While Mr. Chopstick and I love to eat the food at a traditional 10 course Chinese wedding banquet, I know my family and friends would faint at the sight of shrimp with their heads still attached and shark fin soup. I was hoping to somehow do either a multi-course American dinner with lots of steak and seafood, or do a large American "family style" meal following appetizer heaven at cocktail hour.

Have any brides tried this? What was the general reaction from Chinese guests?

We also had a guest list that included asian & non-asian guests. We didn't do the traditional 10 course dinner, but we tried to incorporate our backgrounds with hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour. I think your asian guests would be fine with a steak and seafood dinner (since both are popular). I hope that helps!

And on a side note - my dad was thrilled that we didn't do a traditional asian reception. He said he was completely tired of all that type of wedding food. I'd speak with your in-laws and see what their thoughts are on the subject.