Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception

Kpe778 · February 2013

Personally, I prefer small bites & lots of different items instead of a full sit down dinner. Now, I'm planning my wedding. Has anyone gone against the grain & just had small bites throughout the night? Ideally, I'd like to start light and get heavier as the night goes on. Finishing with pizza bites, corn dogs & things of the like. Has anyone done this before? Any recommendations?

kmmssg · February 2013

I don't consider pizza bites and corn dogs as heavy bites for later in the night. I would think that would be a good starting point and then move to some kind of heavy app stations.

NOLAbridealmost · February 2013

You can do a fully hors d'oeuvres style wedding but if it is at mealtime you have to have PLENTY of pieces per person (12-15 pieces of HEAVY appetizers like chicken skewers, sliders, empanadas, etc) and make sure that they are very quickly obtainable by guests. I would be ticked if I was only able to get 1 or 2 small bites every 20 minutes or something.

The successful wedding that I attended that did strictly hors d'oeuvres had probably 30 pieces per guest and the trays came around so frequently that I could probably have had an hors d'oeuvres every minute if I wanted to. I was stuffed by the end. It was awesome.

dutchee · February 2013

<div>I've been thinking about doing a progressive cocktail-style party, too, with hors d'oeuvres coming around between events and punctuating dancing over a few hours. I'd really like to hear any tips people have.</div><div>
</div>In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_small-bites-instead-of-full-dinner-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:f81a0330-7530-4e50-8569-1e3236d32d56Post:3037ed7b-4d2d-4a09-a5cc-347567215a7c">Re: Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]The successful wedding that I attended that did strictly hors d'oeuvres had probably 30 pieces per guest and the trays came around so frequently that I could probably have had an hors d'oeuvres every minute if I wanted to. I was stuffed by the end. It was awesome.
Posted by NOLAbridealmost[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>How long was the reception? How frequently were the hors d'oeuvres brought around?

</div>

beardownbchs · February 2013

I love this idea, but like NOLA said, you have to make sure to do it right.

Also, these types of dinners tend to be more expensive than a sit down dinner because the smaller items are more labor intensive.

I would also consider 1-2 more meal-like stations. Maybe a pasta or mashed potato bar or something. No one will be upset if you don't do this, but I do think it would be nice to have something that's more than 1-2 bites.

NOLAbridealmost · February 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_small-bites-instead-of-full-dinner-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:f81a0330-7530-4e50-8569-1e3236d32d56Post:d1db8274-130d-4c01-a32e-9b979ed1934a">Re: Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]I've been thinking about doing a progressive cocktail-style party, too, with hors d'oeuvres coming around between events and punctuating dancing over a few hours. I'd really like to hear any tips people have. In Response to Re: Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception : How long was the reception? How frequently were the hors d'oeuvres brought around?
Posted by dutchee[/QUOTE]

4 hours; constant food for the first 2 hours....then it tapered off

Ella and Pedro · February 2013

We're doing this kind of reception. We've structured it like this:
First - Cocktail Hour - Table Displayed Appetizers of -
a. veggies and dip in cups
b. various fruits (berries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots)
c. olives, breads, hummus, tabboli, herbed garlic olive oil
d. American Cheese Trio (havarti with dill, extra sharp cheddar, goat cheese) with crackers, pita chips

Also- Cocktail Hour - Passed Butlered Appetizers -
a. American-style Deviled Eggs
b. Morello Cherry Preserve Topped Goat Cheese Tartlets
c. Warm Asparagus Soup garnished with Steamed white Asparagus spear
d. Truffled Mac n Cheese Spoons
e. Rosemary Lemon Chickpea Fritters with Sweet and Sour Chili Pepper Glaze (vegan)
f. Caprese Skewers (heirloom tomato, mozarella, fresh basil leaves, oo, vinegar skewers)

Then for dinner -
Three Small Plates "tapas" Entree Stations --

Beef/Pork/Lamb station
a. perscuitto honeycrisp apple and arugula flatbread white pizzas
b. chirizo and potato empenada with green tomato/vidalia jam
c. sliced beef au poive crustini with gorgonzola crumbs
d. Greek style lamb meatballs with yogurt-mint sauce

