Evening Wedding

talandree

My fiance and I are thinking of having an evening ceremony. We were thinking of starting it at around 7-7:30pm and then possibly having a dessert reception afterwards and then dancing, instead of doing a dinner. 

Is this a decent time to start an evening wedding if we're not planning on doing a dinner? 

Also, how much variety should we get for the dessert? The caterer offers a package where we can get four different types of dessert (carrot cake, brownies, nanaimo bars & butter tart bars). Was wondering if that was enough, or if we needed more variety. I don't want to do overkill on the dessert, as we're doing a cupcake cake instead of a traditional wedding cake and are hoping to do a candy buffet. 

TIA

Viczaesar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_evening-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:d2f2e067-c156-4804-810b-aae9fd357cdaPost:03d64269-c598-4dfb-96ae-8bab2f2d06a1">Evening Wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]My fiance and I are thinking of having an evening ceremony. We were thinking of starting it at around 7-7:30pm and then possibly having a dessert reception afterwards and then dancing, instead of doing a dinner.  Is this a decent time to start an evening wedding if we're not planning on doing a dinner?  Also, how much variety should we get for the dessert? The caterer offers a package where we can get four different types of dessert (carrot cake, brownies, nanaimo bars & butter tart bars). Was wondering if that was enough, or if we needed more variety. I don't want to do overkill on the dessert, as we're doing a cupcake cake instead of a traditional wedding cake and are hoping to do a candy buffet.  TIA :)
Posted by talandree[/QUOTE]
No, 7-7:30 is still dinner time.  You need to start your ceremony at 8 if you're just going to serve dinner afterwards.  You'll probably also need a bit more in the way of food if you're expecting a longer dancing-filled affair, like some non-sweet appetizers (and it's a good idea to have some at a dessert reception anyway; a lot of people don't handle sugar fests well, especially if they're drinking).

AdeleDazeem

I'd push your dessert reception to 8pm, otherwise it sounds like a great plan!

AprilH81

I would also consider doing a veggie tray, possibly a fruit tray and some pretzels or something for people who can't eat sweets.

MrsGandthebeag

I agree with 8pm.  Think about the distance your guests will be traveling to get to your ceremony.  

calliopeia2013

Agree with PPs that 8pm would be a better choice (maaaaaybe 7:30 but that's pushing it) and that if you plan to have alcohol, you should make sure to have some non-sweet things (even if they're just party snacks) for folks who don't like or can't eat sweets but don't want to be drinking on an empty stomach.

I think the selection of desserts sounds delicious. 

daria24

I agree 8pm is better, and I would maybe offer a fruit/cheese display, veggies & dip, etc just to give people a break from the sugar. 

winelover123

If it's a Saturday wedding, I'd be ok with 7:30 though that does fall into dinner time for a lot of people. You'd definitely be better off pushing it to 8. Make sure to put some veggie and fruit trays (and cheese and crackers would definitely be appreciated!) if you want people to stay for a longer time.

QueerFemme

I agree with having an 8pm ceremony, and having the reception immediately after.  I would suggest you consider doing a "first look" so you can do all of your photos before the ceremony, so you can immediately head to your reception. I also recommend having some savory items, and not just sweets.  Crackers, cheese, veggies or pretzels or something.

s-aries8990

Ditto pp's on the 8pm rather than 7pm, ESPECIALLY if it's on a Friday night/week night. I get out of work at 5pm, I'm home by 5:20. Say your wedding is 45 minutes away. I only have 50 minutes to get ready AND make and eat dinner before leaving.

Ditto also the more-than-dessert idea. BF has diabetes and he'd be able to have like 1 slice of cake and that's it. I suggest the cheese/veggie/fruit display AND some other appetizers if you can (maybe something with more protein? maybe chicken kabobs? meatballs? different types of slider sandwiches?) so it's not just sugar and carbo-loading.

If you're having a mostly-sweets reception, I'd find the candy buffet overkill, but that's just me.

lyndausvi

 Normally I would say it might depend on your crowd.  8pm is prime dinner time for my family and friends.  We would still expect dinner at that time.     However, your profile say Aug 1, 2014  which is a Friday.    It would be hard for a lot of people to have dinner before a 7:30-8 start time with work, commute, fed and walk the dog  - or kids , get ready and then get to the ceremony.    

  IDK? Fridays are normally  busy days it's seems off(?) to inconvenience them even more by making them rush through dinner after work to attend your wedding.

At least on a Saturdays most peoples are off so they can plan easier.

drg424

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_evening-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:10Discussion:d2f2e067-c156-4804-810b-aae9fd357cdaPost:03d64269-c598-4dfb-96ae-8bab2f2d06a1">Evening Wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]My fiance and I are thinking of having an evening ceremony. We were thinking of starting it at around 7-7:30pm and then possibly having a dessert reception afterwards and then dancing, instead of doing a dinner.  Is this a decent time to start an evening wedding if we're not planning on doing a dinner?  Also, how much variety should we get for the dessert? The caterer offers a package where we can get four different types of dessert (carrot cake, brownies, nanaimo bars & butter tart bars). Was wondering if that was enough, or if we needed more variety. I don't want to do overkill on the dessert, as we're doing a cupcake cake instead of a traditional wedding cake and are hoping to do a candy buffet.  TIA :)
Posted by talandree[/QUOTE]

We are also doing a Friday evening ceremony and reception, with ours starting at seven p.m. However, we are also doing full h'ordeuvres, which includes a carving station. It wasn't to skimp on full dinner, it was with the assumption that (for our crowd), most folks have already eaten dinner or are fine with filling up on apps throughout the evening. Price-wise, the h'ordeuvre option was nearly as much as the full dinner. We're having desert, too (in the form of wedding cake/cupcakes). I really stressed to our venue coordinator that I didn't want people to feel hungry during our reception and she assured me they won't be.

We chose 7:00 p.m. for our ceremony to begin so our elderly guests could leave at a comfortable time and not be expected to stay up super late in order to participate in our wedding or to not feel like they missed anything.

Lastly, our package includes six hours of ceremony and reception time - and with the exception of the wedding party and our friends, I doubt we'd have much of a crowd after 1:00 a.m. (yet we wanted to get our money's worth).

Hope that helps - it did take some consideration on our part to figure out the best way to approach a Friday night wedding. Good luck to you!

[Deleted User]

Have to agree w/pp that it would be good idea to add snacks along with sweets. Not everyone likes to eat sweets or may not be able to eat them due to dietary restrictions (like if a guest is diabetic). Also the regular snacks are better to help offset side effects of drinking. Drinking & just sweets will cause a lot of bad hangovers & upset stomachs.