hungry guests after ceremony

I don't know if there's a polite way of asking your guests how much they can eat. I would just hope that each person won't eat no more than 4 pieces. When people see the amount of food going down, I think they'll automatically stop eating and wait to eat their entree. I don't think your guests will get upset if they don't get full off of appetizers. But I think you'll be ok.

You might want to consider having the hors d'oeuvres passed by the service staff. When food is displayed on a buffet, guests naturally grab a plate and fill it up! When food is passed and guests are mingling with drinks, they will generally only grab a bite and wait until the server makes another pass. Soical etiquette will keep everyone on their best behavior and your appetizers last. Good luck!

I would say depending on the time of day (if people have just finished a meal before the ceremony starts) then they will be less likely to scarf down appetizers. On the other hand, if your ceremony starts at around the same time as a normal meal is served and people skip it to go to an 1 1/2 ceremony, they will probably be pretty darn hungry by the time they get to the reception and if they have to wait yet another hour or so for a meal, then they may be more tempted to eat more. I know I would be pretty hungry if I skipped a meal and had to wait 3 hours before I was served more than a couple bites of food.

I don't think there is really away to have your guest eat a certain amount. You may want to see if you can the staff serve them. That way they only get what they are susposed to have.

Krista is right. You need to have the appetizers passed by the catering staff. Guests will only take 1-2 at a time, and when they're gone, they're gone! No empty buffet table to see, and the service staff are simply gone from sight, leaving the guests to socialize. Plus, you will be feeding them at the reception, so its not as if they will be starving the rest of the night.

Let me know if you need help with anything else!

I think passing your appetizers is the best bet also. We're doing a combination. Our two fancier appetizers are being passed, and our cheese and fruit displays will be out, since there will be more of that for people to just grab. Because it can also be annoying if the people serving them dont get the chance to get all the way around the room before thier trays are empty. Is it possible to mixture of both?

Ok, I am one of "those" guests, and so is my husband. But we will limit ourselves to two if it is being passed out by a staff person, because we dont' want them to think we are greedy. So yes, I agree with the others, have them butler-passed if you can.

I agree with PP - I used to organize conferences, and we always did a combo of displays and butler passed. This helped us make sure all guests have the opportunity to try at least 1-2 pcs of the "good" stuff (passed is always the hot stuff & stuff with seafood or meat) and they can stuff themselves silly on the cheaper stuff (fruit & cheese, pasta, humus, etc)

Let me tell you, it saves (for large conferences) HUNDREDS & thousands of $$ - and it always stops people from eating everything else, too. I guess they feel that they want to save room for when the good stuff comes by again...