I am planning on getting married right before sunset in May 2012. I am planning on having more of a cocktail style reception set on a balcony with avg 100 guest. I am looking at only having 3 hor'dourves and a desert table set up, (with my cake of course). Do you think this is enough? Would anyone expect more in the food department?
Re: Need help with a food issue
If that's not in your budget then you need to change the time of your reception to be at a non-meal time.
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"Do you think people should expect a full meal when it will clearly be a cocktail style reception?"
You can absolutely specify 'cocktail reception to follow' on your invitations. That would give a clear indication that you don't intend to feed them. That doesn't mean that your guests will be pleased with it, though. If someone isn't able to eat beforehand, they will probably leave early because they are hungry. (I would.) Hungry guests aren't happy guests. I think your guests will be expecting more food than you are willing to provide. If you were willing to push your ceremony closer to 8pm, I don't think anyone would question the light refreshments.
[QUOTE]<strong>To be honest I don't feel like offering a full dinner since I stated "Cocktail Style Reception"</strong>, the only reason I have decided to serve hor'douvers is that I don't want people to stand around and drink without something to put in their bellies. <strong>Personally I eat dinner around 5pm, 6pm at the latest and would think it absurd to serve a meal that late. </strong> So maybe I should restate my question "Do you think people should expect a full meal when it will clearly be a cocktail style reception?"
Posted by Lissa1213[/QUOTE]
It doesn't matter how you restate the question. It's not advisable to have the kind of reception you're talking about having that early. You need to factor in the fact that your guests will be getting ready around dinnertime to attend your ceremony.
Also, "dinnertime" is different for different people. For example, I conduct academic surveys by phone to random members of the community. It doesn't matter if it's 5 o'clock or 8:30, I almost always during my shift get someone who will complain about me calling during "dinnertime." Just because you eat dinner at 5 or 6pm doesn't mean your guests eat then.
Now that said, you can have this kind of reception, but your guests will probably be annoyed about not getting actual food after sacrificing their dinnertime to go to your wedding. Many of them will leave early. I'm not so sure if this is the desired effect.
[QUOTE]To be honest I don't feel like offering a full dinner since I stated "Cocktail Style Reception", the only reason I have decided to serve hor'douvers is that I don't want people to stand around and drink without something to put in their bellies. Personally I eat dinner around 5pm, 6pm at the latest and would think it absurd to serve a meal that late. So maybe I should restate my question "Do you think people should expect a full meal when it will clearly be a cocktail style reception?"
Posted by Lissa1213[/QUOTE]
Dinnertime for me is anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sorry if you think that time is absurd - we take the time to cook a homemade meal from scratch no matter how late we get home from work.
I would put hor d'ouerve reception on the invitation so there is no confusion however, I think you will still need more than just three different appetizers. I would do at least six or seven and make sure there is enough total to replace a meal for every guest. If you can't do that, change the time.
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FYI, if you wrote 'cocktail reception to follow', I would think there would be more than three hors d'oeuvres, since heavy apps have become pretty popular at weddings and your wedding DOES coincide with a typical mealtime. I would most likely eat a protein bar or something around 5 pm (before I started to get ready), but if there wasn't enough food I (and probably many of your guests) would leave early.
If this is what you want to do, that's fine, but just be prepared for people to leave early. You might want to consider making it a little more clear what will be served, maybe by writing something about 'light refreshments' on your website/reception cards or letting people know via word-of-mouth so that they can plan accordingly.
I don't think 3 apps are enough. What are you serving, if I may ask? I'd do a little more variety. Or add a cheese and cracker or vegetable/fruit display at the very least.
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