We are going super laid-back, backyard wedding on a Friday evening. Our thought was to have a long grill set up and have each guest pick a pork chop or chicken and grill their own. We will have meat thermometers available. Our thought was that we didn’t want people to show up get food, sit with whom they normally socialize, eat, and leave.We thought it would be a gathering place for everyone to mingle — his family and my family all together with a common goal and would start conversations among everyone cooking. We also have salad, rolls, baked potato bar, a s’mores bar and outdoor games. We want people up moving and having fun. Any advice?
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This idea sounds pretty fun, but I suspect it may be over the heads of a majority of your guest list. Grilling is a bit of an art with which some of us aren’t too acquainted. If a thermometer has to be involved, you can safely say it’s a more advanced science. You also might not want guests’ interaction to be figuring out a grill or having any frustration with the experience.
That said: your idea of getting everyone up and about is awesome! Your s’mores bar and baked potato bar alone sound like they’ll at least help with this. Just be warned that some folks will be scared off by the idea of grilling their own food. It also poses a bit of a food safety concern, even with the thermometers. You definitely don’t want anyone getting sick. A safer alternative might be grilling up skewers of veggies — sweet taters, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, etc. can be easily grilled without too much expertise.
If you decide you do want to have a self-grilling station, make sure there’s a pre-made option for your main course (some pre-made sammies? Pre-fried chicken?) That way if anyone feels like meat but doesn’t want to get near the grill, there’s an option.
You’ve already got this covered with the outdoor games, but non-food collaborative alternatives like collaborative guest books, karaoke, and photo booths are great for getting everyone together.
Let us know how it goes!
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