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Beginner June 2018

How many appetizers?

FutureMrsCoffeeSnacks, on February 21, 2017 at 6:33 PM Posted in Planning 0 5

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Hi all! My FH and I are very interested in a venue with an exclusive caterer for our 175-200 person wedding. The caterer's price list has butlered appetizers broken down to price-per-piece and station appetizers broken down by price-per-person.

As such, I have a few questions I was hoping to get input on:

(1) for butlered apps at cocktail hour, how many different selections are typically chosen? From other venues I have seen anywhere from 3-8 offered, but wasn't sure what the average is

(2) for butlered apps, how many pieces do you order? Do you think it is safe to just order twice the number of guests for each appetizer (therefore assuming that it will balance itself out with some guests will take none and others will take more than one?) or would you do more like 3x-4x?

(3) if you have a mix of station and butlered appetizers - how many different selections are typically offered?

Thanks so much in advance!!

ETA: clarity

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5 Comments

Latest activity by Dreamer, on February 22, 2017 at 9:50 AM

WeddingWire Administrator May 2015
Jo · on February 22, 2017 at 9:30 AM
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I only had about 70 guests, plus my caterer worked out the numbers themselves so I didn't have to order per piece, so I won't be able to offer much advice on volume. For variety, we had two stations of apps and three passed apps.
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Master May 2017
VC · on February 22, 2017 at 9:33 AM
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I am only ordering 3 app per person with 3 types so 1 per person. I'd like to get more but this won't fly with the fiance lol since they are expensive. Plus we will have a 4 course meal and dessert table afterwards. We shall see how it works it's way out.
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Master May 2017
Emma · on February 22, 2017 at 9:44 AM
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We're not ordering the number of pieces, the caterer does that. But we've picked four separate passed appetizers, plus fruit and cheese stations.
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Celia Milton · on February 22, 2017 at 9:48 AM
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They should be given more guidance than that.

For a typical evening wedding, where the cocktail hour will start somewhere between 5-7 PM I"d do 8-12 pieces of hors (not necessarily all different; pigs in a blanket always go in multiples...), and at least a cold station. You might add a couple of hot stations, but honestly, if you're having a full dinner afterwards, sometimes it's overkill
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Master May 2013
Dreamer · on February 22, 2017 at 9:50 AM
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I would like more than 3 or 4 different kinds offered. What if I don't like all of them?
I've told this story dozens of times, but we went to a wedding whose only cocktail hour food was 3 passed hors d'oeuvres. It seems the first guests offered them may have taken more than one each. We were only offered one of them. I didn't like it, but ate it anyway. It was pork, so my sister couldn't eat it. She had already sipped a glass of wine, so felt half sick.
We had 8 differed passed hors d'oeuvres, with 4 being vegetarian. The venue kept supplying them - I don't think they had a limit. We also had and a fresh fruit tower and cold buffet. We live in the northeast, where cocktail hour food seems to be more generous, than other regions, where I've attended weddings.
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