Cocktail Reception

Of course you want your guests to enjoy themselves but if you clearly state that it is a 6pm ceremony with no formal dinner people will come prepared. Like you mentioned above you aren’t inviting children so everyone is an adult and will know when and how much they need to eat to be prepared for your special evening. 10pm sounds perfect for a snack!


At the end of the day this is your wedding, you need to do whatever you feel is best for you and your financial situation. Don’t let others opinions sway what you feel is the right decision!

I don't think it's tacky! As long as you let your guests know in advance that it's finger food/drinks only, go with a more budget friendly option and skip a sit down meal.
I've been to a couple of weddings where couple only paid for wine/beer open bar and snacks, plus donuts for dessert and it was one the most fun celebrations I ever attended! Also helps to create a more casual vibe if that's what you're looking for

Sorry I should add re: tacky. I'm definitely on the side of formal plated dinners, as that's what we had, but if done right, with plenty of tasteful "upscale" options (like the first two I mentioned), they can be set up beautifully and still create an elegant atmosphere.

I've been to many many weddings, including three cocktail reception ones with 5:30 or 6pm ceremonies. Two of them my husband and I were stuffed at - there was certainly enough food to satisfy us as if we had dinner. One didn't even have a late night snack and I only realize that now thinking about it! The third was clearly done extra cheaply and I felt like I was at a kid's birthday party; there was late night food but the fact that guests were running for it was a clear sign that they weren't given enough before. I do think it's good to make sure your invite says "cocktail reception to follow" so people can do what they need to do in advance (adults should be able to figure this out haha), but I also think, done right, your guests will be quite happy and you don't need to worry!

View quoted message Brunch food is also usually cheaper than dinner!

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If you're looking to save on costs, you can consider a daytime party. You could have a ceremony at, let's say 2pm, and cocktail appetizers right after outside, finishing at 5pm. That way, you start late enough that people will have lunch (or a late breakfast) before arriving, get out in time for a dinner on their own, and your venue can sell the indoor space for another wedding.

Or you can have a brunch wedding. Even though it's a meal, most people won't drink as much during the day and will therefore save you on the bar tab.

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This is true. I will have to ask my venue how much h'ors d'oeuvres they serve per person. But if I choose to ditch the dinner it will be communicated on invites and the wedding website so that guests are aware to eat prior to attending.

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Ahh sorry, I misread that. I thought your finger foods was the pizza/poutine bar. But I still think those late night stations don't need to be served late at night. It depends on how much you're serving. Assuming your ceremony is done at 7pm, and we're only given 5 pieces of food over 3 hours before anything substantial comes out, we're gone (or we'll stay but be hangry and mentally whine about it).

Are you serving enough to satiate guests over the night? You need at least 12 pieces per person to be considered anything close to a "meal." I've been to cocktail events and weddings where guests had more than enough food to be full and the vibe is nice because we're not stuck to a table all night. But if you're not serving anything close to resembling a full meal during dinner time, you have to really communicate that.

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I agree. I mentioned serving finger foods at the beginning of the reception after the ceremony at like 7pm and then also having a late night snack. Also, most of our guests are from far out of town and will probably stay the night before, or they live within half an hour of our venue so I don't think travel time is an issue.

I agree with Hank. If you're doing the food stations regardless I'd do them closer to 8 so that people aren't just waiting all night to eat. The only reason people typically delay late night snacks to 10 or 11 is because they've been served a full meal just a few hours before and people would be too full to eat any sooner. If you aren't serving a meal no need to delay.

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We are having an outdoor ceremony in October so the ceremony can't be much later than 6pm or we'll be in the dark.

Also, no children are invited to our wedding.

In my opinion, a 6pm ceremony is still too early to skip dinner. Depending on where guests are from, they might take 30-60 mins to travel to your wedding site, which means they'd need to finish dinner before 4:30pm (and no offense, but even having only 30 minutes to change and get ready is being VERY conservative for a lot of women). If I ate dinner before 4:30pm, I'll be starving by 10pm. And if I have kids, we're not waiting until 10pm to eat pizza. We'll be long gone by then.

You don't need to have a sit down meal but if you're having a cocktail reception, there's no reason to delay the food until that late.