(Closed) Appetizer-only wedding, how many pieces should we serve?

• truthfairy
• 3 years ago

No alcohol and no dinner? … yeah you should definitely plan for this to be a short reception. 

• Soccergirl0809
• 3 years ago

lelly7 :  Their is no way you should consider inviting 180 people if you can’t host them properly. You know what your budget is cut back and lower your list. It seems like you want to give shitty food but want t have a ton of people to get gifts and money.

• Beegritte
• 3 years ago

I have never been to an app event where there was enough food, and that’s when it’s catered generously. The distribution is always uneven with some people swooping like seagulls and others missing out. Honestly, it’s not a style of catering to cut corners in and I think even 15 per person is cheap and measly. I think you need to look at other catering options for the style and duration of wedding you have planned or change it to a punch and cake wedding at a different time. If you keep the start time as is host for an hour – an hour and a half and have people out of there to eat on the way home 

• lifeisbeeutiful
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: January 2017

cherrymyst :  this. 

I never understood brides that invite 180-200 guests but want to be cheap and skimp out on food and alcohol. Why invite so many people if they’re going to be hungry and miserable? Just elope.  

• rak32098
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: July 2016

I am not against an appetizer only reception, but I would do even more than the caterer is suggesting. Or do their suggestion with some other platers. My big issue is your having a wedding, with what I consider a lot of guest, without providing a decent meal. Look into the Italian dinner idea or other similar things. I would be super annoyed if I went to a wedding without a meal. 

• cherrymyst
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: July 2017

farmfreshjoy :   I agree with this

We are having a wedding on a tight selfimposed budget and cut down the guest list to a bare minimum so that we can have the kind of plentiful event we wanted (castle, 5 course meal, midnight snack, coffee pause etc) and our guest to be fed, entertained and happy. Better 50 happy people dancing the night away than 150 hungry people leaving at 8 to go to the nearest McDonald’s imo…

• lonefitzberg
• 3 years ago

lelly7 :  can you do brunch wedding instead? 9am ceremony followed by 10am reception. People wont expect to get alcohol at morning anyway, so you can serve milk n cereal, coffee and tea as beverages. Salad, pasta, mini sandwiches and pig in a blanket, fruits and granola bar. Those are cheap food and suitable for breakfast.

• cherrymyst
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: July 2017

Found that thread I was talking about earlier!

What was the worst wedding you have ever been too?

• Ritar33
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: June 2016

Typically I find appetizers to be a “one or two bite” item. So having your reception in the evening, and assuming I’d probably eat around 3 or 4pm before your 7pm ceremony, yeah I’d chow down about 15 heavy appetizers over a period of 2-3 hours, that’s roughly 5-7 pieces per hour.

I think it’s better to err on the side of extra food than people leaving early to get McDonald’s. If you have leftovers at the end, give some away! 🙂

• nursebee63
• 3 years ago

• Wedding: April 2018

Wow heated thread. I think food is number 2 on my list of priorities, we are having an overload. Ceremony is at 3pm so High tea/scones/cocktail hour after the ceremony then 3 course meal and cake then midnight mini burgers before the end of the reception at 1am. People are going to be drinking so eating more and socialising. I would easily eat 20 appetisers, not counting the ones I thought looked nice so I put them on my plate but didn’t like them when I bit into it!

• ct2015
• 3 years ago

lelly7 :  

Glad to see you are considering a dinner…a dinner is always going to be better than heavy appetizers! 

Just because you figure 15-20 pieces per person, how do you monitor that? Chances are, people are going to take more than they are going to eat, and someone kind of hungry will eat more than 20 too…while the variety of appetizers is fun, the full meal is a safer idea.