sea food / raw bar for the cocktail hour

English Ollie

Hi all- I'm looking for advice for the cocktail hour. My family are all coming over from Europe and we are getting married in Charlotte so I thought seafood andraw bar station instead of passed canapés for the cocktail hour. We are getting married in a beautiful garden and there is an oculus where we can serve the cocktail hour drinks and food. I wasn't going to serve hard liquor till after the dinner as it dosent mix with empty stomachs and oysters and there's always someone who dosent listen! What do you think- will it go over well with our other guests, I know it's not traditional. I've taken food allergies and exclusions into account. Let me kno your thoughts and what cost I should expect per head- thank you from across the pond.

jessicabessica

I would trust your guests to know what they can handle drinking.  A lot of people like to have hard liquor during cocktail hour and then switch to beer/wine for dinner, and I think it's better to serve the same things throughout the event.  I think a raw bar is fine for the cocktail hour, but I would have other things, too, for people that don't like seafood or won't touch raw stuff.  I would have cheese and crackers and veggies and dip, at least.  

I have no idea about cost.  You might want to post on your local board (to the left) to see if people have an idea of what local caterers charge for this.

AddieCake

Definitely have some other options. I would starve at your cocktail hour. 

Maggie0829

So all you are going to serve during your cocktail hour is seafood?  I would definitely include other options seeing as some people are allergic to seafood and others just don't like it.

As for the alcohol.  It is rude to control how your guests drink.  I am assuming that your guests are adults and know how to drink appropriately.

lyndausvi

We had a raw bar (among a lot of other options) at our cocktail hour.  It was a huge hit.

We also had a full open bar.  Never heard you shouldn't serve hard liquore with oysters? That's a new one for me.  If you are serving food, then well they are not longer on an empty stomach.  I guess I don't understand your reasoning.  

FWIW -  My guests didn't seem to have a problem with an hard liquor and a raw bar.

ETA - our raw bar (only) was $18 per person in New Jersey (by the shore). Prices will vary across the country.   

Ours included shrimp, king crab legs, crab claws, oysters, mussels, clams and sushi.

JoanE2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_sea-food-raw-bar-for-the-cocktail-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:dbacd55a-b258-49da-b699-8e2de72a4884Post:28f80574-c1c3-40f3-b254-f71aa287d6aa">sea food / raw bar for the cocktail hour</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi all- I'm looking for advice for the cocktail hour. My family are all coming over from Europe and we are getting married in Charlotte so I thought seafood andraw bar station instead of passed canapés for the cocktail hour. We are getting married in a beautiful garden and there is an oculus where we can serve the cocktail hour drinks and food. I wasn't going to serve hard liquor till after the dinner as it dosent mix with empty stomachs and oysters and there's always someone who dosent listen! What do you think- will it go over well with our other guests, I know it's not traditional. I've taken food allergies and exclusions into account. Let me kno your thoughts and what cost I should expect per head- thank you from across the pond.
Posted by English Ollie[/QUOTE]

A raw bar is fine IF you plan on having other apps.  While not allergic to seafood, I hate most kinds of it.

As for drinks, it's COCKTAIL hour.  Let people drink.

bittybumble

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_sea-food-raw-bar-for-the-cocktail-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:dbacd55a-b258-49da-b699-8e2de72a4884Post:28f80574-c1c3-40f3-b254-f71aa287d6aa">sea food / raw bar for the cocktail hour</a>:

I think it's a great idea if you are prepared to spend the money raw seafood will cost.  I'd go crazy at your cocktail hour filling my plate a few times.  I'd love to do that myself but seafood, especially excellent quality raw, is VERY pricey. As for serving no liquor till after dinner, I think that could work.  Someone said to trust your guests as to how much they can drink.  I don't agree with that at all.  My family and friends tend to drink a lot anyway, and they go crazy at weddings from nerves and excitement and free alcohol and foods that maybe are not their everyday fare.  And if they're all coming over from the UK, I'd say you know what you're talking about there. I personally don't want my borderline alky friends, or worse, a family member who's nervous and been drinking scotch with raw oysters, to get sick on my dress in front of my new groom's family.  I think a cocktail hour with raw bar and champers and wine only is a great idea.  I'd love to attend a wedding like that.   
[QUOTE]Hi all- I'm looking for advice for the cocktail hour. My family are all coming over from Europe and we are getting married in Charlotte so I thought seafood andraw bar station instead of passed canapés for the cocktail hour. We are getting married in a beautiful garden and there is an oculus where we can serve the cocktail hour drinks and food. I wasn't going to serve hard liquor till after the dinner as it dosent mix with empty stomachs and oysters and there's always someone who dosent listen! What do you think- will it go over well with our other guests, I know it's not traditional. I've taken food allergies and exclusions into account. Let me kno your thoughts and what cost I should expect per head- thank you from across the pond.
Posted by English Ollie[/QUOTE]

English Ollie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_sea-food-raw-bar-for-the-cocktail-hour?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:dbacd55a-b258-49da-b699-8e2de72a4884Post:2c8ed955-dd99-4d5d-bdf5-6606c53d6cda">Re: sea food / raw bar for the cocktail hour</a>:
[QUOTE]So all you are going to serve during your cocktail hour is seafood?  I would definitely include other options seeing as some people are allergic to seafood and others just don't like it. As for the alcohol.  It is rude to control how your guests drink.  I am assuming that your guests are adults and know how to drink appropriately.
Posted by Maggie0829[/QUOTE]


Sorry I should have been clearer in my original post. The veggies and intolerants are already catered for. The cocktail hour is only an hour before dinner is served. The issue with the drink is that hard liquor and oysters causes a chemical reaction in the stomach that causes vomiting in nearly 30% of the general population that's why they are traditionally served with champagne or Guinness . I forgot that in the US most of your seafood for commercial consumption gets "pasteurized " put through a UV light. I'm not too worried about the level of consumption