Potluck wedding?!

That is a know your crowd type of question. If you think your guests would be cool with that then go for it. I think BBQ would be fine. Only thing about pot luck is that it is not insured so keep that in mind. Btw I am all about mac and cheese and if someone is not, they are not worth an invite lol.

Are potlucks the norm in your social circle for weddings? If they aren’t I wouldn’t do it. I’ve never been to a potluck wedding and it’s not something I would feel comfortable with from a food safety standpoint. Also a lot of times guests need to travel for weddings and transporting food would be very difficult.

Search this forum for "potluck weddings" and you'll read lots of responses and potential concerns about why it might not be a good idea. If you're having 15 people, and they are all family members and all the food will fit in your refrigerator, it might work. But, for a bigger crowd, purchasing sides isn't going to cost a lot more than what you'll pay for the meat, breads and desserts. Maintaining food safety should be your number one concern -- if people get sick eating potato salad that sat out too long at your wedding, their healthy insurance company is going to come after you for the cost of their health care (regardless of whether they want them to or not). Compare the cost of catered potato salad to a lawsuit, and I'm pretty sure the catering will be MUCH cheaper.

We're doing potluck at our wedding this coming weekend. We have about 65 people coming. Our friend circle does a ton of potluck get togethers, so it was a pretty easy choice for us. We're also having a backyard wedding, so it's basically a house party. 😂 I think, especially since your menu leans deliciously casual, that a potluck isn't something terribly out of the question. I'm guessing anybody who loves you would be perfectly ok bringing a side dish to your celebratory day.

Yes it's super tacky. It is not your guests job to cater your wedding.

It's not tacky. I've been to a lot of potluck weddings. It's an opportunity for your support system to show their support. That's really the whole point of this semi-public ceremonies we're all planning here, right?

The idea of bringing a dish instead of a gift is sweet/cute, but food safety is definitely a concern. I'd say maybe ask several people whose kitchens you trust to bring specific types of dishes, instead of asking everybody to bring food.

It really depends on the size of your wedding and what your guests will expect.