BYO Food in Fredericksburg, VA

FFS.

Hey, OP I'm pretty relaxed but seriously this sounds like a very bad idea unless you're a pro caterer. It's YOUR day and you shouldn't be slinging hash on the griddle for 1000+ hours beforehand. if you REALLY want that many people on the timeline do a punch and cake reception. Everyone will thank you and you will thank you. Seriously girl think about the max number of people you cooked for and then think about doing that with a million other stresses on you. It will be extremely unpleasant for you --make it easy on yourself

@OP, it seems like you came here for validation rather than advice. Given the fact that so many people are telling you this is a bad idea AND it is difficult to find a venue that will allow you to do this, did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, this is a bad idea?

How is this thread still alive?!

OK, I have to chime in here...

This is a horrible idea, I am the queen of saving money, I am planning on doing my 100 person wedding on 10,000-12,000 dollars.

YOU CANNOT DO THIS.

Your guests are going to have an awful time, you are going to seriously regret it.

Even if you had a backyard BBQ wedding you still need to make sure everything is set out and heated to the proper temps.

If you and your fiancé are so in love and want to be together, there should not be such a rush. I have been with my fiancé for 5 years and we are waiting until 2018 to get married because that's how long it's going to take to save up enough money to host our guests properly.

Yes, sometimes the truth hurts but this one is something you need to hear.

STOP AND THINK ABOUT THIS.

Sometimes you leave a mark for no other reason than to say "I was here" which is what I'm doing now.

We are actually either 1) just having the meat catered 2) buying all of the meat and having our friend who does competitions to cook it or 3) Having sub sandwiches catered and then we will purchase sides and make them ourselves. Our guest list is also only 120 and expecting only about 90-100 to show up. Call local restaurants, call sub places, sandwiches places, etc. You'll find something. People don't care that much- they just want to get fed.

Also your wedding does NOT need to be expensive. My 120 guest wedding is going to cost $6,000 tops. We arent even doing linens. Dollar store has plastic table cloths. Hobby lobby has 1/2 off floral every third week, amazon, ebay, etc. Try cutting costs somewhere if you absolutely must bring your own food. we are doing a park venue, very low-key, backyard bbq style. NBD hang in there lady ! try looking for a park venue!

@wifetobe stop. ONLY 120 people?! That's a huge number!! Are you going to have people standing around waiting for it to be done? Why are you making your guests work on your wedding day? What the everloving hell is going on with this post?!

^False. @wifeytobe

Your guests are spending a lot of money to attend your wedding. Please feed them a proper dinner. No friendors, no self-catering.

Can we just let this thread die already?

Uh Wifeytobe no one wants week old beef

This thread is the breeding ground of bad ideas.

@bemyguest, thats my guest list. We are expecting 90 to show. I think 3 people are helping to set up the food and decor- and they ASKED to help- they're the ones that suggested we do it this way. Good lord people. Not everyone HAS to pay several grand for food at their wedding. My wedding is very very relaxed.

Also week old beef?! wtf. the place we're getting our meat from comes FRESH THAT DAY thank you very much. Week old beef. Please. My friend did this, my aunt, my cousin, and my sister all did this for their weddings. No one died. The food was AMAZING.

Lol ya'll are being a little much here. Agree to disagree. If ya'll wanna fund my catering bill go ahead. this has worked for MANY people i know. Also I said another one of our options was that we were having subs catered and buying sides. Relax yall. No need to all get mad at one another :-)

Wifey, fund your own wedding, and we just plain disagree.

Subs? Better to do cake and punch and be on your way.

Lol at @FB99 yes, we will have alcohol. I've been to a wedding once that was BYOB it was very odd. And then the other wedding I went to only ordered 12 small bottles of wine and one keg for 200 people- she thought that'd be enough. AND i went to a wedding that was NO ALCOHOL at all. Just because I don't drink very much doesn't mean my guests don't.

Also My fiance and the person who smokes for competitions are INCREDIBLY anal about food temps. I was worried at first but then I thought of who was doing it, and I'm not worried at all now.

Serve subs and sides that were professionally made and stored if you want. They all still need to be picked up, transported, stored in temperature correct settings (that is a LOT of reefer volume), displayed in containers that will keep cold foods cold and hot food hot, monitored, and cleaned up. If that sounds like something you can do (putting a giant tub of mayonnaise based potato salad out does not count as proper handling, and can kill your guests), and something you want to inflict on friends, have at it. Food borne illnesses sicken people in the tens of thousands every year, cause deaths every year, and cause miscarriages every year. You may win the lottery and not kill anyone or their unborn child, but you may also be the cause of a lot of folks spending the next 24-72 hours in the bathroom, feeling like death, Be as casual as you want to be, but not with food safety.

Just when you think this thread is finally done....

No, just no.

Honestly, if you only have $1000 to spend, you cannot afford a wedding for 200. You should take that $1000 and put it in to your emergency fund. Go to the courthouse and get married. You can do a party later, when you can afford to host properly.

Wow just think. out of those 200 guests, how many of those people had a PROPER wedding? I wonder how many served SAFE meals and alcohol to their guests? I wonder how many took the time to be a grown up and plan for a proper wedding they could afford. How entitled of them, huh?

I believe the entitled one is you, sweetie. Because it's apparently OK for you to show little class and etiquette at your wedding. Good luck and have a great marriage