FI and I are planning a small wedding of maybe 30 - 40 close friends and family. We are wanting to do a small, intimate wedding on a budget and have opted for a cake and punch reception. Neither of us have much experience with this style of reception. My family has a tradition of the dreaded potlucks, and FI's family loves a big blowout 5 course affair. We are paying for the wedding ourselves and have trimmed the guestlist to only our nearest and dearest that we want to share our day with (with much grumbling from our large and infrequently seen extended family).
FILs are really pushing for a bigger affair, but we don't want to overextend ourselves or get into any debt. (Finally became debt free this year. Yay to no more student loans! Lol) But at the same time I want our guests to have a good time.
Is there any requirement as to what must be served? We had planned to have cake and a couple different beverages (still deciding on a sugar free option for cake).
FILs are pushing for chocolate fountains, fondue, and sundae bars as well as various options in addition to cake. Is it considered rude to guests if only cake and a sugar free option are served?