What are your ideas on potlucks at weddings? I think its an awesome idea, but my fiancee and I have been arguing what to doHe seems to want to caterThough I don't understand why when that can get pretty priceyI like the idea of a potluck or a family get together 2 days to the day before and making the food so we're just paying for the food and not the labor.
I'm going to share with you what I did in the hopes that it might helpI agree that you don't want a potluck reception, HOWEVER there are ways to incorporate your suggestion of paying for the food and not the labor so that you can have less of an expense on food without asking/expecting guests to bring foodYou mention getting together a day or two before the wedding to make the food so it appears that you aren't against the idea of rolling up your sleevesFirst off, I had a pretty informal reception but maybe some of my tips will help you out What I did was incorporate a mixture of solutionsI ordered and paid for my entree in advance and had my best friend's husband go pick it up before the wedding and then we set it up in warmers and chafing dishes that I bought in advance but that can also be rentedI made my own veggie and fruit trays in advance and just kept them coldI went to Sam's (a warehouse store in case they don't have them where you are) and bought the fruit and veggies along with the dips and then I bought aluminum round trays (you can get them at Wal-Mart or a lot of major grocery stores)For hot appetizers, I made them myself (yes I was cooking on my wedding day LOL but mainly just used crockpots and then transferred them over to chafing dishes right beforehand)I had a couple of girlfriends and my mom offer to cook a dish so that added a couple of side dishes but had they not offered I already knew of non-fuss things I could makeI did some research on do it yourself receptions and that is where I got the ideas of what to serve and how to pull it off I saved money, the guests enjoyed the food, they were not asked to bring anything and it all worked outIt wasn't tacky in the least and if I had it to do all over again I wouldn't change muchI hope this helps! Good luck!
