@PrettyGirlLost, this is the same person who didn't get having the bartender flip a switch on a coffee urn vs. bringing in a cash food (coffee?) truck to provide fancy coffee for her guests to have with dessert.
Ah yes, I remember her.
She's noticeably silent now, especially since ppl have mentioned 2.5 cups of popcorn is a tiny serving. . .
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
@PrettyGirlLost, this is the same person who didn't get having the bartender flip a switch on a coffee urn vs. bringing in a cash food (coffee?) truck to provide fancy coffee for her guests to have with dessert.
Ah yes, I remember her.
She's noticeably silent now, especially since ppl have mentioned 2.5 cups of popcorn is a tiny serving. . .
She is also having an outdoor wedding ceremony in a location where typical temperatures run @85 degrees. I have to wonder if she will ration water at her water station to correspond with the popcorn ration. Not to worry, however. Just as she knows for certainty what her guests eat and when they eat it, she touts that no one has ever died from heat stroke at a wedding.
Perhaps she should rethink the costs of that tattoo bar she is offering. But she knows for certain that her guests will prefer a temporary tattoo over something unnecessary and frivolous, like......food.
@PrettyGirlLost, this is the same person who didn't get having the bartender flip a switch on a coffee urn vs. bringing in a cash food (coffee?) truck to provide fancy coffee for her guests to have with dessert.
Ah yes, I remember her.
She's noticeably silent now, especially since ppl have mentioned 2.5 cups of popcorn is a tiny serving. . .
She is also having an outdoor wedding ceremony in a location where typical temperatures run @85 degrees. I have to wonder if she will ration water at her water station to correspond with the popcorn ration. Not to worry, however. Just as she knows for certainty what her guests eat and when they eat it, she touts that no one has ever died from heat stroke at a wedding.
Perhaps she should rethink the costs of that tattoo bar she is offering. But she knows for certain that her guests will prefer a temporary tattoo over something unnecessary and frivolous, like......food.
Isn't she also the poster whose venue added a hideous, eye-sore, "you ruined everything!" canopy to her space?
I don't understand why anyone, ever, would want stale old popcorn from Etsy. It's 30 people- you can't buy a cheese try and a veggie try at the grocery store.
Was just perusing another thread and OP mentioned the end of her ceremony aisle will have "two tall vases with flowers in them". Hey @marissaskisses, cut the flowers and buy some cheese & veggie trays. Hosting guests well should trump aesthetic things like flowers 100% of the time.
Feeding Guests > Vision
I would side-eye the shit out of any wedding where there are big tall beautiful vases of flowers, yet I'm only being fed 2.5 cups of popcorn at cocktail hour.
Yum cheese. I'm having feta and roasted red pepper dip as one of my appitisers. I wanted cubed feta as well but our caterer is adding baby buffalo mozzarella instead because he said feta is an acquired taste. Who knew? Later in the evening we are doing more Scottish and French cheeses with chutney, biscuits, grapes etc.
Yum cheese. I'm having feta and roasted red pepper dip as one of my appitisers. I wanted cubed feta as well but our caterer is adding baby buffalo mozzarella instead because he said feta is an acquired taste. Who knew? Later in the evening we are doing more Scottish and French cheeses with chutney, biscuits, grapes etc.
I don't suppose you need a portion-er as well?
Sorry for being a bit thick but what's a portion-er?
Fancy popcorns are meant to be unique flavors right. I do assume OP will label them, but I would want to try something cool. What if it's disgusting? How many flavors do I get to try? I suppose 5 if you measure tiny 1/2 cup of each one.
Was just perusing another thread and OP mentioned the end of her ceremony aisle will have "two tall vases with flowers in them". Hey @marissaskisses, cut the flowers and buy some cheese & veggie trays. Hosting guests well should trump aesthetic things like flowers 100% of the time.
Feeding Guests > Vision
I would side-eye the shit out of any wedding where there are big tall beautiful vases of flowers, yet I'm only being fed 2.5 cups of popcorn at cocktail hour.
LOL, I said my budget was small, you honestly think I spent that much money on real flowers and expensive vases? The vases were $5 and the flowers are fake and cost me another $5, that $10 will not pay for enough veggies and cheese for 50 people. Would have been a great idea if a substantial amount of money was spent on decor, however it was not. A small budget means small budget everywhere, I was not spending more on decor than food.
