bridezilla freakout

[kellinator]

Be honest -- is there any way I can have 120 people without completely going broke or turning the wedding into a keg party?

Comments

Ideas

[tall-man.livejournal.com]

1) Have it be a dry reception.
2) Host the reception at a winery; you'll be able to likely cut a deal if the winery's products are the only booze available.
3) Cash bar.
4) BYOB reception (yes, I've been to one, and no, it's not as bad as you'd think -- the request was, informally, "bring stuff to share.").

As for food... talk to the caterer. There's a ton of recipes that can be made with simple, inexpensive ingredients that don't require a ton of work to cook (ie, lemon chicken with a side of steamed hericots verts and garlic mashed potatoes; 6 ingredients -- chicken, lemon, beans, potatoes, garlic, cream -- and that's assuming that the potatoes are from scratch). You could also have a light dessert luncheon (ie, chocolate fondue and fresh fruit, finger cakes, etc) instead of a formal, sit-down reception.

You could also take a cue from my Aunt Shiela's wedding -- she had the reception outdoors at her sister's house (they had a big, flat backyard, and plenty of on-street parking available), under a big pavilion, and she asked family to help with the food; not a potluck, more of "Hey, Paul and Tina, could you get a roast beef for 50? Donna, Walt, would you mind doing 2 sides -- say, beans and potatoes? Marjorie, can you arrange chocolate fondue?"

True, not as high-end as a fully catered reception, but not nearly as expensive, and since she and her husband already had household goods (they were in their late 30's), it cut down on the number of toasters they received (people who provided food were doing it as their gift).

Relax, enjoy yourself -- it's your wedding, you don't have to live up to other people's expectations of how it should be!