Self-catered

Even if you could do this from a food safety perspective do you really want your dearest family members and you two to be running around like crazy and cooking in the days leading up to and the morning of the wedding?

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I understand where you coming from but we actually will not be. We are thinking of doing a pig, we have a friend who has a pig roaster and will be watching it over it for us. The rest is thrown together very easy. We have 4 friends who work in the food industry and who are bartenders who will be doing the set up and watching over the buffet as well being our certified bartenders. So that will not be a issue at all

View Quoted Comment So you are going to make one friend watch a pig and 4 watch over the buffet and set up stuff for you rather than just letting them relax and enjoy your wedding?

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I asked for positive feedback not negative. They are distant friends. In fact there friends of friends who have volunteered to help. Thank you for your opinion though.

If you want feedback, you should be looking for honest feedback, not just positive. No matter how you go about it, there’s no good way to ask a friend or family member to work your wedding and also attend as a guest.

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All of this. You can't post on a public forum and limit how people response. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. What if someone had a bad experience with self catering their own wedding and wanted to share it. Seems silly not to learn from that information.

Oh girl! This post will get very rude comments that have nothing to do with what you originally asked. I myself made a very similar post and swear it brought the worst out of people! I guess it's easier to be so rude to people you don't know and will likely never meet.
As for your original post asking for the POSITIVE feedback, if people don't have positive feedback they should probably just backout to the previous screen and search for a new post to comment on!
We are doing something similar. We will have some friends (not close) but rather people we know who know they are not invited as guests to the wedding. Who we have worked an arrangement out with for them to set up and man the buffet as well as bust the dining room and wash dishes. We also have a friend who knew they weren't invited and gifted us his bartending services. He is a certified bartender for a upscale restaurant in our area. So yeas this is very doable and I have gotten some really good feedback from others (not on this app) but people I know or from people who have attended weddings who have done self catering.
You will get some good feedback here as well you will just have to cipher through all the negative. And to remember each their own no one has to agree with you or you agree with them every has their own personal preference! Good luck 👍

Don't mind the nit picky ones. The people on here who enjoy demeaning those for having a different outlook or opinion astounds me. God forbid you don't follow traditional etiquette or have a mind of your own 😂 you're fine! You know your guests and your family! Especially if you have professionals willing to offer their services then do it! I hope it works out wonderfully and you have a great wedding day =]

“If you have not self catered your wedding, why even comment” asks the person not self catering their wedding and still commenting...

also, this is an etiquette and advice forum. Women can help women by reminding them just how much work they’re potentially taking on by not having professionals handle the food at their wedding. Women don’t need to help women just by agreeing with them.

An able body is an able body. If you have people willing/volunteering to help with the food you might as well take them up on it. Self catering is usually for a more casual wedding. So, I would suggest if you're wanting a formal wedding to look into catering. (Assuming fairly casual since you mentioned pig roast) We are also planning to do self catering and preparing things in advance. Several of my aunts and cousins have contacted me to help and I've just said here are a few things we will need help with the day of and all are happy to help. I'm not making anyone work, but if they volunteer why not take them up on it? Some family dyanamics are just more helpful than others. Some brides want to be more formal than others. Some want to be safe than sorry. Just know your crowd and the risks that go with self catering.

View Quoted Comment Oh hey there! Ive seen you comment on multiple ladies posts with pretty judgmental comments.
And yes i have not self catered, BUT she was asking for positive comments. What did i post? A positive comment.
She clearly knows what she is doing, because she actually said her family has catered before! And by her post she clearly is not asking for peoples comments to talk her out of it..she was asking for postive comments.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for commenting.
You have a BLESSED day now.

We are having a taco bar at our wedding. It is a smaller wedding and super casual. Good luck

Thank you to those who posted positive feedback! I do appreciate it! Yes, my family and myself know what we are doing, I was just looking for others who have done the same and had a positive outcome! Of course there are negative people out there but they can butt out! Yes, our wedding will be fairly casual, pig roast, kegs of beer and bbq sides! Thank you all again! 🙂

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Oh that sounds so much fun! My fiancé would love that, tacos and Mexican type food are his favorites!! Good luck to you!!

View Quoted Comment Thank you, i love tacos too, so it seemed like the easiest.

Where are you having your reception? Just double check that the venue, if you’re using a commercial venue, is OK with you self-catering, because some may not be and you don’t want to get down that road then discover they won’t allow it. Also it’s definitely worth getting wedding insurance - if anything does go wrong then you’re covered - if you hired a caterer they would be insured. It’s not usually too expensive (a couple of hundred bucks probably) and worth it for the peace of mind.

My wedding isn't until August but I originally started planning with a self catering and after some thought and little luck decided to do a mix. We are doing signature drinks, lemonade and cucumber water all in pitchers so they can be made ahead and just add ice. We are doing the appetizers and doing salsa and chips, costco hummus and pita chips, a veggie tray, and I am making spinach and artichoke dip which can be made in advance and only takes 25 minutes to bake. We are making a large salad for the dinner and having the local restaurant make the main meal and just picking it up after the ceremony since it is only 5 minutes from the reception. I was able to take off $10/per person of the catering since I'm doing the appetizers and salad myself. My other plan was to do tacos and do a pulled pork barbacoa in the crock pot, shredded chicken and a veggie option but it was too much to bite off by myself and also setting up the wedding the day of.

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I have also been thinking of doing a mix. We are very good friends who own a local bar in our area and we LOVE there appetizers. We are thinking of have cocktail hour catered by them and then doing a pig, baked beans, a penne with vodka sauce, coleslaw, potato salad and a garden salad. Which all are pretty easy to throw together with just a few ingredients and can be made a few days before. That is great you cut down on cost doing that! Good luck to you and congrats!

View Quoted Comment We are considering a mix too. Your idea sounds great! We already plan to have insurance. I am no professional but not keen just having someone cater just because. I want too like the food. I am so picky about food. When I am with other people I eat what's provided but in this instance I want to really enjoy the food. So we are going to have some food dropped off from a few favorite restaurants and some we are going to make. People do volunteer to make stuff friends and family of mine have without my asking. There seems to be so many rules about weddings. I don't really like rules when they stifle personality and creativity.