@PrettyGirlLost, this is the same person who didn't get having the bartender flip a switch on a coffee urn vs. bringing in a cash food (coffee?) truck to provide fancy coffee for her guests to have with dessert.
Ah yes, I remember her.
She's noticeably silent now, especially since ppl have mentioned 2.5 cups of popcorn is a tiny serving. . .
I actually have a life outside of TK, had not come back for a few days because I was busy away from my computer. Thanks though
The burning question, though, @marissakisses, is if you were able to find someone, anyone, to push the button on a coffee maker, or if you're still spending a decent amount on a coffee truck.
Part of the problem is that the food is an afterthought for you, @marissaskisses. You should have made your plan and budget for the food before you committed any money to the temporary tattoos, games, decor and whatnot that you seem to think are such great ideas. Because if your guests go away hungry or thirsty, that will be what they remember of your wedding.
Since you do still have time, can you put aside a little $ each week from your and FI's paychecks to spring for some cheese and crackers and veggie trays? It won't break the bank and saves you the embarrassment of not having enough decently filling food for the cocktail hour.
Honestly - I'm with you on a lot of things. Like, for people who (presumably) had lunch, who needs to eat again at 4:30? You've never been to a happy hour and had a beer or two before eating dinner? It's not that big of a deal. Plus, you're serving dinner at 5:30.
I also never remember the food at weddings. I honestly can't tell you a single meal, although I do remember often filling up at cocktail hour and not even touching my dinner. I'm almost never hungry at weddings (cocktail hour and dinner are so early!) but do find myself eating out of boredom or because it's "dinner" time. I also can't remember if I've ever had wedding cake. Idk, I guess I'm usually dancing at that time? I know these things are important to guests but I guess they're just not that important to me at weddings. Music and entertainment are FAR more important (not decor). I mean, not everyone's priorities are the same. I like nice food and dining but at weddings I'm not really expecting a culinary experience and would much rather be socializing or dancing. I think it's a little ridiculous how you were attacked like, "Omg drinks without tons of food will your guests survive?!?!" when you're serving dinner literally like a half hour later.
That being said, i would never stand out as a "popcorn hater" - like a friend or family member would have never remembered "Oh she hates popcorn" because I'll take a bite if someone else gets a bag at the movies or won't say anything if it's out at a party, but I'll be honest, I really don't like popcorn very much. Honestly, I think $20-30 on pretzels, chips, and maybe a dip (salsa and queso?) would go a long way. It'll give people a little more variety to munch on. I don't think people are going to remember your wedding as the one where they were starving if they ONLY have popcorn, but a few more options might be nice.
Truth. I'm also doing a popcorn bar. I bought a bulk box of bagged popcorn for the microwave- $5. Bought a cheesy topping thinger- $3. Bought caramel cubes to melt-$3. Bought 3 big buckets at Michaels to serve it out of- $2 a piece. And scoops- $1 a piece. I have less than $20 in my popcorn bar, which allows room for other things because in the case of my small wedding, I have no idea what time people eat (And really, does it matter ? Some days i eat lunch atnoon, and I'm still hungry at 1. Other days I don't eat at all. Just like you should plan on 100% RSVP, you plan on all guests eating.), and what they like to eat. Because I'm not BSC.
During cocktail hour I will also be having cotton candy, a wide spread of fruits with dips and caramel, breads, and cheeses. Planning accordingly allowed me to do this.
FWIW, fruit and veggie trays are about $5 at your local Walmart. They serve 10. You could get 5 trays of each for $50, and a box of crackers for $4. You did not crunch the numbers in this. Do not use that as an excuse for bad hosting with no back up plan.
It is true that everyone's priorities are different. However I am of the opinion that food should be top of everyone's list! For us it was food, followed by alcohol, followed by music, then everything else after that. I've been to a wedding with very little food and all I remember was how hungry we were.
I would not side eye a wedding that placed the brides dress above music, nor a dry ceremony with lovely flowers. I do feel that the best thing when planning a wedding is to discuss your priorities with your FI (or those paying the bill) and spend accordingly. However, the basics (chairs, suitable food and beverages) have to be covered first.
