Anyone opt out of doing cocktail hour?

I'm doing cocktail hour mainly so that FH and I can take photos together. We are having 12 apps along with a taco bar and a slider station. With all of the formalities, dinner won't be until almost 8pm so we want to make sure our guests aren't hungry.

If you are taking all your pictures before the ceremony you could skip it. We are having one because it was included in our pricing and we are sure people are going to be hungry while we are off taking pictures (we aren't doing a first look) and our ceremony starts at 6.

We opted out and I am very glad we did. our ceremony, reception, and hotel room were all in the same place (ceremony outside and hotel in ball room)

after the recession, once all of the wedding party was back into the hallway just inside the door, the ladies and I all kicked off our heels and we made a run for the elevator lol we hid in our room for a few minutes using the restroom and such while to coordinator got the guests all seated before we came back in for a grand entrance. we had salads and bread on the tables and we planned not to take more than 10-15 minutes but there as a delay in getting guests seated so we ended up having almost a half hour to breath before going back in and none of the guests had any issues with it.

This saved us tons of money on cocktail hour drinks and food as well as less time needing vendors like photo video or doc so that is tons of money saved!

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I could see if your ceremony and reception were held in the same space why it wouldn't be necessary and you could jump right in to the party!

Donut bar and give people to go bags can opt as favors too!

We are not doing first look so we are doing cocktail hour while we take pictures.

We’re doing pics before the ceremony and skipping cocktail hour. We have a 3pm ceremony and I expect the food to arrive around 3:30, so there will still be time for guests grab water/soda/whatever and mingle a bit.

View Quoted Comment Plus who doesn’t like donuts 🍩 right? 😃

We’re just skipping it, our ceremony is at noon & reception is at 12:30 (same venue, different room). It just made sense to skip it since we only have the venue until 3:30, but can take pictures after the reception and before our after party (thrown by FH’s aunts in a separate location).

No cocktail hour, extra expense for me, we are going straight to the ceremony. Good luck and blessing to all

I personally like the cocktail hour specially if I don’t know a lot of people. Is a good way to mingle and if I do know a lot of people is a good way to catch up before the reception since they might not all be in your table. I had a cocktail hour and my dad said people really enjoyed it.

View Quoted Comment Me personally I wouldn't want to fill up on sweets and milk before dinner and drinks.

We are doing a first look and majority of the wedding parties pictures before the ceremony and only 20 minutes of family pictures post ceremony. We are having cocktail hour with appetizers and drinks. The cocktail hour is important to us so our guests aren't bored. Also we will be going to cocktail hour to mingle and greet our guests. I dont thinking skipping the cocktail hour is necessary if you start dinner and reception immediately following ceremony. If you are taking pictures post ceremony I would think you need a cocktail hour.

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Thank you !

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It sounds like for me, I definitely would need some kind of cocktail hour because I don't want my guests to be bored or have too much downtime in between pictures and driving to the reception. Thanks for the feedback about the sweets. It will definitely give me an idea of what guests would want for cocktail hour.

Were just having a ceremony and jumping right into the reception. Food is going to be available right after the ceremony so nobody is hungry, cake will be about an hour or so afterwards and the rest is just music and family.

We're skipping cocktail hour and going straight to the wedding reception. We're having the ceremony and reception in the same place location (right across the lawn from each other) and doing all the posed pictures before the wedding. (I know scandalous that my man will see the bride before the wedding). Literally it'll be just the ceremony and everyone will parade over there. We're doing, toasts, drinks, first dances, and cake cutting before dinner (nuts on tables for ravenous people).

We are not doing a first look or a cocktail hour. Our food will be served in stations right from the start of the reception. It's going to be a fun, social, relaxed event. People can get a drink and food as soon as they arrive, pick their own seat with friends, and just enjoy while we do our photos.

I went to a couple weddings recently that opted out of a cocktail hour but the guest also were traveling from the ceremony to her reception venue during that time. We just sort of entertained ourselves for a little bit, some people even stopped at the bar and it was fine.

In my case, the ceremony and reception are all at the same venue, so we are doing a very simple cocktail hour with fruit trays and cheese/cracker trays. We also have yard games and the do will play some lighter music to entertain people while we finish our pictures. With the guests not having to leave the venue, we wanted to make sure they don’t get bored waiting for us for an hour.

Thanks for everyone's input. I think if we weren't Catholic and were doing the ceremony and reception in the same space we could opt out but for me it feels like we need to provide our guests with something in the meantime before the reception.