Does anyone have any insight on evening wedding etiquette? We are planning to be married on a Friday night. I want to be married a bit later (like 8pm-ish) and have a dessert only (no formal meal) reception afterwards. FI says that we should be married around 6:30-ish and it is our duty to provide our guests with a formal meal. I don't think we can afford the cost of a meal, but I also don't want to be breaking any major etiquette rules. I also don't really want to change our date or time frame just to accomodate not havng a meal. Any insight is helpful!
BTW- when I say dessert only, I am talking about lots of little desserts, ie: wedding cake, cupcakes, cookies, cheesecake (4 varieties), chocolate fountain with piund cake and fresh fruit, etc. Its not just a "cake/punch" reception.

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Re: Evening Wedding Etiquette
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Any other insight is appreciated.
Yes, at 6:30 you have to have a meal. At 8 on a Friday, I guess you don't but it really depends on your crowd and where you live. Most people I know tend to work late and would likely just get changed at work and run out in order to make an 8pm wedding -- ie, no time to eat so they'd be starving by the time they got there. I think that's even more true for larger metro areas where people might have to travel a while just to get home from work or to a venue site, though it's probably not as much an issue in smaller areas.
At any rate, for my crowd, I'd still have lots of food even if it starts at 8. But you know your friends and family better -- would they have time to eat before an 8pm wedding or not?
Edit -- we cross-posted. If it's only dessert, definitely make sure that info is on the invitations. Even then, I'd strongly recommend heavy apps in addition to dessert, but when I entertain, it's always my personal style to put out tons of food.
8pm dessert sounds fine to me. It might get a bit tight for some people, but I think, for the most part, people will figure out what they need to do to arrive on time.
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