Heavy hour devours, not dinner, not just appetizers..?

jormberg

I am having a HEAVY hour devours reception. I mean HEAVY. Pasta bar, carving station, ceasar salad, cheese/crakers/veggies, passed hour devours, etc.
I do not want to put "cocktail reception" as people will feel they need to have dinner beforehand and I want my guests to know that they will have plenty to eat at my wedding. However, I also do not want to put "dinner" as it is not a sit-down; we will be having a majority of the tables set up be high-tops.

Any suggestsions on what to put on the invitations? So far, I just have "hour devour reception to follow." Very general. I want to be a little more forward but I think "heavy hour devours" sounds tacky. Thank you so much for ANY thoughts/feedback!

itzMS

You can't dictate when guests eat their meals if you're not serving a meal.

What time is your ceremony/reception?

The only proper wording is: "Cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception immediately following the ceremony"

You aren't serving a meal, so you can't dictate that guests treat it as such.

It sounds delicious, but you can't make it what it's not.

ETA: by "High tops" do you mean the tables won't have chairs?!? You need to make every effort to have a seat for every guest.

Peavy

Just put "reception to follow."  If it's at a meal time, people will assume there is enough food for a meal.

flojo973

I think "cocktail reception" sounds better than "hors d'oeurvres reception".  I think most people will know what that means and plan appropriately.  

And ditto what PP said.  I went to a cocktail reception very similar to yours and there were a few regular tables and then a bunch of high-tops without chairs.  All of the older people immediately plopped themselves at the tables and we were stuck standing all night.  I know the bride wanted everyone to mingle and move around but honestly it was just annoying.  I would not suggest this.  Make sure you have enough seats for everyone.  

AddieCake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_heavy-hour-devours-not-dinner-not-just-appetizers?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:88a1e3ad-b8a7-4cd9-9857-572fffdd0e6fPost:da086e7c-1b3b-4f02-a7dd-4cb2ac133e4e">Re: Heavy hour devours, not dinner, not just appetizers..?</a>:
[QUOTE]Just put "reception to follow."  If it's at a meal time, people will assume there is enough food for a meal.
Posted by Peavy[/QUOTE]

<div>I agree with this. Also, I agree to make sure to have seats for everyone. I am not much of a mingler and I don't dance, so I would be pretty annoyed if I had to just stand around for the whole reception. </div>

091109brIANna033013

We are doing the same kind of thing at our wedding with a carving station, salad station, and a lot of other heavy hor'deavours. We just put "Reception to follow" on the invite. There will be plenty of food for it to be classified as a meal, but doing it the way we are makes it so that the food is available all night instead of only during the dinner hour, guests have a bigger selection, and it's about 1500 dollars cheaper than the buffet or plated meal options.