Reception with Heavy Appetizers

MRDCle

Hello! My fiancé and I just chose our venue for our ceremony and reception.  It would likely be 4:00/4:30 start time for the ceremony, with cocktail hour starting the room over immediately after.  There would be cheese, crackers, and veggies during cocktail hour, and once the reception started, we were planning on doing a less formal meal of a variety of heavy apps.  The venue has an option with various "Stations" where guests could serve themselves. The stations would include:
Pasta Station - 2 selections
Taco Station - 3 selections
Salad Station - one selection
Slider Station (served with a side) - four different selections

The event coordinator on site assures me that this will be enough food that guests will not be put out, but would you be bothered by not having a full sit-down meal, as it will be during dinner time? Should this be indicated on the invite some how? Is it just a bad idea in general? 

lovesclimbing

Heavy app receptions at a meal time are fine as long as there's enough food to constitute a full meal. I think your event coordinator is right. This sounds like more than enough to fill people up and absolutely delicious! I wouldn't be bothered without a sit down meal. I would love to go to a just apps reception, and might honestly prefer it to a regular meal, because of the variety and how delicious apps usually are. 

MRDCle said:

Hello! My fiancé and I just chose our venue for our ceremony and reception.  It would likely be 4:00/4:30 start time for the ceremony, with cocktail hour starting the room over immediately after.  There would be cheese, crackers, and veggies during cocktail hour, and once the reception started, we were planning on doing a less formal meal of a variety of heavy apps.  The venue has an option with various "Stations" where guests could serve themselves. The stations would include:
Pasta Station - 2 selections
Taco Station - 3 selections
Salad Station - one selection
Slider Station (served with a side) - four different selections

The event coordinator on site assures me that this will be enough food that guests will not be put out, but would you be bothered by not having a full sit-down meal, as it will be during dinner time? Should this be indicated on the invite some how? Is it just a bad idea in general? 

charlotte989875

MRDCle said:

Hello! My fiancé and I just chose our venue for our ceremony and reception.  It would likely be 4:00/4:30 start time for the ceremony, with cocktail hour starting the room over immediately after.  There would be cheese, crackers, and veggies during cocktail hour, and once the reception started, we were planning on doing a less formal meal of a variety of heavy apps.  The venue has an option with various "Stations" where guests could serve themselves. The stations would include:
Pasta Station - 2 selections
Taco Station - 3 selections
Salad Station - one selection
Slider Station (served with a side) - four different selections

The event coordinator on site assures me that this will be enough food that guests will not be put out, but would you be bothered by not having a full sit-down meal, as it will be during dinner time? Should this be indicated on the invite some how? Is it just a bad idea in general? 

That's quite a bit of variety, and assuming the food is well stocked, refilled when necessary, and available over an hour or so, you should have enough food. I've been to station weddings before (and quite like them), and people do tend to take some of everything and go back for seconds or thirds, but as long as there is enough to constitute a full meal I don't see a problem. 

Even though you're not having a traditional plated "sit down" meal, you should still have enough places for everyone to sit down at the same time. Even though stations are available over a period of time everyone will likely be eating at relatively the same time so there does need to be a seat for every person. 

OwningAHome1981

Sounds good to me. I find most sit-down foods @ wedding to not be any good anyway. Everyone knows cocktail hour is the best part! Enjoy your wedding

southernbelle0915

I would call this a strolling dinner moreso than "heavy apps". I just don't really consider pasta, salad, tacos and sliders apps - those are meal worthy. Good choices, btw! 

Anyway, your plan sounds totally fine as long as there's enough food. I have been to strolling dinners that were successful and those that weren't. The difference was that there was an announcement made that "this is dinner". At one where no announcement was made, people kept waiting for a meal to be served...when people realized no meal was coming, they rushed the app stations and the couple ran out of food. Moral of the story: tons of food and good communication. 

MRDCle

southernbelle0915 said:

I would call this a strolling dinner moreso than "heavy apps". I just don't really consider pasta, salad, tacos and sliders apps - those are meal worthy. Good choices, btw! 

Anyway, your plan sounds totally fine as long as there's enough food. I have been to strolling dinners that were successful and those that weren't. The difference was that there was an announcement made that "this is dinner". At one where no announcement was made, people kept waiting for a meal to be served...when people realized no meal was coming, they rushed the app stations and the couple ran out of food. Moral of the story: tons of food and good communication. 

Yes, we definitely planned on having it announced, along with announcing a little bit before the food is taken away.  Phew. This is a relief!

ei34

This sounds fine.  I love stations at weddings.  The pig in me would love to know if dessert will also be a station set up

justsie

I think this all sounds great, I just second making sure that by "sit down" dinner you meant a more traditional plated meal rather than not offering enough chairs and tables for all of your guests to be sitting at once. 

STARMOON44

This is essentially just a buffet, and it's totally fine. 

short+sassy

southernbelle0915 said:

I would call this a strolling dinner moreso than "heavy apps". I just don't really consider pasta, salad, tacos and sliders apps - those are meal worthy. Good choices, btw! 

Anyway, your plan sounds totally fine as long as there's enough food. I have been to strolling dinners that were successful and those that weren't. The difference was that there was an announcement made that "this is dinner". At one where no announcement was made, people kept waiting for a meal to be served...when people realized no meal was coming, they rushed the app stations and the couple ran out of food. Moral of the story: tons of food and good communication. 

This is what I was thinking when I read what kinds of food would be available at various stations.  The tacos and pastas strike me more as meals, but nothing wrong with calling them heavy apps either.  People might just eat them in smaller portions because there are so many other yummy choices going on also!

MRDCle

eileenrob said:

This sounds fine.  I love stations at weddings.  The pig in me would love to know if dessert will also be a station set up

Oh there will be desserts.  For SURE. My aunt is planning some sort of wall of cupcakes. It seems....ambitious, ha.

justsie said:

I think this all sounds great, I just second making sure that by "sit down" dinner you meant a more traditional plated meal rather than not offering enough chairs and tables for all of your guests to be sitting at once. 

 Yes! Absolutely a chair and a spot at a table for each guest along with a couple of couches and additional seating at the bar.

DrillSergeantCat

MRDCle said:

eileenrob said:

This sounds fine.  I love stations at weddings.  The pig in me would love to know if dessert will also be a station set up

Oh there will be desserts.  For SURE. My aunt is planning some sort of wall of cupcakes. It seems....ambitious, ha.

justsie said:

I think this all sounds great, I just second making sure that by "sit down" dinner you meant a more traditional plated meal rather than not offering enough chairs and tables for all of your guests to be sitting at once. 

 Yes! Absolutely a chair and a spot at a table for each guest along with a couple of couches and additional seating at the bar.

Then you're good to go!

charlotte989875

Sounds lovely. 

Also, wall of cupcakes+taco station+sliders= my dream dinner.