Weddings can be a source of serious stress for an engaged couple. One of the biggest stressors is food. When you’re having a wedding, you have a lot of opinions to consider when it comes to cuisine. So one couple had the idea of circumventing that stress by having a potluck wedding dinner.
Understandably, the couple did worry that their idea may not be well received by guests. So they brought their concerns to social media. People immediately confirmed that their concerns of a potluck wedding were valid. Needless to say, they may be rethinking that idea.
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The couple is simply planning for the future.
Posting in the Reddit wedding community, a man shared that he and his girlfriend had been discussing their future wedding. The couple isn’t engaged, but the topic came up as it often does.
“We are both of the mind that expensive/extravagant weddings are not for us. At the same time, we both want the day to feel special. All the usual stuff you would expect,” he explained.
They seemed to have a solution that made sense to them.
The man went on to share that he and his girlfriend seemed to come to the same conclusion. “We came up with the idea of having our wedding be a potluck for food and drink,” he wrote. “We have some talented cooks in the family, so it would be fun to see what people come up with,” he said. He figured they could “save a bit not having to get a caterer.”
The potential married couple believed their idea was “reasonable” because gifting wouldn’t be an issue. “We wouldn’t have a gift registry,” he explained. “We both make decent money and we both live together and have all the kitchen/bath stuff we could want. Would seem silly to ask people for stuff like that.”
He ended the post by asking Redditors “if you were invited to a wedding like this, would you think it is weird/tacky?”
People wasted no time telling him how bad his idea was.
“I understand extravagant, and expensive weddings are not something you want to do,” one person wrote. “But by making it a potluck, you’re passing off that cost (and labor) to your guests, and that is a tacky thing to do.”
“Providing your guests with food isn’t exactly the definition of expensive or extravagant,” someone else commented. “It doesn’t need to break the bank, and I’m sure some local restaurant could put together some options for you.”
Another person shared: “I think it’s tacky because you’re saving money while imposing on your guests! When invited to a wedding and reception, please cover the costs yourselves, if at all possible.”
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They also shared possible complications a potluck wedding could pose.
One commenter shared a list of reasons their plan wouldn’t work, including “Not many venues allow outside food catered by non-professionals because of lack of food handler certifications.” They continued, adding “not everyone enjoys eating potlucks because of lack of said food handler certifications and you don’t know how cleanly someone’s cooking space is.”
“A lot of people don’t feel comfortable eating at potluck, because of not knowing what someone’s kitchen looks like or how long the food was in their car,” another commenter added. “Are you able to keep things at a safe serving temperature?”
One person had actually been a guest in a similar situation. “Completely agree,” they wrote. “I went to a potluck wedding. They spent so much money on the decor, venue, her dress, his suit, Etc that they didn’t have any money leftover to feed their guests. So they asked their 100 guests to bring a dish. I’m sorry but I am not eating food 100 different people cooked inside their homes at least restaurants have certain standards and can get in big trouble if they don’t follow them.”
Yeah, we have to agree. Especially for a couple who makes “decent” money. We’d rather go to a wedding that wasn’t expensive or extravagant that at least served pizza and beer than eat food cooked by a bunch of random people. It’s your wedding. You can’t have “all the usual stuff” but expect your guests to make that happen. Save the potluck for the family reunion.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