Ho nestly - I'm with you on a lot of things. Like, for people who (presumably) had lunch, who needs to eat again at 4:30? You've never been to a happy hour and had a beer or two before eating dinner? It's not that big of a deal. Plus, you're serving dinner at 5:30.
This is so very much not what this post is about, lol, but I'm still surprised at the amount of people who don't eat anything between lunch and dinner. Yes, I would say that almost every single day, after eating lunch, I eat again before 4:30.
The real point here is not that people are unable to go an extra hour without food. It's that OP chose to host a cocktail hour (which is far from a requirement at any wedding), but then refuses to even contemplate the idea that adding a few more inexpensive food options would be appropriate if she's serving alcohol.
Like I mentioned earlier, I'd simply not drink if put in that situation. But I'd sure be wondering why we're all standing around for an hour munching on 2.5 cups of popcorn rather than starting the reception.
Whenever I see this thread has new posts it just makes me hungry for flavored popcorn. Except I'm too cheap (and lazy) to go to the fancy popcorn store and buy some
If this flavored popcorn bar is TRULY the only food you can afford for cocktail hour, you need to drastically reduce the timeframe for cocktail hour. It should be max 20 minutes because that's probably how fast the popcorn will get eaten if each guest only gets 2.5 cups.
Have a first look, get all your BP pictures and family pictures before hand. After your ceremony, just have a few more pictures taken with your wedding bands on and then join your guests to get started on dinner. That will mean you should move dinner up to 5.
Wedding planning really isn't as hard as you are making it. Your defiant stances on popcorn for cocktail hour food and the coffee truck are what's making your wedding planning so difficult. There are many great answers to these problems being offered and you just won't listen to them.
I love this idea! i know i'm a little late but this is a cute choice. Everyone keeps saying guests will come hungry but that makes no sense to me If you've ever been to a wedding you know there's the ceremony, cocktail hour and then the reception. Why would you come hungry knowing you wouldnt get legit food until later? In my opinion popcorn is plenty filling!
What are the liquor laws where you live? In New Zealand you wouldn't get away with serving JUST popcorn with liquor. This could mean a fine or licence being taken away for a period of time. This is not responsible hosting. Is your venue aware of your popcorn plan?
ETA late to the party but definitely something that needs to be considered even if it is only for an hour.
@marissaskisses I get the impression when I read about your wedding that your idea of your reception has a lot to do with the overall "vibe" or "atmosphere" that you're striving to have and you think that food is an afterthought.
You may not remember the food you ate at a lot of weddings that you attended and to be honest, I didn't either. What stands out to me are the really really really good and the really really not so good.
Ex: I attended a wedding with DH and I felt like the food options just didn't taste good. One item offered was a stuffed tomato which I felt was just lacking taste and the food itself was just meh.
Different ex: I attended a wedding that welcomed me with champagne and strawberries and their "cocktail hour" had more food than you're offering at your reception. Then after we left the cocktail hour we had a full meal and following it were hot zeppole and an ice cream bar PLUS wedding cake.
Similarly, I couldn't tell you where the bridal party sat at a lot of the weddings I attended unless they were forced into a Last Supper - style head table. Then those stood out to me.
In this instance, I think there are a few issues with the popcorn that people already pointed out: 2.5 cups isn't a serving. You need to feed people for the nearly one hour it will be that they're drinking. The idea of saying, "Well then you should pace yourself dummy," doesn't really hold here. For starters, people DO drink at weddings. Secondarily, unless you know all of your 50 guests so well that they already know that they ONLY thing you're serving at cocktail hour is popcorn, they may very well eat the popcorn only to find that they need more and just didn't realize that the popcorn was it. Are you going to walk around to all of your guests saying, "Pace yourself dolls! This is it until dinner!"
(I know of someone who experienced this at a fundraising dinner catered by an elegant restaurant. He barely touched his salad course and it was taken away and he was still hungry - only to find out that the salad course WAS DINNER.)
Popcorn that's coated is a finger food. I try not to eat a lot of finger foods in dressy attire if I can help it - at least not the kind that leave a clear clinging residue that builds. I love me some Smartfood or Cheetos but I eat them with the knowledge that I'm washing my hands shortly after eating.
Popcorn gets stuck in my teeth. I love it but I'll find myself picking at my teeth with my tongue to get a kernel coating out. I'd hate for my husband to think I have ulterior motives when really I'm just trying to nudge something out of place.
