BYOB Wedding?

Glenn - it's okay, and sorry if I was a bit snippy. I've been in two weddings before but never planned one, and my mom and sister (the two weddings were theirs) haven't been as much help as they said they would be. But other than what services are at the bar and what food is served (I'm not worried about that, since we're bringing our own food in), is there anything you'd recommend asking them?

Erk, double post.

Are you allowed to bring in your own food? Lots of venues don't allow that and that's definitely something that you need to check on. What about any possible parking fees? What hours are they available? How many weddings to they have in a weekend or a day? How will they prevent people not invited from walking in to your wedding? etc.... It's been a good 9 months since we were shopping for venues, so I would suggest trying to find other questions but these were the key ones I asked.

Yeah, we were trying to save money by not hiring a caterer, so we looked into that specifically and we're allowed to bring our own food. The rest are definitely helpful, thanks!

Last Question is a GOOD ONE Glenn

So I went to a BYOB wedding once. It wasn't said in the invite, but when I got to the wedding, there were more coolers of beer then people in attendance. My cousin prided himself in having a full on "red neck" wedding. It was funny to me, but where he is from in VT it was completely normal to everyone else. I personally wouldn't do it, and my venue wouldn't allow it, but it was interesting to watch.

Oh and I had to make a packy run for the grooom in the middle of the reception.

Random- @ Glenn whats does IYAM stand for? Nothing I can come up with sounds appropiate!

Make sure to ask about all clean up and how early you can get in to decorate. Also When do you need to be out of the building by? Depending on where it is they may also say you need to turn down music at a certain time. Ask about decorations too. Some buildings wont allow you to hang thing from ceilings and other things.

IYAM - If You Ask Me

Also, if you can bring in your own food see if you can bring in your own alcohol. One of the requirements for our venue was that we could bring our own booze and it's saved us a FORTUNE. We are doing a full, mostly premium, open bar and it's only only going to account for 5.39% of our budget.

Maybe you can make a rum punch or provide just a signature drink. There are also companies that rent out margarita machines for a couple hundred- those usually provide everything. That way you'll be offering a alcoholic beverage without having to spend a lot of money!

And if you can bring in your own alcohol and stick to beer and wine it would be extremely cheap!

Just so everyone can get their kicks in on my wedding, my spouse and I are getting married an hour out of a town, with a potluck BYOB wedding. We've invited 30 guests plus children to spend the weekend with us in multiple cabins located on a resort. Our family has heavy drinkers so we do not drink, were supplying mix in mason jars, tea and wine for dinner. No ones driving out of the reception we're all sleeping on site. How tacky right... Well that's northern Canada for you. Where everyone is just happy to be invited and to share our vows with us. As we are highschool sweethearts this wedding has been long awaited for. My mother is providing the "main" dish and everyone was asked to bring an appy of their choice and any alcohol they choose to mix with the non alcoholic beverages provided.

I probably wouldn't do BYOB at a wedding, even a casual reception should provide alcohol of some sort. I understand wanting to save money but if that's your concern I would just have a dry wedding and make sure people know that. I'm thinking of doing a few of those nice metal coolers with beers and make a sangria to serve to cut costs since one of the venues we're looking at does not provide food/drinks.

I honestly think it depends on what kind of guests you are having at your wedding. Im having a BYOB and Wine wedding and absolutely no one has a problem with it or thinks its tacky. Its better to have the option then to have no alcohol at all. Sorry we cant afford alcohol, and there is no where to cut costs. My fiance and i are paying for the wedding ourselves with no help so we are doing what we can, but everyone on our list are completely understanding and yet still over excited for the wedding day. The alcohol is not what makes your wedding fun. I honestly don't get that whole statement "The ceremony is for you, the reception is for your guests". I believe the entire day is for the Wedding Couple not just the ceremony. To each there own.