Food

I don't think bbq is a bad thing to do at all! I've seen it done well and BBQ food is good. You can do it buffet style. I'm sure party trays of BBQ food would definitely be cost effective.
I actually wrote to my guests that some alcohol is provided but they can feel free to also bring their own.

BBQ is fine! We are going with upscale Southern food and it includes some BBQ. I’d provide drinks for everyone, but that’s just me.

Check with your venue on BYOB as there might be legalities involved. BBQ is fine as a wedding food as long as you're having a more casual reception. BBQ can be difficult to eat in dressy attire and not require some dry cleaning afterwards.

BBQ, awesome!
BYOB, looks cheap.

BBQ is a great budget friendly option. BYOB is not. You should be providing everything your guests need for your wedding without passing any of the expense on to them.

I think BBQ is great!
BYOD has legality issues, if you don't want to pay for alcohol that's fine but do soda and lemonade.

Bbq is fine, that's what I am doing. Byob depends on the situation. If your venue allows it, then I'd say bring SOME stuff, and let them bring whatever else they want. Atleast provide a little, or don't have any at all.

We are having bbq and FH and I set a budget for drinks. We don’t drink and have been stressing about it. Finally he said look we will spend $1000 when it runs out it runs out. His brother works at distribution whare house doe we will use his discount to buy alcohol and sodas.
It might seem cheap but we don’t drink for health reasons and most of our close family doesn’t either. We will have kids at the wedding and there is no reason for anyone to be drunk.

Goos luck

Typically (from an etiquette stand point) it is frowned upon to ask guests to BYOB to a wedding. However, you know your crowd better than anyone. So if you are just wanting to have a casual wedding, with a backyard BBQ afterwards, then go for it. It's your wedding, your friends & family, and you should do it your way. However, if you want it to be what is considered proper etiquette, then you should have it catered and provide drinks to your guests (even if it's in a backyard).

View Quoted Comment There is no venue. It's all at one of his friends famrs.

View Quoted Comment We are trying to keep it cheap to spend the money on our honeymoon. We are paying for the wedding.

Barbecue is fine, but check with your caterer and venu about BYOB. If anything, you can just have a small bar stocked with a few beer varieties, wine, champagne and soft drinks. I think that will cost much less than a fully stocked bar and still go with your barbecue theme.

View Quoted Comment If that's the case, then you can still do the small bar with the alcohol I suggested. You may be able to get it at a bulk liquor supply store yourself for less money. You can talk to your caterer about hiring one or two bar tenders to supervise the "half-bar." If you have an extra refrigerator to set up in that area, that would help keep the drinks cool.

My cousin-in-law had this at her wedding. It was on her family's farm and they already had an event venue space on the property with a dry bar and band stage that they had built. The bar counter was on a raised platform and had a few standard sized refrigerators behind it. They kept the alcohol cool and I think the cake as well.

You as the host of the event should be providing all of the food and drink. Please don't ask your guests to bring alcohol. If you want to spend the bulk of your budget on your honeymoon you should severely limit your guest list.

In doing bbq!

BBQ is fine. BYOB creates potential legal issues. If you suggest or encourage it, and someone ends up driving drunk and having an accident, you could be liable. It's better either to have a licensed bartender or have a dry wedding.

Barbecue is fine-- if you have someone to do it for you. Neither you, nor your families/anyone invited to the wedding will have time to prepare food on the day. I've read far too many horror stories of people planning to cater their own weddings and realising only days beforehand that it just can't be timetabled!

BYOB is alright as something that's *allowed*, but not required. i.e. provide wine or a house cocktail, but let guests know they can bring something else if they want. Not appropriate for catered weddings with bars, but if it's a family event that's not taking place at a hired venue, it won't seem inappropriate to recommend people bring their own booze.

We're providing wine, beer, and hard cider, plus soft drinks and mixers. We're letting people know that they are welcome to bring any hard liquor that they want. But our party is more of a family gathering rather than a full on reception. (It's a month after our ceremony where we are only having immediate family.) So, as pp have said, it comes down to knowing your crowd and how formal your event is. If you're doing a casual gathering at a farm, you can do byob. But I'd still suggest providing beer and wine.

We’re having BBQ at our wedding, husband is a chef and wants to cater it!!! Saved us so much money and I am not questioning it at all! I love the idea, just make sure to have napkins on standby!!!

BBQ is great. BYOB is not. Serve beer and some wine and other non alcohol drinks ESPECIALLY since you don't have a venue with limits. If the guests want to bring in outside alcohol that's fine but you do not want to shoulder that responsibility off onto them. This is a wedding reception not a house party.