Afternoon Wedding?

jessicalynn416

My FI and I have decided to have an afternoon wedding after a lot of thought. A morning ceremony with a reception following directly afterwards will be a lot less expensive and we are paying for this ourselves. We also have 3 nieces who will be 2, 3, and 6 and our going to be our flower girls and our ring bearer (6 yr odl) and feel an afternoon reception will easier for them and their parents to enjoy since we really want them there. But I don't know how to plan an afternoon reception! I've only ever been to evening weddings. I also worked in catering but also only evening receptions. We are serving a full meal, which will most likely start around 1ish. What kind of food does one serve for a lunch reception? Should we have a DJj becuase people will still dance at an afternoon reception? Our guest list is about 50/50 people in their 20s and people in their 50s and older so I am not sure if that makes any difference. My mom can't really help me plan because her wedding was a mass followed by dinner in my aunt's basement and his parent's are divorced and had a wedding similar to my parents for all of their weddings. 

DramaGeek

I think if you want to do a whole lunch you totally can.  Carving station(s), veggies, the whole nine yards.  You could also go the "tea" route and have finger sandwiches, scones, things of that nature.  Dang it, now I want to go to high tea!

jessicalynn416

We do want to serve a full meal. We have booked a venue and they gave us a list of their normal meals, like prime rib, that just seem to heavy. I'm also stuck because from the catering and guest perspective I'm not a fan of buffets and neither is FI which we see for lunch conferences and such. We definitely want low key and relaxed. Its kind of romantic and vintage in an 1870s converted barn.

divinemsbee

I think that you're going to run into making things a little more formal and a little less relaxed when you do a plated meal. That also kind of changes your timeline for the day. Keep in mind that most afternoon receptions are a little shorter (like Stage's) and even with dancing it might not go on as long. You didn't mention alcohol, but that might also affect things like length and whether you want to do dancing. Not always, but it's just about knowing your circle. 

My wedding is going to be more like Stage's, we're also starting at 2 and doing a lot of different finger foods and maybe one larger carving station. It'll be a ton of food, but not in a plated meal or really buffet style. In my circle buffet style is more common (I've never been to a wedding with a plater dinner), so that's what we're more comfortable with. Maybe talk to your reception hall and see what other brides have done in your situation or what they normally serve for lunch. 

JBC123

Our wedding was last Saturday.  We had an 11 am Catholic mass ceremony with a reception following at 1:00 pm.  We had a cocktail hour with passed finger foods and then a plated luncheon.  It was everything we would have had at an evening reception but semi-formal.  We also had an open bar.  Everyone loved it.  People had the evening to unwind afterwards and everyone loved the party.  We had a DJ who was fantastic so there was plenty of dancing and it cost so much less than an evening affair.  Additionally, those guests that were traveling home the next morning were not bleary eyed and/or hung over from a late-nite affair.

lyndausvi

My sister had a 10:30am wedding with a noon-5 reception. She had filet of beef carved at your table (among other options) full open bar, dj,dancing. the whole nine yards. It was exactly the same as an evening wedding except it was during the day. It was awesome. Everyone stayed to the end (well 60% continued on to the after party) but really it was no different than a night wedding. Most weddings I attended where day weddings. All had full meals (most sit-down),DJs or bands and full open bars. I don't get when people think food is too heavy for the day time. Is it a normal lunch meal? No. But have you not had holiday meals in the afternoon before?

jessicabessica

I agree with Lynda that "heavy" food is fine, if that's what you want to serve.  Our wedding was at 1, and we had a full meal, open bar, band, and dancing immediately following the ceremony.  Most people stayed until the end.  We had a buffet because it was our preference, but I think a plated meal would be fine, too.  We served salmon, halibut, lasagna, ravioli, vegetable streudel, and several vegetable side dishes.  We had a dessert buffet, and also a full cocktail hour before the meal.

vbjoanna

We're getting married at 2:30 pm and having some light refreshments right after (sodas, iced tea, water; veggies & dip, cheese & crackers, cookies) because we're taking everyone to a minor league baseball game at 5:30 pm. If the ballpark weren't doing the catering, we might still have chosen to do the low-key foods that say "North Carolina" -- barbeque, hotdogs, coleslaw, beer.... As others have said, you could choose exactly the same thing as you would if you were having an evening reception, or if you don't want to eat roast beef and shrimp at 1 pm, maybe you could choose foods that really showcase your area and that you really like. I like the brunch menu above, also. Yum!

We aren't having a DJ and a dance reception because my FI and I aren't big dancers -- our guest list (and ourselves) are mostly folks in their 30s and 40s, the vast majority married with young kids. Plan the activities that reflect you and your FI -- if you love to dance and your guests do too, then have that DJ!

katyb213

We will be having a 1pm "heavy meal" at our wedding. I don't really think it makes much of a difference what time you are having it. We also plan on doing basically everything an evening wedding would provide just a little bit earlier in the day.

ch3loganda

We had a Catholic ceremony at 10 am and lunch reception from 12-3pm. We had appetizers for 30 minutes then plated lunch afterwards. We also had an open bar. We are not into dancing so it was perfect to have it during the day without a DJ and a dance floor. We did have a violinist play for the whole 3 hours. Everybody seemed to enjoy their time! As a bride, I was glad to have it all done by 3 pm! We then took pics from 3-4. We had time to rest up before dinner and meeting up with some of our guests at night again.

rachelandroger

Has anyone ever been to an afternoon wedding that had only the cake and assorted pastries and champagne/wine/etc?  My daughter has put me in charge of planning her wedding.  She does not want to do any planning at all.  She just said they want to invite their friends but they don't want to have a long drawn out affair. She would like to have a long wedding dress and have the bridesmaids in shorter dresses.  A dressy feeling.   Any suggestions as to food, etc would be appreciated.