Here’s How To Throw The Perfect Potluck Wedding To Save Money And Add A Fun Personal Touch Without Sacrificing Flavor
When I say “potluck wedding,” does part of you cringe at the thought?
A lot of people are quick to shut down the idea of a potluck wedding, as they’re usually associated with being cheap or lazy. However, potluck-style wedding receptions can be fun, delicious, and, of course, a huge money saver.
Potluck-style wedding receptions are a great opportunity for guests to get to know each other on a more personal wedding and an easy way to give your special day a more communal vibe.
When you invite people you trust and who have a reputation for making delicious food to cook for your potluck, you can rest easy on your wedding day, knowing there will be something for you and your guests to enjoy.
Plus, you can save a lot of money on catering costs when you host a potluck wedding. For some people, around 50% of their wedding budget goes toward catered food and paying for catering staff services.
The first thing you’ll want to determine is your guest list and whether you want every guest to bring some kind of food or drink item. If you’re having a very small wedding, you can ask every guest to bring something, but if you’re having a larger wedding, you may want to consider only asking a handful of guests to supply food or split guests up into teams that bring separate dishes.
If you have a large wedding, you can also have everyone bring something that would feed the number of people at their tables so that each table at your reception has its own mini-potluck versus a large, buffet-style potluck for all your guests.
Don’t forget to make it clear from the get-out that you’ll be having a potluck-style wedding. It should be mentioned on your wedding website and your invitations so that your guests can get all the resources they need in advance.
The next step is to create a menu for your guests and your potluck wedding. It’s a good idea to give your guests an idea of what they should bring instead of making it a free-for-all so there’s some balance.
niromaks – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
You can create a sign-up sheet with specified dishes for people to bring or assign a general meal category to each guest. For instance, ask one person to bring a pasta dish, another to bring a salad, another to bring a chicken entree, etc.
Another good idea is to take on the entree yourself. Sometimes, potlucks are easier to plan when guests bring starters and sides because you don’t want one person to take on too many entrees unless they offer to do it.
As the wedding hosts, you should also be responsible for providing your own wedding cake and alcohol. While potluck weddings save you a lot of food-related stress and money, those two things are personal and should be left up to you, not your guests.
You’ll want to be sure to search in advance for some visually and aesthetically pleasing serving dishes and utensils to have at the ready for your potluck wedding. While people will bring food in their own containers, you’ll want to give someone the task of placing all the food on nicer, long-lasting serving platters.
Finally, you’ll want to have a solid clean-up plan in place. You can spend a few extra bucks to hire a service that will do it for you at the end of your wedding or ask a few trusted loved ones to help you take care of everything.
And that’s it! While it may take some extra communicating, potluck weddings can be a lot of fun and a great way to give your wedding a super personal feel. Enjoy!
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