As others have said, I may eat my lunch at noon and dinner at 7 but I eat a snack mid afternoon at least. My family eats with me and before we sit down to dinner I have given the two kids a snack and DH is funneling Goldfish. So while that's *when* we eat, I don't eat just lunch and dinner without anything in between. For someone so knowledgeable, you should ask around - most people shouldn't go that long without food. And popcorn doesn't really offer a lot that's complex.
That doesn't mean that popcorn itself isn't good. It's fun and I'd probably like it at your wedding. But 2.5 cups of popcorn isn't going to last me an hour. And if your budget is telling you that's all you could swing for your guests then I think you did some backwards budgeting of your event. The guests should have something with a bit more fat and protein to eat or you need to have a much shorter cocktail hour. It should be more like a cocktail 15 minutes.
Remember, no one is going to care about the other extras if they left too early and too hungry to enjoy them.
Lol, I never said it was tacky to provide cheese and crackers... I said the amount I would be able to afford would look tacky as each person would get one cracker with cheese. Sure I love expensive cheese too, but my budget is cheese whiz not mango Stilton LMAO (YUMMMMM, BTW). I wasn't looking for validation, I don't care what strangers who aren't coming to my wedding think about it. I was explaining that is all and answering questions as they came to me. If you don't expect an answer why bother asking a question? Or were the questions meant to be rude and sarcastic? Because if so, sarcasm is often lost over the internet.
As to the question about polling my 50 guests, no but in paying attention to their habits I've seen them all eat popcorn sometime or another during our time as friends/family (whether at a bar, movies, work, party, etc). I did check with my one friend bringing a new boyfriend that I have not met to ensure he liked and could eat popcorn.
Cocktail hour will be in the same area as the reception so they will be able to sit at their seat or roam the area and participate in the entertainment if they choose. The point about being easier to carry a bag if cocktail hour is standing is a good one, since many of our activities get people up and moving.
Thanks everyone for your feedback, I appreciate it.
If you can afford "gourmet" popcorn, you can afford veggie and dip trays. I would take that every option over popcorn. And I like popcorn.
So, I have explained this already but I will do it again. The cost of veggies and dip trays was to the point that each person would only get about 3 pieces, If anyone had too much there would not be enough for everyone, and very few people are only going to take 2-3 items and walk away. Most people would take a few of each type of veggie unless there is something specific they do not like, then normally you add more of a different type. It would not have been in my budget to provide enough veggies and dip to actually ensure everyone got something. We worked numbers every possible way, looked at every store in a 50 mile radius of the venue and all the pricing left the same conclusion. For the money I spent on popcorn I could not have fed every person veggies and dip unless someone was rationing the veggies out LOL
Stupid boxes;
Bullshit. There's no way veggie trays and dip cost more than 'fancy' popcorn. Gourmet my arse!
OP, I just saw that you have a characature artist. Read these pages on TK: they are filled with guest complaints about lack of food/variety with silly extras like artists or games. You have pages and pages of people saying popcorn is nice but they want something more substantial. Hangry guests are the worst.
Cut the artist and put a fruit/ cheese tray. Your guests will be so much happier! And yes, if you don't even have 200 to buy some fruit and veggies, your budget is stretched too thin and you need to rethink your plan.
The artist is her uncle. So not only is she not feeding people, her family are working her wedding; for free! RAGRET!
I know I'm late to the party here, but you can get giant veggie trays with dip at Costco for like $9 or $10. I'd say each one is good for at least 15 people. Not sure how buying $40 worth of veggie trays at Costco ends up being a budget buster.
when i got married, i was hungry i couldn't wait to get to the reception and up to the bridal room so i could go hang out with the wp and be able to eat. everyone is hungry at at a wedding most people eat very light because they know they are getting a lot of food.
as a person who has a corn allergy, would be forced to watch others eat popcorn while i was sipping water and counting down the minutes till the food came out.
i did an etsy search there is only one popcorn lady i see who sells it in many colors flavors. 10.00 gets you 12 cups per flavor, and she has some flavors with nuts on her etsy site.
op said some people had nut allergies, i would be worried about cross contamination from the sellers cooking supplies with residue from other events that had nuts
i did an etsy search there is only one popcorn lady i see who sells it in many colors flavors. 10.00 gets you 12 cups per flavor, and she has some flavors with nuts on her etsy site.
op said some people had nut allergies, i would be worried about cross contamination from the sellers cooking supplies with residue from other events that had nuts
But the reviews of the place online are GREAT! They don't need to abide by pesky labeling laws! It's GOURMET! Eat it to enjoy! How dare one question what's actually IN the popcorn - it's Popcorn! Food allergies be darned!!!
