What to serve during small reception/ cocktail "hour"?

Re: What to serve during small reception/ cocktail "hour"?

• Knottie1434408840 member

  

  October 2015

  Thanks! This is exactly what I pictured. More something to hold everyone over. 

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• redoryx member

  

  October 2015

  TrixieJess said:

  Knottie1434408840 said:

  Hi everyone!

  
  

  We are having a small (30 people) ceremony and cake-and-champagne reception at a private residence in Las Vegas. We will then be heading to dinner with an expanded guest list at The Wynn Buffet. Our ceremony will be at 11 am, and dinner at 4pm. We obviously need to serve lunch during the reception, but dinner is going to be huge, so we don't think lunch needs to be all that involved. We are thinking sandwich platters and maybe nuts/ snack mixes. Does this seem like an appropriate amount and type of food?

  Firstly, you have a HUGE gap. This is an etiquette no-no. 

  
  

  Secondly, you are having a tiered wedding. Either invite everyone to the ceremony AND reception or don't invite extra people to the reception. 

  
  

  Unless you are serving "lunch" for 4 hours, you need to move up your reception. A cocktail hour is just that, an hour. You can serve lighter fare, fruit and veggie platters, cheese and crackers, light hors d'oeuvres. 

  
  

  Yeah, this entire situation is all kinds of no. 

  

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  October 2015

  The only way what you are planning won't come off as rude or tiered is by completely separating the two events.  Meaning your wedding is the ceremony at 11am and the small lunch directly after. The dinner, is just a dinner.  It should have no association in regards to your wedding.

  
  

  What I don't understand is why you just won't invite everyone to the ceremony and reception?  Why leave some people off the list?  You apparently want to celebrate with them seeing as you want to invite them to dinner, so why not just include them in your actual wedding?
  

  
  

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• CMGragain member

  

  October 2015 edited October 2015

  Knottie1434408840 said:

  Hi everyone!

  
  

  We are having a small (30 people) ceremony and cake-and-champagne reception at a private residence in Las Vegas. We will then be heading to dinner with an expanded guest list at The Wynn Buffet. Our ceremony will be at 11 am, and dinner at 4pm. We obviously need to serve lunch during the reception, but dinner is going to be huge, so we don't think lunch needs to be all that involved. We are thinking sandwich platters and maybe nuts/ snack mixes. Does this seem like an appropriate amount and type of food?

  I believe this is called a tiered reception, and it is not a good idea.  Guests who are not invited to you ceremony and reception will be offended by being invited only to a dinner following your real wedding reception, which is the cake and punch.  Your plans are very rude. The rules of etiquette apply in Las Vegas, too!
  

  

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• Knottie1434408840 member

  

  October 2015

  I guess I should have specified that the ceremony and "reception" are immediate family only. The dinner is our full "acting reception", and is friends and non-immediate family as well. We have spoken with just about everyone invited to the dinner, and they all have said that it sounds great and that they understand the private ceremony. 

  
  

  The only tier that we are introducing is immediate family and non-immediate family. 

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• artbyallie mod

  

  October 2015 edited October 2015

  Knottie1434408840 said:

  I guess I should have specified that the ceremony and "reception" are immediate family only. The dinner is our full "acting reception", and is friends and non-immediate family as well. We have spoken with just about everyone invited to the dinner, and they all have said that it sounds great and that they understand the private ceremony. 

  
  

  The only tier that we are introducing is immediate family and non-immediate family. 

  30 people cannot possibly be immediate family only unless one or both of you is a Duggar. <20 people is the only way the ceremony can be truly tiny enough to be acceptable.
  
  ETA: I also had a horrible thought just now. You are paying for the buffet for everyone, yes?

  

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• Knottie1434408840 member

  

  October 2015 edited October 2015

  artbyallie said:

  30 people cannot possibly be immediate family only unless one or both of you is a Duggar. <20 people is the only way the ceremony can be truly tiny enough to be acceptable.
  
  ETA: I also had a horrible thought just now. You are paying for the buffet for everyone, yes?

  Unfortunatley, it is immediate family. My mom and dad are both remarried, and I have three brothers that are all married. My future husband has two siblings that are married. Factor in grandparents that are still around, an aunt and uncle that I am extremely close with, and young niece and nephew that we are very close to, and we hit 28 people.

  
  

  Yes, we are paying for the buffet for everyone. It ends up being cheaper than most caterers, and the food is to die for.

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• levioosa member

  

  October 2015

  Nope.  Everyone needs to be invited to both the ceremony and the reception.  Tiered weddings are incredibly rude.  

  
  

  
  

  

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• doclago member

  

  October 2015

  I am just curious, are you having a early ceremony for religious reasons or venue availability?

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• artbyallie mod

  

  October 2015

  So why not just eliminate the gap, invite everyone to the wedding ceremony, and then feed everyone lunch? You're leaving people out of the cheap portion, so I know you're not doing it to save money. Just have one event.

  

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