Chicken/Duck/Pasta station
a. chicken picatta in ramekins
b. duck en croute (boneless duck breast in puff pastry with red currant sauce)
c. tea-smoked chicken and minced ginger Thai-style lettuce wraps
d. Jamaican Jerk chicken skewers with cilantro-lime dipping sauce
e. Freshly made cheese tortellini with cracked black pepper, shaved parm. cheese, fresh pesto-cream sauce

and

Seafood/Fish station
a. Salmon Quiche with creme freche and minced fresh herbs
b. American steamed crab cakes with remmolaude
c. Barbados style Coconut Shimp with Pineapple-Rum sauce
d. bacon wrapped scallops deglazed in red wine

And for dessert we are having 6 choices of wedding cake and a make-your-own sundae bar with four choices of ice cream and 10 toppings....

And really, if ANYONE is not STUFFED after this, I can't help them! LOL

mvance3 · February 2013

We're doing this and I'm soooo excited. We're doing it as stations so we can keep the reception flowing...get people up out of their seats and encourage mingling and dancing! Our menu is as follows:

Cold station that has fresh fruit and veggies, dips, cheese and bruschetta.

Butlered items...rosemary beef skewers, seafood boats, and bacon wrapped scallops.

Carving/Chef attended stations...Marinated flank steak and dinner rolls, and firecracker tilapia and Tuscan veggie skewers.

Mashed potato martini bar...red, garlic and sweet mashed potatoes with all the toppings you could want.

Dessert station (instead of a cake...we're not cake people)...chocolate fountain with dippables, mini desserts.

The cold and butlered items will be available all night long, adding in the carving stations and desserts after the cocktail hour.

We debated this plan for a long time and the caterer was very good with helping us determine how many different items to include in order to make sure that there was enough variety for our guests.

Now, I had a friend who did something similar...hers was a DIY catering event and my FMIL and I and one other lady did the food. It was basically a TON of different frozen appetizers (like from Sam's Club or something...she bought them). We set up a buffet and she had three different kinds of meatballs, little smokies, pigs in blankets, spanikopita, mini quiche, chips, crudite, and a bunch of other things. Everyone enjoyed trying the different things and came back for more. Everyone was satisfied and there was still food left over.

Ella and Pedro · February 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_small-bites-instead-of-full-dinner-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:f81a0330-7530-4e50-8569-1e3236d32d56Post:17775d29-f65c-4eba-8bd8-8fd745f72cc0">Re: Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]We're doing this and I'm soooo excited. We're doing it as stations so we can keep the reception flowing...get people up out of their seats and encourage mingling and dancing! Our menu is as follows: Cold station that has fresh fruit and veggies, dips, cheese and bruschetta. Butlered items...rosemary beef skewers, seafood boats, and bacon wrapped scallops. Carving/Chef attended stations...Marinated flank steak and dinner rolls, and firecracker tilapia and Tuscan veggie skewers. Mashed potato martini bar...red, garlic and sweet mashed potatoes with all the toppings you could want. Dessert station (instead of a cake...we're not cake people)...chocolate fountain with dippables, mini desserts. The cold and butlered items will be available all night long, adding in the carving stations and desserts after the cocktail hour. We debated this plan for a long time and the caterer was very good with helping us determine how many different items to include in order to make sure that there was enough variety for our guests. Now, I had a friend who did something similar...hers was a DIY catering event and my FMIL and I and one other lady did the food. It was basically a TON of different frozen appetizers (like from Sam's Club or something...she bought them). We set up a buffet and she had three different kinds of meatballs, little smokies, pigs in blankets, spanikopita, mini quiche, chips, crudite, and a bunch of other things. Everyone enjoyed trying the different things and came back for more. Everyone was satisfied and there was still food left over.
Posted by mvance3[/QUOTE]

Your mashed potato bar sounds really cool! Have a great time! We're really looking forward to ours as well! If you think of it, please let me know what people thought of yours! Best wishes, Ella

Small Bites instead of Full Dinner Reception

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