(btw - @hyechica81 - remember to check the original thread date - some of these are zombie threads!!!)
Re: Popcorn Bar instead of hot appetizer
She's noticeably silent now, especially since ppl have mentioned 2.5 cups of popcorn is a tiny serving. . .
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
Perhaps she should rethink the costs of that tattoo bar she is offering. But she knows for certain that her guests will prefer a temporary tattoo over something unnecessary and frivolous, like......food.
Feeding Guests > Vision
I would side-eye the shit out of any wedding where there are big tall beautiful vases of flowers, yet I'm only being fed 2.5 cups of popcorn at cocktail hour.
Her wedding will be memorable for her guests, but not for any good reason.
oh sorry just googled it, some one to hand out portions. It also means...
(Scotland) The proprietor of a small portion of a larger piece of land; a laird of a small estate
Every day's a school day! Which is ironic as I'm at university now and should be working instead of messing about on here.
Bacon wrapped, blue cheese dates mmmm.
Fancy popcorns are meant to be unique flavors right. I do assume OP will label them, but I would want to try something cool. What if it's disgusting? How many flavors do I get to try? I suppose 5 if you measure tiny 1/2 cup of each one.
The burning question, though, @marissakisses, is if you were able to find someone, anyone, to push the button on a coffee maker, or if you're still spending a decent amount on a coffee truck.
Since you do still have time, can you put aside a little $ each week from your and FI's paychecks to spring for some cheese and crackers and veggie trays? It won't break the bank and saves you the embarrassment of not having enough decently filling food for the cocktail hour.
I also never remember the food at weddings. I honestly can't tell you a single meal, although I do remember often filling up at cocktail hour and not even touching my dinner. I'm almost never hungry at weddings (cocktail hour and dinner are so early!) but do find myself eating out of boredom or because it's "dinner" time. I also can't remember if I've ever had wedding cake. Idk, I guess I'm usually dancing at that time? I know these things are important to guests but I guess they're just not that important to me at weddings. Music and entertainment are FAR more important (not decor). I mean, not everyone's priorities are the same. I like nice food and dining but at weddings I'm not really expecting a culinary experience and would much rather be socializing or dancing. I think it's a little ridiculous how you were attacked like, "Omg drinks without tons of food will your guests survive?!?!" when you're serving dinner literally like a half hour later.
That being said, i would never stand out as a "popcorn hater" - like a friend or family member would have never remembered "Oh she hates popcorn" because I'll take a bite if someone else gets a bag at the movies or won't say anything if it's out at a party, but I'll be honest, I really don't like popcorn very much. Honestly, I think $20-30 on pretzels, chips, and maybe a dip (salsa and queso?) would go a long way. It'll give people a little more variety to munch on. I don't think people are going to remember your wedding as the one where they were starving if they ONLY have popcorn, but a few more options might be nice.
During cocktail hour I will also be having cotton candy, a wide spread of fruits with dips and caramel, breads, and cheeses. Planning accordingly allowed me to do this.
FWIW, fruit and veggie trays are about $5 at your local Walmart. They serve 10. You could get 5 trays of each for $50, and a box of crackers for $4. You did not crunch the numbers in this. Do not use that as an excuse for bad hosting with no back up plan.
I would not side eye a wedding that placed the brides dress above music, nor a dry ceremony with lovely flowers. I do feel that the best thing when planning a wedding is to discuss your priorities with your FI (or those paying the bill) and spend accordingly. However, the basics (chairs, suitable food and beverages) have to be covered first.
The real point here is not that people are unable to go an extra hour without food. It's that OP chose to host a cocktail hour (which is far from a requirement at any wedding), but then refuses to even contemplate the idea that adding a few more inexpensive food options would be appropriate if she's serving alcohol.
