8pm ceremony without dinner??

I would say have a full meal. Because it is a Friday most people will be using the little time they have after work to get ready and will not have time to grab a full meal before the wedding. Also have you looked into pricing. With my caterer it would be similar pricing to have a bunch of apps as it would to have a simple buffet which includes 3 apps.

Agree ^

I'd go with a full meal, I still consider 7 or 8 to be dinner time. On a Friday you're likely going to get people who are getting off work at 5. They'll be hungry. Often times heavy apps are just as pricey as a full meal too.

Full meal. I don't have time to rush home after work, shower, dress and then find something to eat in between work and a ceremony. Also, 7pm ceremony start time puts a dinner at 8. Or a dinner at 9pm if you choose an 8pm start time. That'll make for a lot of hungry people and a lot of hungry kids if you are having kids there.

For an 8pm ceremony I would work until 5:30, run home, shower, get dressed, drive to your wedding, and arrive starving.

"Also is this going to make us look totally cheap??"

Yes.

If your reception is at dinner time, then you need to be serving a full meal. If you only want to do heavy apps, maybe you should consider a different time of day.

I'm in agreement, you should do a full meal. We are also getting married on a Friday. Many people for our wedding are either coming straight from work or traveling in that day. A dinner also allows you and your fiance to get off your feet for a few, relax, and take in the whole ocassion.

I don't think it comes off as cheap but I do think finger foods are a little more suited for afternoon weddings/receptions.

Heavy apps and desserts don't always save you money, it just looks like it to your guests.

I think you could get away with stations - and I'm talking carving station, pasta station, etc. More like a buffet style in a cocktail hour environment. But still enough food that people could have a full meal. Because I will be starving.

If you have an 8 pm ceremony, then dinner probably wouldn't be served until 9 or 10, sometimes 11, depending on your timeline. 8 pm is technically after dinner, and most people who do 8 pm weddings only do appetizers and cake. A lot of people don't like to eat dinner that late, myself included. I've been to a wedding that were late and served a full meal, and half the guests didn't eat for that reason and people complained afterwords. After dinner, the reception got smaller. Maybe this is a know your crowd type of thing, but you might have a lot of food left over by the end of the night. I think the ceremony should start around 7 or earlier if you want to serve dinner.

Yeah, I'm with Jacky. I went to an 8pm wedding and dinner wasn't served until 9:30/10. WAY too late for dinner. We actually ate dinner around 5/6, and then kinda snacked through the "dinner" they served. I think heavy apps will be fine, as long as they're substantial enough for those who maybe didn't have dinner. Stations is a great idea.

I agree many people will still go to work that day, run home to get dressed, and arrive starving to your wedding expecting food.

Yes. It's cheap and weird unless you are doing heavy stations and rapid fire hors d'oeuvres. Which isn't cheap.

I'd do cocktail hour first, at 7:00, which will allow for people to actually get there on time and keep them from being starving. Then the ceremony at 8:00. then dinner immediately following

I'm having a wedding on a Friday and we are serving dinner at 7 p.m. That is dinner time and people will expect a meal.

Among my family and friends, 8 PM is prime dinner time (only Sundays earlier). You need to provide a meal. The meal can be in a variety of formats, but, IMHO, doing truly heavy appetizers will end up being more expensive if done right.

In my circle that is a prime meal time. As to cost saving, in my area it is normally less expensive to do a buffet meal. I would get a couple of local pricelists and take a look, you need at least 12-16 pieces per each person of heavy appetizers to replace a meal, wienies and ham buns aren't going to cut it.

I would have a small cocktail hour before the ceremony since it's right at dinner time. Then during the reception have more apps available. Since it's late, if you served a full dinner it wouldn't be until around 9ish which is too late for dinner.

April, I totally disagree with you. If you having guests during a meal time, they get a meal. Some people may just nibble at cocktail time. Then when they realize no meal, they will go home early. The polite ones won't say anything to you, but they will think you were cheap and rude

It's dinnertime people will be hungry. Are you having a bar? They can't drink without eating first

If you are having it on a Friday night you need to serve dinner. Local guests might have work that day and I personally don't want to go home and cook dinner (or order takeout) and then come to your wedding. It does seem cheap. If it was a Saturday afternoon at like 2 or 3 I would say you don't need a meal.