Destination wedding and no reception?!

The conference room sounds like a great idea. You can cater Italian, Mexican, or bbq for reasonable prices.

"ANY ideas are welcomed and highly appreciated!" : Feed your guests a meal. Like PP said, BBQ, Mexican or Italian are good choices. I hosted a family reunion for 50 people and the food was $300 for two pastas and salads. You will want more than that but please.....feed your guests a meal. If money is that tight, have immediate family only for a ceremony and take them out to dinner.

View Quoted Comment I’m all for feeding them. But is it too late to eat a full meal? We can swing it for sure. Just worried about the timing

View Quoted Comment I didn’t even think of BBQ. We’re from Georgia. The guest would love that!

Some hotels don't rent out their conference rooms at night for noise purposes. But if yours does, it's a good option for you! I don't know that you have to do a meal that late. People will have had time to eat before the ceremony, and I know for me, I wouldn't want a full meal at 9:00 at night. I think you could get away with finger foods.

Your ceremony is right around dinner time. So while people may have something to eat before they come, it probably won’t be a full meal. With evening ceremonies people typically expect a meal to be served.

Yes, serve a meal.

If I was invited to a wedding 3 hours away and wasn't being fed I wouldn't go. What kind of ceremony is it that people wouldn't be eating until 9? At least have some sort of appetizer type things with some drinks to thank people for coming

Why not do a brunch the next day?

Look into barbecue places. We're also having a beach wedding and getting married at sunset with restaurant after (but it'll be 9-10 people). Definitely see about the conference room and barbecue catering. It would be cheap and it's awesome food that everyone loves!

I'm not the best at wedding etiquette but....with a 7pm ceremony, could you somehow feed your guests with some appetizers and drinks prior to the ceremony around dinner time and then something after - even if it is at 9pm? Just throwing that idea out there - not sure of your logistics or anything.

Our wedding is a destination wedding in NY and we are doing the wedding at 6:45 (just before sunset). Before the ceremony begins we will offer cheese and fruit and drinks at the (prepared by family) and we are going straight to a restaurant, appetizers will be served right after orders are placed which means people will be eating by 7:45 with travel (we're not doing the hour long photo session after the ceremony). There are only 26 of us so the restaurant works, but it will still come out to a pretty penny (~$115/pp) with a 4 course meal and alcohol. We knew that going in though and it was what we wanted.

I suggest calling a restaurant nearby your hotel and getting a catering quote for the 40 people and tell them it's for a celebration. Try to book the conference room and you don't even have to decorate (save the money), the hotel should provide linens/tables/chairs. You may need to provide drinks if your caterer doesn't. My grandparents just did an anniversary party and got Olive Garden to cater. It was very cheap and there were leftovers and they set it all up with the help of one of the family members.

I can't see how your guests won't be eating until 9 if your ceremony begins at 7, but if this is the case, I would have lots of finger foods at the ceremony for people to munch on. One of the worst things can be a hungry guest... at any event.

I think that sounds like a good idea... Think catering something in like you would for a big office meeting. I mean... any type of food from a local restaurant and could probably work that our for a few hundred dollars or so. Especially if it is that late, you could let people know that you will have more like appetizers than feeding them dinner. Your ceremony time would allow them to eat before hand and then its more like social time than sitting down to dinner.

If the ceremony is at 7:00 and probably no longer than 30 minutes, you could reserve a room at a restaurant nearby for 7:30 and pre-order with them. Either make it a limited menu for guests to choose from so the food comes out more quickly (made in bulk) or ask them to do buffet style and have the food prepared by 8:00. I don't see anything wrong with people eating a full meal at that time for a wedding. Even if you couldn't give them the full meal until 9, I still think that's better than nothing and you could also offer light appetizers before the ceremony as well so people don't get too hungry.

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My cousin had a cocktail hour before the ceremony with some light appetizers and fresh fruits. It was delicious! Another wedding I went to, they did the same thing before the ceremony. It was mini sandwiches and tartlettes.

9pm isn’t too late for a meal. In Europe dinnertime is like 8-10pm haha.

Could you move the ceremony up to 6? If you ate at 8 then that DEFINITELY would not be too late. But if you keep it at 7 you should just let your guests know that food will be served at the reception at 9pm so they can plan accordingly and eat a late lunch or a snack to tide them over.

We are having a lunchtime reception... ceremony at noon, hors douerves at 1, but the plated meal won’t be served until 2:30. We’re including this information on the details cards. 2:30 is late for lunch, but hopefully adults know how to plan ahead and will eat something before the ceremony if they’re worried about being hungry.

As long as you let them know, it should be fine!