We’re all well aware of the fact that planning a wedding can be stressful. It will hopefully be worth it, if it culminates in one of the happiest days of your life, but often, attending weddings is even more fun than having one. All you have to do is get dressed up, bring a nice gift and be in a great mood all evening while supporting your friends. Piece of cake!
But one couple decided that it would be a good idea to put their wedding guests to work in the kitchen. Below, you’ll find the full story that a friend of theirs recently posted on Reddit, as well as some of the comments that invested readers chimed in with.
Many brides and grooms look for ways to cut costs when wedding planning
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
But when her friends proposed the idea of putting their wedding guests to work, this woman could not be supportive
Image credits: Racool_studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ICanToteIt91
Later, the friend responded to several readers and provided more information about the situation
Food and drinks often take up a substantial part of a couple’s wedding budget
Your wedding day can easily be the most expensive day of your life. In fact, the average cost of a wedding in the United States in 2023 was a whopping $35,000, The Knot reports. And unsurprisingly, a large chunk of that often goes towards the food budget. After all, the easiest way to keep your wedding guests happy is to make sure that they’re well fed!
According to The Knot, brides and grooms typically spend about $85 per wedding guest on catering. So if a wedding will have about 50 guests, the price for keeping their stomachs full might be around $4,250. And that’s without considering the cost of alcohol, which couples tend to spend about $2,800 on.
But nobody likes to be hangry, so brides and grooms often find it worth it to spend a large portion of their budget on food. In fact, 62% of engaged couples say that food and drinks are the most important thing to them when planning their weddings. Three quarters of couples also want to ensure that their guests are well taken care of and enjoy their experience at the wedding, so great catering is often an integral part of that.
While guests are responsible for much less than the happy couple, attending a wedding can be expensive as well. From buying a gift, to finding the perfect outfit to traveling to the venue and booking a hotel, a weekend celebrating a close friend can quickly cost hundreds. Apparently, the average cost of attending a wedding in 2023 was $580 per guest.
And most friends of the bride and groom are looking for a deal when they have to travel for a wedding, as The Knot found that 85% consider price the most important feature when finding accommodation for a wedding. Despite being convenient, it seems that the hotel the happy couple suggests isn’t always the most affordable option, so guests aren’t always willing to shell out for it.
Catering their own special day can be a great way to save money without putting guests to work
But if the bride and groom can’t afford to cover everyone’s accommodation or catering that will keep everyone well fed, it’s probably not fair for them to make specific demands about where guests need to stay and how much they need to help out on the big day. Catering your own wedding won’t be easy, but if it’s the only budget-friendly option, the Budget Savvy Bride has some tips on how to make it work.
First, they recommend keeping the guest list short if you’ll be in charge of food. Cooking for a lot of people can become overwhelming quickly, so this is not the time to invite 100 friends. It’s also wise to plan everything ahead of time. You’ll need a menu, grocery lists, a schedule and a plan for how to cook everything in time.
At this stage, you should also keep affordable ingredients in mind. Yes, wedding food should be nice, but you don’t need to buy caviar for dozens of people. Remember, you’re trying to save money. Plus, everyone loves pasta! Another way to cut down on costs is by serving less meat and instead loading up on fruits and vegetables.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think it’s reasonable for this couple to expect their guests to cook all of the food for their wedding? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out another article discussing wedding drama, we recommend this one next!
Many readers were appalled by the bride and groom’s idea
Some even chimed in with similar experiences of their own
The post “Hell No”: Woman Shames Friend’s Ridiculous Wedding Expectations That Made Her Opt Out first appeared on Bored Panda.
Source link
