Potluck wedding advice...

[opaloctober]

So we still have a while to go before our aug 14, 2011 wedding day, but im still trying to get some things in order. We've decided to do the DIY potluck thing, and i have a question. The ceremony/reception will be held at my aunts home, in her backyard, and i have a question about heating the food. With the exception of using her oven, we have no

Comments

potluck thoughts

[angels_ember]

How many people are you inviting? Do you have close relationships with any of your aunts, cousins, or friends that you could ask to provide large quantities of food

Re: potluck thoughts

[lone_concertina]

I've heard about potluck receptions where you include on the reception card that people married 15+ years bring one thing, 5-10 yrs bring another, 1-5 bring something else, and unmarrieds bring something else. It worked out really well from what I've seen and that's what we were planning on doing.

Re: potluck thoughts

[angels_ember]

That is such a cute idea!

Sadly, I don't think that it would work in my family. The divorce rate (and remarriage rate...followed by another divorce in 1 - 5 years) is so high that about 70% of my guest list would be in the 1-5 range, 20% unmarried, and probably 5% each in the other two categories.

[pearlbeachlady]

How long is your gap of guests' arrival to dinner time? Most people who participate in pot lucks will bring their dishes ready to serve. So if you're going to eat immediately, it may not be a problem.

[opaloctober]

I PLAN to get to the food part right after the ceremony and allow guests to start eating then, and our ceremony shouldn't be any longer than, say, 30 min or so...

[opaloctober]

My aunt has a regular fridge inside her home and a huge (empty) fridge and deep freezer in her garage, which is right next to the ceremony/reception area, so keeping cold things cold won't be an issue, i'm just worried about the hot foods remaining, well, HOT lol

[mahasin]

I'll second what doerofnone said, and also suggest asking at a few other communities such as "hip_domestics" and possibly even "poor_skills".

[chapstickqueen]

Seriously? A VERY similar question was asked FOUR posts ago, less than an HOUR ago:
http://community.livejournal.com/weddingplans/18949068.html

[tinklepanties]

LOL even the subject is the same.

[kutie_kara]

So did I!

[sarcasticsiren]

Why not request that guests bring a cold or room temperature dish? This could make things easier for you, and since you're providing the main "hot" stuff, like the BBQ, they can bring sides like salads (regular, potato, pasta, etc) and desserts and such.

If you are looking into hiring people to help serve, you might ask them for their expertise on the subject. I used to cater, and hotboxes are pretty useful, so maybe you could rent a portable one and just put any hot dishes in there.

[jewshusaprncess]

you used to cater? really? where?

[sarcasticsiren]

Oh, back in Wisconsin, I worked for a catering company... I really loved it, and I kinda miss it!

[jewshusaprncess]

lol...you could work for FH.