How to go about food for a late evening (7pm) ceremony?

A. Why not serve pre-ceremony hors d'oeuvre?

B. After the ceremony, have a buffet that will allow people to eat as much as they want (or not) and gives you some time for photos before the sun is gone.

C. Are you even sure the ceremony will last a whole hour?

D. We seldom eat before 8 pm. Some cultures they don't eat until 10pm or later. Your family may be early diners, but so what? They can adapt one day of their lives. They won't starve. if nothing else, it will give them something to complain about while they're watching your perfect vows and your perfect sunset and your perfect dress.

Ha! I like the way you think LenW. Our ceremony is expected to last 10-15 minutes and the remainder of the hour can be dedicated to pictures... not sure how long those usually take, but I can't imagine it lasting until 8pm.

I say do an appetizer or station reception. That way guests can much, mingle, and eat or not eat. It is casual enough, but still super classy and will keep people from being hungry.

Every wedding I've helped coordinate with a 6-7pm "curtain call" has been black tie with a sit-down plated reception, but considering the atmosphere of your wedding, I think the idea of a heavy hors d'oeuvre buffet would be ideal. Nost ceremonies don't last longer than about 45 minutes (unless you put a LOT into it), and even if your ceremony does go an hour (or longer), it's not like you're making people wait until midnight to eat. Like LenW said--most families don't eat prior to 8pm, so I'd say you're pretty well on schedule.

We had a 6:30pm ceremony with an hour cocktail and then sit down dinner close to 8pm on a fri night. People didn't seem to mind the time considering they were munching and drinking by 7 for cockails. i think if are having a beach wedding heavy cocktail buffet items are perfect.

I was going to say everything that Len said. Do all of that.

I would personally show up very hungry for dinner at that time. We rarely eat dinner before 8pm around here on weekends.

Also the only hour-long ceremony I ever attended was a full Catholic mass. We had a religious service and it only lasted 20 minutes or so. Were you building a receiving line or something into that hour or are there religious reasons? If not I'd highly consider shortening it.....an hour is just really long for a secular service IMO.

Also for your family - suggest to them that as they will likely to be rushing around to get ready, that you or they can arrange some deli/fruit/veggie/snack trays to munch on before the ceremony. That's what I did for my BMs as we were getting ready, and it tided us all over quite well.

Thank you everyone!

I'm not really sure about pre-ceremony appetizers on the beach with sand and birds. I think I will be too busy to host anything before the ceremony as well.

I've hired a beach ceremony company that provides everything for me, including a photographer, from 7-8pm. Ceremony 10-15 minutes and then pictures for the remainder of the hour if we so wish (the sun actually sets at 8).

What I wasn't thinking about was the fact that I could take family pictures first immediately following the ceremony and then they could be on their way to food by 7:20-7:30, while the bridal party stays behind.

In that case I definitely like the idea of having a cocktail hour for guests. My guest count should only be about 15-20 people, so we are not having a full blown reception. It is most likely going to be at a nearby restaurant or at our beach house rental, so I think I could swing in some appetizers at either place before the meal.

Whew! *sigh of relief*