Wedding Reception Forum

Evening wedding dinner question/timeline

Hey all, just a quick question. So the venue that we got allows for us to have a 7:30pm ceremony, our ceremony is planning to be pretty quick with nothing super flashy. We have to do a quick room flip and then it's the reception at the same location. We are already taking pictures beforehand since we have a tight schedule. 

My question is that we have a caterer, that is planning a full on buffet style dinner. But after reading some posts I am a little concerned... we already have our invitations printed up and they say nothing about the food or anything... so now I'm concerned that people will eat beforehand and not save room for the food because the wedding is set for so late in the evening... Do you forsee this being a problem? Should we include something in the invitations to say that there will be a full dinner afterwards so people know to eat light beforehand so they can enjoy the full meal? 


Re: Evening wedding dinner question/timeline

  • A 7:30 wedding is a dinner wedding.  You didn't need to put anything on the invites about food.

    May 2013 February Siggy: Invitations

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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_evening-wedding-dinner-questiontimeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:7022d76c-065a-462f-b117-f67b793a18cdPost:58a46397-4f66-46f1-a293-799a499ffd5f">Re: Evening wedding dinner question/timeline</a>:
    [QUOTE]A 7:30 wedding is a dinner wedding.  You didn't need to put anything on the invites about food.
    Posted by melb2013[/QUOTE]

    <div>Thank you!  I got a little nervous because some people were saying that if your ceremony was starting at 7:30 and your reception was starting closer to 8 that most people will have already eaten and just expect appetizers... and that it should be a 5-6pm ceremony and a 6:30-7 reception dinner. </div><div>
    </div><div>We have already gotten our caterer and planned a full dinner and I just didn't want it all to go to waste! :D </div>
  • Yeah, I would definitely expect a full meal at that time. No worries!
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • When people are talking about your wedding, just mention that dinner will be served. Put it on your website, too. People will eat, don't worry. There's no way to put it on the invitation anyway.
  • That is dinner time for me.

    You can always put  "dinner reception immediately following"






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • I'm gonna have to disagree with PP's. I'm not sure I would expect a meal if the ceremony were at 7:30. I probably wouldn't eat a huge meal beforehand, but I would definitely eat first. I normally eat dinner around 7:30 or 8, but most of my friends eat much earlier and when I asked them, they all agreed that they wouldn't think dinner would be served. 

    I would do your best to spread the word that there will be a meal, but I don't think it's necessary to have it on the invitations. Maybe drop it into conversations about how you're excited for the food or something? It can't hurt to be more clear. 
  • 6-8 is dinner time.  Most people will expect a meal.  I wouldn't eat first, but I would have a granola bar stuffed in my purse just in case.

    Since you've already done the invitations, you could put something on your website.  If you don't want to just say "dinner will be served" you could do a menu where you list some of the highlight items that will be on the buffet.  I would probably also mention the meal when anyone asks about wedding plans to try to get it going by word of mouth.  
  • Thank you everyone for all your helpful iresponses! :D 
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_evening-wedding-dinner-questiontimeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:7022d76c-065a-462f-b117-f67b793a18cdPost:5a5d3553-613d-4d4b-8f32-5be2a94a4fca">Re: Evening wedding dinner question/timeline</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm gonna have to disagree with PP's. I'm not sure I would expect a meal if the ceremony were at 7:30. I probably wouldn't eat a huge meal beforehand, but I would definitely eat first. I normally eat dinner around 7:30 or 8, but most of my friends eat much earlier and when I asked them, they all agreed that they wouldn't think dinner would be served.  I would do your best to spread the word that there will be a meal, but I don't think it's necessary to have it on the invitations. Maybe drop it into conversations about how you're excited for the food or something? It can't hurt to be more clear. 
    Posted by Gumby68[/QUOTE]

    I'm surprised,  the most popular dinner reservation time at restaurants is between 7-8.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • After our invitations were completed, we added " diinner and dancing immediate to follow " or something like that. People were u able to distinguish that it was an add on. You could add an insert to the invation if it worries you Best of success
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