A bride-to-be's wedding plan has caused a stir among her relatives after she decided to ditch a traditional sit-down meal in favour of food vans – and expects guests to pay for their own food. The decision has been branded a serious mistake by family members, who fear it could lead to guests not turning up on the big day.
Controversial wedding plan
The bride-to-be, described by her sister-in-law as "quite immature", has scrapped the idea of a formal wedding breakfast. Instead, she wants food vans at her reception, with guests queuing up and paying for their own meals. This comes as she plans a "huge and lavish" celebration, according to a post on Reddit's R/UKWeddings community.
Her sister-in-law, who posted under the title 'How to tell my SIL her plan sucks?', explained the situation. She wrote: "She is recently engaged and was telling me her wedding plans. They want a huge, expensive wedding, they don't want kids there because she thinks kids will ruin it when they've spent so much money, and they don't want a sit down meal because she says they're too expensive, boring, and the food is often poor quality."
Family concerns
The sister-in-law added that the bride mentioned food vans as a "bonus" because guests can "go up to the vans and pay for what they want". When questioned, the bride replied that she wasn't paying £50-£100 per head for people to eat, as it was too expensive.
The sister-in-law expressed her dismay, saying: "I think that's a c****y thing to do at any wedding honestly, if you can't afford to feed your guests then cut out the other lavish stuff. But it's really an issue because my husband's side of the family are mostly at/below the poverty line." She also noted that her own wedding was "cheap and cheerful" with no expectation of guests buying expensive clothes or gifts.
Online reactions
Commenters on Reddit were quick to respond. One said: "You need to just say that food trucks are a fun idea, but it's common courtesy to feed your guests. She can't expect them to pay. If she doesn't want to do that then plan a wedding without a proper reception or elope!"
Another questioned the feasibility, wondering if food vans would "rock up on a wing and a prayer that guests will serve them", adding that vendors would likely still want payment and venues often have existing relationships with such suppliers.
A third commenter remarked: "Forgive me, how can she be so socially stunted but also afford a big lavish wedding?" They suggested that if newly engaged, the bride might go through various iterations of the plan before landing on something more acceptable, and advised that guests "certainly expect to be fed and watered" as a "social non-negotiable".
A fourth added that it's acceptable for guests to pay for their own drinks after Prosecco on arrival, wine with dinner, and champagne for the toast, but said: "You cannot expect guests to buy their own food, this would be incredibly bad form and people would talk about the wedding for years to come for all the wrong reasons."
