by Robyn Reichel
(Grand Island, NY)
We are doing an outdoor picnic type reception. We are trying to keep things very cheap but my fiance has an enormous family. How do I keep it cheap?
Hi Robyn
You lucky thing! A picnic wedding reception is a really fun way to celebrate your wedding and can be either very relaxed or very formal.
Borrow as many picnic blankets as you can, or ask your guests to bring their own blanket.
The cheapest way to have a picnic reception is to have it as a pot luck or in this case bring your own picnic and blanket! You could then provide the drinks and the wedding cake.
The next option is to have your picnic reception in the afternoon, this will mean you need to have your wedding early afternoon. This way your guests will already have had lunch and will just need an afternoon tea.
If you want an informal wedding reception you could have a bbq. Get the men to volunteer to do the cooking and go from there. Keep your food costs down by just doing burgers and sausages and then have some bowls of salad to accompany it.
You can get your guests to provide some parts of the wedding picnic as their wedding gift to you and if it is a big family get together that won't seem so strange.
If you really don't want to ask for your guests to bring food then you will need to shop around for the best price on your food. Avoid sandwiches as they are so time consuming to make and they can go dry very easily. Lots of supermarkets do big platters of party food that you could use and they are quite cheap. You could have a different platter on each picnic blanket and then a jug of iced tea to accompany it.
Hope you find a way that works for you!
Good luck
Suz
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