appitizer/finger food reception

felkels

Hi there, I am just wondering your thoughts.  Ore reception ideas have evolved a lot from the start of this.  We are having our wedding at our church, and our reception at the local park up the street where we got engaged.  We are reserving the picnic gazibo for the party under trees, and right by the play area.  We have a lot of kids coming to our party and are going to hire someone to keep an eye on the kids, so their parents can mingle a few hundred feet away. 
Anyway, we are thinking of having a finger food/ appitizer reception with cake.  We are going to have some classics such as deli trays, and veggie trays, and go with some more sophisticated food such as caprese salad on a tooth pick.  We are going to have a few fun things that kids will recognize, and just have fun with flavor with no real theme except making what we like.  We will have help making and serving the food but for the most part it will probably just be sitting on the picnic tables and the hope is people can get their plates and walk around and mingle.  We want to supply picnic blankets so people can sit on the ground and eat with their kids, and tables to sit at.  After a time of mingling, we will have cake. The reception will probably be short, and it is an afternoon wedding so it should be between lunch and dinner. 
My questions are has anyone ever done this and how did it turn out?  and for a wedding of about 200, how much food will I need to make?  Thank you so much.  I am sorry this is so long.

danieliza1127

I was right there with you and thinking this was a great idea, until you said your guest list was 200 people.  That's a BIG wedding for this type of reception.  Does the park gazebo really have that much room? 

Be sure you let people know that it's at a park gazebo.  If I were going to your wedding, my H and I would want to bring our bag chairs so we'd have a place to sit.

Typically for an hors d'oeuvres wedding, you want to have 8-10 pieces per person if it's not really a meal, or 10-15 pieces per person if you want it to constitute a meal. 

felkels

Wonderful, thank you!  I know that is a large wedding, we actually changed the location so we could invite more people because 1/3 or more of our guest list are children.  A lot of people we are inviting are from out of town and the only way they can come is if their children are with them.  This park has basket ball courts, a play ground, tons of grass, and a lot of places to play, and all within sight of the gazebo.  Heck there is actually enough room to have the wedding there and seat 500, so I am not worried about the space.  I will be sure to let people know that it is outside and that they are welcome to bring their own chairs if they would like.  I know I am not sitting on the ground in my wedding dress!  Thank you for the suggestions.

mbcdefg

What happens if it rains? Do you have a backup indoor location?

felkels

not yet, but we will have a back up plan.  Thanks!

felkels

Thanks, I planned on having some college kids that go to my church be the ones sitting at the park during the service to make sure things don't get messed up after we decorate, then have them be the ones supervising the play ground...so there will be someone there that we can have help with the food prep.  We do have a friend who is very aware of how to run large events like this and she has volunteered to be in charge of food.  I am still thinking of getting some stuff catered...and we do have electricity so we can have access to crock pots, toaster ovens, microwaves etc if we want or need them.  We are going to the Portland Bridal Show next weekend and will hopefully get some numbers of caterers we can call and get more info from. 
As for seating there are a ton of tables at the park. The  blanket idea was mostly for the children.  I am not worried about who will sit where at this particular park.  Oh and thanks for making me aware that kids won't be playing in nice clothes.  I think families with children will be getting an extra insert in their invitations mentioning the playground and giving parents the option of bringing play clothes if they choose.