Cocktail Hour Addition

Tarot card reader, caricature artist, roaming magician, contortionist, dancers, live painter, photo scavenger hunt, Polaroid guest book, photobooth

Cece gave some great suggestions. However, especially with a half hour rather than an hour or hour and a half, I wouldn’t overcomplicate things. By the time guests walk in, grab a bite and a beverage and say hello to a few people, the half hour will be over and people will be moving to the reception space. I don’t know how many people would actually partake in any of the extras given the amount of time. If anything, I’d save those things for the reception, after dinner.

Is the cocktail hour inside or outside? If outside maybe some games like corn hole or something similar. If inside you can put little trivia cards or table topics on the tables but honestly a 1/2 hr will go super fast I would keep the focus on the food and drinks and mingling.

Due to the tight schedule, I would stick to food, drinks and socializing. There is not that much time for you to work with where anything else could be added.

I wouldn't add anything to distract your guests or they will be slow walking into the reception room, throwing off the schedule.

With just a 1/2 hour you really don’t have time for any extras and they are unnecessary in any case.

We had an hour where people just stood and snacked and socialized and it didn’t feel that long. I can imagine 30 minutes will feel pretty short. You don’t think it will go by fast but when everyone is chatting and eating, it does. Plus no other distractions will allow the guests to be wrangled easier for the reception