My fiancee and I are getting married this fall in our home. I sent out save the dates to about 95 people, and we are expecting that about 70 people will be able to come. While we have a pretty large house, I am up against some dilemmas!
We initially were planning a casual wedding, and were going to cater out gourmet bbq buffet for our guests. We were going to do a stand up reception but provide lots of casual seating in various areas of the house, as well as cocktail tables (the little tall ones that you stand up at) in the main reception area, and some long, casual tables in our basement (which is nice and bright and will be decorated as well). My maid-of-honour thinks that food like that requires a sit-down wedding, and that people will be annoyed if they have to hunt for a seat or aren't all in one area. I can fit long tables to seat about 42 people in the main area, and could seat the rest on the deck right next to it (the deck is almost 800 sq feet).
Here is my question: Can I get away with kinda having people spread out in different spaces like that? This would also mean having to commit to an outdoor ceremony, as well as breaking down tables later on to create a dance floor. Should I abandon the whole gourmet bbq thing and stick with easy-to-eat appies? This would require moving the wedding up a couple of hours and turning it into a cocktail reception.
Please share your thoughts and advice!