McDonald’s Indonesia Says ‘I Do’ to Budget Wedding Catering

As quick-service restaurants (QSRs) look to capture more of consumers’ meal occasions, McDonald’s Indonesia is making a play for the lucrative wedding market with its new package deal.

The restaurant’s social channels in Indonesia recently announced the launch of the “Wedding Mekdi” package, selling 100 chicken sandwiches and 100 four-piece chicken nuggets for 3.5 million Indonesian Rupiah (roughly $230 USD). According to CNBC, the deal is currently only available in Jakarta.

Certainly, this deal would be an appealing one to those looking for low-cost options. For instance, in the United States, according to WeddingWire, the average wedding catering cost is about $4,000 — about 17 times the McDonald’s Indonesia package.

Additionally, given how offbeat and affordable this offering is, it seems possible that even consumers who are already springing for a higher-end catering service may consider adding on the McDonald’s package.

Back in the United States, a couple of QSR brands have made plays for consumers’ wedding spending as well, but not in nearly as scalable a fashion. Taco Bell, for one, offers a wedding package in which consumers get married at the restaurant’s branded chapel in Las Vegas — and they can schedule it within as little as four hours of tying the knot.

The $777 package includes 30 minutes of chapel access, branded merch (a sauce packet garter and bow tie, “Just Married” shirts, and champagne flutes, among others), a Taco Party Pack, Cinnabon cake and a borrow-able sauce packet bouquet.

Of course, given the limited scope of a wedding package that is only available in Las Vegas, this seems to be more of a brand-building move than a true play for consumers’ wedding spending. That said, the site does include a contact for those whose “dream Taco Bell wedding goes beyond what is offered in the Wedding Package.”

Taco Bell is not the only restaurant chain offering Las Vegas weddings as a way to strengthen the brand. Denny’s has its own chapel, and its $199 wedding package includes a bouquet and boutonniere, a cake made out of the chain’s Pancake Puppies, a champagne toast, two T-shirts and a coupon for two Grand Slam breakfasts.

Indeed, many restaurant chains are looking to get in on consumers’ event spending by launching or updating their catering offerings. In the past couple of years, Outback Steakhouse, Sweetgreen and Subway, among other brands,  have all done so.

Overall, consumers are looking for less expensive food options, but it is unclear whether that same cost-saving mentality applies to (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime occasions such as weddings. Research from PYMNTS’ “Consumer Inflation Sentiment Report: Consumers Cut Back by Trading Down,” for which we surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. consumers in April, revealed that 57% of consumers report having cut down on nonessential grocery spending.

Plus, data from our study “Connected Dining: Consumers Like the Taste of Discount Meals,” which drew from a survey of more than 1,8000 restaurant customers, revealed that discount redemption on restaurant meals jumped 86% from March 2022 to February 2023.

Perhaps, if more QSR brands get into the marital space, that budgeting mentality will begin to take over wedding catering as well.