Actually, I just coordinated a wedding last year that had two different caterers and homemade dishes that her grandmother brought it. Liability is a squishy thing. For instance, if you're working with an event staffing company who's serving, they won't be held responsible if someone gets sick. Check with your venue and your vendors and see what's possible. Cooking your entire meal isn't optimal, I agree, but there are a ton of low-cost catering options. DIY isn't the only alternative, you just have to look around until you find something you're comfortable with.
See if there is a way to bring the rice cooker(s) to your venue and make the rice on site. Also, be careful that you have enough food for your guests to get more than one serving.
Ooh, and I just "spoke" to Invite this morning and thought of a new idea - B-list your cousins. Send them invitations as No's start coming in from your original list.
People have potluck parties all the time, and I'd like to think that one of the benefits of this is that it IS a little more casual, and something everyone can participate in. Even better if you can keep track of who donated what bottle of wine, and make sure that is served at their table during the wedding. There is always a way to do what you want and make it work. Whatever you do, someone isn't going to like it, so you may as well do what you want.
Just watching Rachel Maddow, and Rachel pointed out that Feinstein became Mayor of San Francisco in 1978, after Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk were shot and killed. As the President of the Board of Supervisors, she was next in succession. She was down the hall when Milk was shot, and was one of the people who attempted to revive him and find a pulse. A couple of years earlier, a group called the New World Liberation Front shot out all the windows in her house, shortly after they left a bomb on her windowsill. So, you know, she's not really a stranger to gun violence.
"Immediately" doesn't really work in Wedding World, in this case. I think the quickest you could do it in a month, taking your (potential) honeymoon, getting back to your life, nailing down who sent what, and getting the actual thank you's together in one place, and then out the door. Add a couple of more weeks to get over planning your wedding enough to tackle this project.
Granted, the year rule started in pre-internet, pre-technology times, when there was less expectation of a speedier turn-around. These days, when folks freak out if you don't respond to their text in five minutes, expectations have definitely changed, I'll give you that.
Yeah, on the morning of my weddings, I've been getting them to put "wedding planner" on mine. :-)
Agreed. Like I said, I have run into vendors that won't return my phone calls about clients, and I move on to the next one.
it's also a matter of when you're making those 2-3 calls. If it's Friday-Sunday, you're not going to hear back until Monday or Tuesday. If it's during the week, and you've called multiple times and haven't heard back, then move on. Just like with your schedule, there are better times to reach you and worse times.
I rented my wedding dress, for that exact same reason. But there really aren't any parks in Los Angeles where you can get married for free, without security or cops bugging you. And if I am wrong about that, please let me know, I am dead serious!