Like I mentioned earlier, I'd simply not drink if put in that situation. But I'd sure be wondering why we're all standing around for an hour munching on 2.5 cups of popcorn rather than starting the reception.
If this flavored popcorn bar is TRULY the only food you can afford for cocktail hour, you need to drastically reduce the timeframe for cocktail hour. It should be max 20 minutes because that's probably how fast the popcorn will get eaten if each guest only gets 2.5 cups.
Have a first look, get all your BP pictures and family pictures before hand. After your ceremony, just have a few more pictures taken with your wedding bands on and then join your guests to get started on dinner. That will mean you should move dinner up to 5.
Wedding planning really isn't as hard as you are making it. Your defiant stances on popcorn for cocktail hour food and the coffee truck are what's making your wedding planning so difficult. There are many great answers to these problems being offered and you just won't listen to them.
ETA late to the party but definitely something that needs to be considered even if it is only for an hour.
You may not remember the food you ate at a lot of weddings that you attended and to be honest, I didn't either. What stands out to me are the really really really good and the really really not so good.
Ex: I attended a wedding with DH and I felt like the food options just didn't taste good. One item offered was a stuffed tomato which I felt was just lacking taste and the food itself was just meh.
Different ex: I attended a wedding that welcomed me with champagne and strawberries and their "cocktail hour" had more food than you're offering at your reception. Then after we left the cocktail hour we had a full meal and following it were hot zeppole and an ice cream bar PLUS wedding cake.
Similarly, I couldn't tell you where the bridal party sat at a lot of the weddings I attended unless they were forced into a Last Supper - style head table. Then those stood out to me.
In this instance, I think there are a few issues with the popcorn that people already pointed out:
2.5 cups isn't a serving. You need to feed people for the nearly one hour it will be that they're drinking. The idea of saying, "Well then you should pace yourself dummy," doesn't really hold here. For starters, people DO drink at weddings. Secondarily, unless you know all of your 50 guests so well that they already know that they ONLY thing you're serving at cocktail hour is popcorn, they may very well eat the popcorn only to find that they need more and just didn't realize that the popcorn was it. Are you going to walk around to all of your guests saying, "Pace yourself dolls! This is it until dinner!"
(I know of someone who experienced this at a fundraising dinner catered by an elegant restaurant. He barely touched his salad course and it was taken away and he was still hungry - only to find out that the salad course WAS DINNER.)
Popcorn that's coated is a finger food. I try not to eat a lot of finger foods in dressy attire if I can help it - at least not the kind that leave a clear clinging residue that builds. I love me some Smartfood or Cheetos but I eat them with the knowledge that I'm washing my hands shortly after eating.
Popcorn gets stuck in my teeth. I love it but I'll find myself picking at my teeth with my tongue to get a kernel coating out. I'd hate for my husband to think I have ulterior motives when really I'm just trying to nudge something out of place.
As others have said, I may eat my lunch at noon and dinner at 7 but I eat a snack mid afternoon at least. My family eats with me and before we sit down to dinner I have given the two kids a snack and DH is funneling Goldfish. So while that's *when* we eat, I don't eat just lunch and dinner without anything in between. For someone so knowledgeable, you should ask around - most people shouldn't go that long without food. And popcorn doesn't really offer a lot that's complex.
That doesn't mean that popcorn itself isn't good. It's fun and I'd probably like it at your wedding. But 2.5 cups of popcorn isn't going to last me an hour. And if your budget is telling you that's all you could swing for your guests then I think you did some backwards budgeting of your event. The guests should have something with a bit more fat and protein to eat or you need to have a much shorter cocktail hour. It should be more like a cocktail 15 minutes.
Remember, no one is going to care about the other extras if they left too early and too hungry to enjoy them.
as a person who has a corn allergy, would be forced to watch others eat popcorn while i was sipping water and counting down the minutes till the food came out.
op said some people had nut allergies, i would be worried about cross contamination from the sellers cooking supplies with residue from other events that had nuts
But the reviews of the place online are GREAT! They don't need to abide by pesky labeling laws! It's GOURMET! Eat it to enjoy! How dare one question what's actually IN the popcorn - it's Popcorn! Food allergies be darned!!!
(btw - @hyechica81 - remember to check the original thread date - some of these are zombie threads!!!)