Crawfish!?!

If you're going for a very casual vibe, I suppose it would be fine. I wouldn't serve crawfish at a formal event.

Its his wedding too. If its one of the few things he wants why not. Those who don't like it don't have to eat it. I don't think its trashy at all.

I love crawfish, but know not everyone does. If you're having a rehearsal or welcome dinner, could you do the crawfish there? They are SO messy to eat, that it's really hard for me to imagine them at anything but the most casual, newspaper on the table, picnic-type event. If that describes your wedding plans, and you have something else for those who won't eat crawfish, I think you're okay. (If by chance your wedding is a bit fancier, Crawfish Etouffee could definitely be an option.... Oh, my goodness! SO GOOD!)

First of all, there is nothing wrong with doing a crawfish boil or having a casual reception dinner. We are already spending so much money on a wedding, we don't need to be going all out for a reception dinner too. With that being said, we are doing a shrimp boil for our reception dinner, and our family is cooking it. We also live in a small country town. We have our venue for the entire weekend, so the plan is to: go set up the day before the wedding, have the rehearsal, then have the rehearsal dinner party (all at the venue). We will set up some tables and chairs, have several big pots of shrimp boil being cooked then dumped on a table (all outside). Serve yourself style! Paper plates and plastic ware, too. We aren't even offering any other meal options. What you see is what you get (of course they will be notified of the dinner plan). Our rehearsal dinner will be for bridal party and any out of state guests that can make it.

EDIT: Just realized you wrote reception...not rehearsal! HAHA...oops! Well, now you know my feelings about rehearsal dinners. For a reception..that is a little more tricky. But I think it will depend on the vibe you are going for. If you want a more casual affair, I don't see anything wrong with it. Have a catering company cook it and present it on a large table for guests to fill their plates how they please, take their plates to a table, and eat like they normally would. Personally, I wouldn't feel awkward eating it in a nice dress, but to each their own. Guess it just depends on where you are from....around here, shrimp/crawfish boils are awesome!

What about for the rehearsal dinner instead. It's not tacky but that's a meal that you have to not mind messing up your clothes

I think it sounds fun, if guests knew in advance. They'd know the wedding was VERY casual so they could wear things like jeans and all that. I'd also provide some kind of "First crawfish boil?" menu/pamphlet for people that haven't been to one before.

Oh, my goodness! If you're going with Etouffee, I'm totally IN! So delicious.... My favorite restaurant in all the world is an upscale Cajun restaurant in Santa Barbara (The Palace...). Their Etouffee is to die for! SOOOOOOOO GOOOD!

I'm literally in the same position that you are in except I want the crawfish boil. I think most of our guests would enjoy it but I found a caterer local to my area (I live in San Antonio, Texas) that does crawfish boil with the works and they also boil all the sides separately incase someone has a seafood allergy but they still want sausage, corn, potatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms etc.. They also do Boiled Shrimp, Shrimp or Crawfish Étouffée , Red beans and rice , Chicken and Sausage gumbo, Seafood gumbo for those that want other options

Sounds Fun!

We're doing a clam bake! We wanted something very casual, and it sets the tone nicely. We've asked our guests to dress garden party casual. We also have chicken, steak and vegetarian options.