Timing!

klutes8

I would like to have an evening reception with h'ordeurves and cocktails for less than 50 people (no dancing). What would be a good time to have my ceremony? I was really hoping not to have it too late. I've read of people having their ceremony at 6:30 and the reception starts around 7. Is that too early? I plan on having quite a bit of food at the reception, just not a dinner. Hope this wasn't confusing!!

aerinpegadrak

That's generally too early.  We're doing a 7:30 ceremony with an 8:00 reception.  Keep in mind that if you don't have dancing, your reception isn't going to last that long anyway (ours is only scheduled until 10pm, then we'll move on to an after party).

If you're serving enough food to constitute a meal (usually 14-16 pieces per person), then you're fine.  But if there's a possibility that your guests might leave hungry, you need to push it back far enough that they can eat beforehand.  Remember, most guests will need to eat an hour and a half to two hours before the ceremony so they can get ready and get there on time, so with a 6:30 ceremony, you're asking your guests to eat at about 4:00.

danieliza1127

As long as you're serving enough food to constitute a meal, it's not too early.  Our ceremony was 6pm, cocktail hour 6:30-7:30 and reception started at 7:30.  We had heavy hors d'oeuvres, about 15 pieces per person so it was a lot of food and enough to make a meal out of.