

Dressing:

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp black pepper or chili powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Toss diced yams with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Roast for 20–23 minutes. Cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, roasted yams, cucumbers, peppers and green onions.
4. Whisk all dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss gently to coat.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.

*We bought 7lbs of quinioa for this big crowd but it was too much. I would scale it back to 4-5 lbs

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🌿 Pesto Pasta Salad with Mozzarella & Salami

Ingredients small batch:

• 12 oz bow tie pasta
• 3 Tbsp pesto
• 12 oz
• 12 oz salami
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 English cucumber
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup diced red onion or green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup small mozzarella balls, halved
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta in salted water until slightly past al dente. Drain and cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together pesto, olive oil, and lemon juice.
3. In a large bowl, mix pasta, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, basil, salami and mozzarella.
4. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Season to taste.
5. This salad actually tastes better the next day — store up to 5 days in the fridge.

*We bought 12 lbs of dry pasta for 80 people it was way too much. In the future I would only buy 8lbs. With all the add ins it stretched a lot.

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🍞 Bread, Fruit, and Dessert

We served gorgeous sourdough loaves (plain and cheddar rosemary) made by a sweet neighborhood teen. They were sliced and displayed at varying heights on wooden boards and cake stands, garnished with fresh rosemary and orange slices. Small gold and white bowls held herb butter and maple butter for a touch of indulgence.

Here is a great round wooden cutting board to use to display your bread on.

The fruit platters were simple yet stunning:
Watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries (halved with stems on), grapes in small clusters, and blueberries for a pop of color.

• 2 watermelons
• 3 different cantaloupes
• 3 containers of grapes from costco
• 1 pineapple
• 1 large container of strawberries
• 1 container of blueberries

At the end of the buffet, we placed my daughter’s delicious cupcakes on a 3-tiered stand:

• Lemon with raspberry buttercream
• Vanilla with Nutella frosting

Plus a member of the family brought some pretty blue and white macroons so we served them on a 2-tier cake stand.

Here is a link to our basic cake recipe that we use for cupcakes. Also here is a great 3 tier white cake stand.

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🥂 Drinks & Presentation Tips

We served two refreshing drinks in glass dispensers:

• Lemonade-Sprite Punch – Mix dry lemonade mix with water, then add Sprite to taste. It was a hit!
• Raspberry-Infused Water – Fresh, fruity, and hydrating.

We used plastic fluted glasses for the anniversary toast with sparkling apple cider.

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🎉 Buffet Table Styling Tips

• Double-sided setup for smooth traffic flow.
• Silver chafing dishes for keeping skewers hot.
• White bowls with gold trim for salads, placed on boxes or cake stands for height.
• Faux greenery tucked throughout for a fresh, organic look.
• Gold utensils (tongs and spoons) added a touch of elegance.
• Red rose centerpiece provided by the family made a stunning focal point.

It really helps to do a mock set up prior to the event. I set this up in my dining room to get an idea of how it would look. Get measurements of the table that you will be setting up on so you know what you have to work with. The tables at the even were quite narrow and we had to squish things up a bit when we were setting up.

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🧊 Prep Tips & Lessons Learned for catering a 60th Wedding Anniversary Dinner

• Quinoa: Prep the grain ahead, but mix ingredients day of to avoid sogginess.
• Pasta salad: Perfect when made the day before.
• Ziplock bags are your best friend for space-saving storage.
• Skewer prep: We weighed portions to ensure guests received ~5 oz of chicken (two skewers).
• Coolers: We used large cooler bags for hot items and a giant chest cooler (nicknamed “the coffin”) for salads and fruit.

More Karins Kottage Parties and Recipes

Don’t forget to check out these other parties and some of my favorite recipes

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This was such a rewarding event, filled with good food and beautiful memories. I hope this inspires you to host or cater with confidence, heart, and a few gold utensils 💛

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