Help! is it Tacky?

We're thinking of doing the opposite! So far we are planning on doing everything disposable. I keep worrying about the sturdiness of the silverware with our BBQ setup. It costs a lot more to have the tableware but I think it might be worth it in the long run. As far as beverage containers, we're going with the little 9oz clear plastic cups I've seen at other weddings, events, and the theater.

View Quoted Comment Thanks, Stephanie!

This seems tacky. Everything needs to be either plastic or glass, not mixed...in my opinion.

View Quoted Comment Thanks, Samantha!

For me, this would really depend on the venue. For instance if it was a backyard, someone's home or outdoors/barn then the disposable would seem in place (although not great environmentally). If it was somewhere fancier then to me it would seem odd.

View Quoted Comment Thank you—that makes sense!

We did it the opposite way, glass plate and metal silverware with glass star goblets. We did plastic for everything from the bar.
With glass wine glasses a would the guests reuse them for each drink? What if they want to get a different drink next? If not you would need about 4-5x the number of glasses than guests so they could have a new one for each drink ordered.
Then since you’re planning on buying them they have to be washed afterwards. What will you plan on doing with them? Storing them and keeping them? Selling them? I didn’t think it would be tacky, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I also think it would be a lot of work.

We did real flatware and water goblets with plastic plates (provided free by our caterer) and plastic cups for drinks from the bar (our venue didn’t allow us to serve alcohol in glass), and I may be biased, but I don’t think the mix came off as tacky at all

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Cassidy— definitely a lot to think through!
Thanks for the feedback.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Mattie!
That is really beautiful set up— everything looks great together!

View Quoted Comment That is actually very nice. We are doing the same thing. I'm glad that I saw your pictures because that was the confirmation I needed. I was a little worried at first.

View Quoted Comment I agree, Carla!

My brother and sister in law had real glassware (provided by the venue), and it was a *mess* - someone fell on the dance floor and broke their glass everywhere. Plus some people had taken shoes off, so they could have been cut. We went with heavy duty plastic for all of it.

As a side note, IKEA is having supply issues (like everyone else) so you may not be able to get enough glassware - because PPs are right, you really need 5-6x more than your guest list.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Becky!!
That is super helpful - I’m looking into heavy duty (but still pretty) glasses :-).

View Quoted Comment Hi Cassidy,
Out of curiosity, what are those small bottles to the right of your place settings?

View Quoted Comment Oops— I meant MATTIE😌.
Out of curiosity, what are the small bottles to the right of your place settings?

View Quoted Comment Those were little bottles of hand sanitizer we put at each place setting. We figured (1) people would be more likely to use it if it was directly in front of them at their seats, and (2) it would be a favor that guests would actually take and use afterward.

View Quoted Comment Love it!!
Great idea😊

I have never been to a wedding that used anything other than traditional dinnerware and glassware. I would never say tacky, but in my circle it would be very unexpected and possibly questioned (i live in an area were not using reusable items is frowned upon)

Keep it all disposable or all real. Bear in mind that renting dishes through your caterer or a local party rental business is cheaper than paying for it to sit forever in the local landfill. Also many venues do not allow real glassware on the dance floor for liability reasons. You need to pick a formality and be consistent.


There’s nothing “tacky” ( plus so many better words to use instead) about using disposable dishes at a very casual wedding. Plastic cups are common at formal events and have come a long way since the clear DIY dollar tree glasses. Plastic silverware is easy to break unless you get the heavy duty boxes from Costco.