Need wedding venue that allows me to bring our own food.

Https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/lodge-little-seneca-creek/ - is my only suggestion. I know it is far from Baltimore but they have a tent for the outdoors and I'm very sure they let you figure out what you want to do with your food.

I don't know if they will already be booked though. I was looking at dates for October of this year and then decided to push my wedding.

That's a really great lead. Thank you!

Https://www.herecomestheguide.com/maryland/wedding-venues/historic-oakland - there is also this one. I have no idea how close it is to you but it does say that it allows for you to bring your own.

Unfortunately, most professional venues who have certain perks, like back-up plans to accommodate for bad weather, will not allow self catering due to needing to protect themselves legally. You can certainly find a venue who will let you bring in an outside caterer - even one who will allow you to bring in a Puerto Rican caterer. You should look for venues like that.

For the record, I’ve been to Puerto Rican weddings and I’ve never heard of that being a tradition. The last Puerto Rican wedding I went to, the bride and groom had traditional Puerto Rican food catered to ceremony site where we all got to enjoy an informal cocktail hour while they took pictures. Then we moved to the reception site, where they hosted a cocktail half hour as everyone settled in. And their venue catered “American” food. Just a fun thought for something you could do to incorporate some yummy food.

View Quoted Comment I just requested information from them, thanks again

View Quoted Comment Sarah, I'm sure those Puerto Ricans had a great time but unfortunately this is my wedding with my family and I'm happy to have had the chance to show you a different side to Puerto Rican traditions.

You'll have a hard time finding a venue that will let you make the food yourself, as it opens them up to all kinds of liability. There should be some that will allow any licensed caterer to provide it though. Is there a restaurant that you enjoy that could cater?

Have you interviewed any of these caterers? My caterer who cooks "white" food (quoting because not sure I agree with the terminology) made amazing Puerto Rican and Argentinean dishes for our tasting.

Theres a reason these venues don't allow self-catering. It can be dangerous and a huge liability for both the venue and the couple.

Try interviewing the caterers if you havent.

If your offended I apologize, didn' feel like listing Italians, French, country, ect. I understand why the world is the way it is but it doesn't hurt to reach out and try to find a place. I already have two leads. All I need are leads, not reason I can't have what I want.

View Quoted Comment Laura, I’m happy to have had the chance to show you how to host your guests well while still including to incorporate your culture into your day.

View Quoted Comment I'm not sure what you are trying to say. What I was trying to say is that any venue that is in a much wanted setting (like a waterfront) won't let you bring your own food.

Are you looking for caterers who will make PR food or a venue that will not take the liability of a self-catered wedding?

View Quoted Comment It's a bit improper to question someone's cultural traditions. Many African Americans don't jump the broom at their weddings, but it's still an African American tradition. Imagine if someone asked a question about jumping the broom and you reply "I've been to African American weddings and I've never heard of that being a tradition". Many people haven't heard of it, but it doesn't give you the right to diminish or disqualify traditions her family chooses to follow.

View Quoted Comment I agree. It may be easier to ask the caterers at these venues if they can prepare Puerto Rican food. Some venues will bring in a chef that specializes in that type of cuisine. For my brother's wedding, the venue brought in a Caribbean chef to cater the desired menu.

View Quoted Comment Jumping the broom, which has zero effect on your guests comfort and experience, is a lot different than cooking your own food for a large group of people and not paying any mind to food safety guidelines and potentially risking their health. The only reason I made a comment is, because regardless to culture, I have never heard of self catering being reflective of an entire culture as a whole. Any culture. Sure, maybe in families. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have made that comment but “it’s tradition” has lately become an excuse for people to do whatever they want. I should have just included the tips from the last Puerto Rican I went to because they incorporated their culture a different way.

Sarah, I'm not trying to have a culture debate about where I'm from. Puerto Rico is a mixture of African (mostly Angolan and Congo), Spain and Taino native influences. Different parts of the island have different customs and traditions. Also different mixtures of those three races come with different traditions. As well as different religions. Some are Catholic, some are Pentecostal, some are Jehovah's Witnesses, these are Christian examples. Some worship zemis, some pratice Santeria, there are many religions within the people because of the addition of African and Taino practices, fornwhatever reason people think Puerto Rico is little Spain Island. It isn't. Some Puerto Ricans are "Americanized" and follow American traditions. It's a mixed bag. That being said my particular family follow practices unique to our culture which also include traditions from Nevis which has some French and Kalingo influences. We're a family of cooks and bakers. My father and sister makes wedding cakes because they are trained pastry chef. All ceremonies we do I suppose is similar to how Americans would do a bbq at a park for memorial day. No one in your family is complaining that the burgers aren't made by caterers (and if so well we just can't relate). No, usually you just eat your burger and hotdogs and have fun celebrating with family. That's what we do. We go to ceremonies, bring arroz con gandules only abuela can make, Titi Zoar's chicharrones de pollo, and so on. That' what we do. We're not looking to use the facilities kitchen, we're just trying to find a beautiful space to bring already cooked food and celebrate my marriage in the humble way we enjoy doing it. I'm sorry if my family bothers you, im sorry if i dont fit the mold of other Puerto Ricans. All I'm looking for are leads. Log cabin by a lake I don't know about, maybe a beach shack at Sandy point, maybe someone on here has a house by patapsco river I can rent from them. That's all I'm looking for. Trust me, I know I'm on a difficult journey, I have been for months. I don't need any reminders of how difficult my simple request is. I just need leads.

I would also like to add, I'm strapped for funds. Originally I wanted to have my wedding in Puerto Rico to save travel on my family. But hurricane Maria destroyed where they live and we here in the states did everything we could to help our family in Puerto Rico. It wasn' easy on any of us. I don' need a grand ball room. I don't need fancy food. I just need a place to celebrate with my family, with our food, with our music. When I was a little girl I thought I would be getting married on a beach. Now I'm just looking for a place to potentially keep us dry by any source of water. Pond, lake, river, beach, a pretty stream.

Strap for cash or not, bringing food was something I assumed we would be doing, as I explained earlier. That' what we do and we have fun doing it. Even I'm making food to bring, because I always bring food and even though I'm the bride I love to cook and I love watching my family and friends eat what I cook. I also love complimenting the other cooks. Again, it's what we do.

View Quoted Comment LadyH, I may have to do this, I'm just fighting it lol. Food is so.important to my family and such a huge part of how we do things that I just don' want to lose that but I also dont have a home to fit 51 people lol

View Quoted Comment What is trying to be communicated is that, for something like a wedding, self-catering is a huge risk to take. Yes, family makes food for thanksgiving. Yes family makes food for birthdays. Weddings are different.

Also, any venue worth its shake isn't going to allow something that's going to get them sued and shut down, hence why open flames tend to be not allowed.

Why not have another cuisine at your wedding? My DH is Argentinean and I'm Puerto Rican. When we saw the cost of our traditional food versus a locally-sourced in-season menu we chose the locally-sourced in-season menu. We expressed our culture in different ways. This way you get a gorgeous waterfront venue and affordable safe food!

View Quoted Comment With my family weddings aren't different, just bigger. I replied to a few other people regarding this and why we do what we do. I understand we're not the same. This is why I'm just looking for leads.

As someone who lives in MD, I would think you'd have to stick to parks in order to bring in your own food. No actual wedding venue around here is going to take that risk. They have too many people willing to play by the rules.