Is 6pm-10pm appropriate for a cocktail reception?

Welcome to WW Audrie , @ 6PM your guests are going to be expecting a meal.

Welcome to WW Audrie ~

Are you sure that is how she worded it?

7pm is dinner time. If your reception is going on at 7pm you need a sit down dinner.

Cocktail receptions need to start after 8:30/9pm ish.

Or be a day reception: 1 - 6pm

If you start at 6pm, people will be at home getting ready and then traveling to the location. They will be STARVING by 7:30.

I agree with Kimberly. I think if you want to party with guests from 6-10 they will be starving and execting dinner.

I think cocktail receptions are usually shorter and start much later.

The only time I have ever been to a cocktail and cake reception, it ended at 4pm. I would say if you aren't providing dinner, don't start until at least 7pm. I think that is still honestly pushing it, don't know what to tell you.

I am going to respectfully disagree. You could have a cocktail reception, from 6-10PM. However, you NEED to have heavy appetizers, if you are not going to do a sit down dinner. And the food needs to keep coming, throughout the evening.

If price is the issue, a sit down dinner will, most likely, be far less expensive than heavy apps all evening.

Considering it is a gift giving ocassion, with a 6-10 PM time frame, your guests would be expecting dinner.

As Kathy pointed out, a cocktail reception can be done if the appies are heavy and all night. I have been to many museum exhibit openings where the fare was simply drinks and appies all evening.

Ooops....I forgot to welcome you to WW.

Yea, I'm with Kathy as well. It can work as long as it has very heavy apps throughout the evening. You can't expect people to be there from 6-10 with just a few pieces of food and then a slice of cake.

You can do as long as you have a TON... and I mean....Massive amounts of hors d oeuvres and maybe carving stations, action stations.

Are you looking to do apps because of a budget issue or do you just object to a sit-down dinner? Have you considered a buffet-style reception?

I agree with the ladies, I would do either a brunch or early afternoon if budget is your issue. You could do a 1-5 that way people could eat lunch before they come, and then all you need is maybe a station that does like fruit/veggies or cheese and crackers plus maybe one or 2 light apps and then just cake and punch. If you need evening and can't do a buffett or dinner, then it's going to have to start no earlier than 7 so that people can eat dinner at a normal time (5-6) and still have time to make it to the wedding, so like 7-11pm. Check with your venue again and find out if they are particular about the music all together or just the volume, see if you could simply have the "slow, soft music" starting at 10 to keep the noise level down. One thing to consider, serving only apps during a meal time can backfire because they actually have a higher relative cost and people who are hungry aren't going to stop at 2 or 3, they are going to be eating a lot of them.

I would serve dinner if you're having a reception that late. Dinner is the reason we changed our wedding from a Friday night to a Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't in the budget for us to have a sit down dinner and I wanted it to be casual. Finger food, fruits and sandwiches for us!

May I suggest an after party? Do a cocktail reception from 8 to 10, and invite people out to continue the party at another venue, or even a nearby club/lounge. That'll give people time to eat, time to celebrate you guys, and plenty of time to party.

Yeah I think I'm either going to have to move my ceremony/reception time or switch to a sit down dinner. do you guys think a Ceremony at around 2 or 3 would be more appropriate for a cocktail reception? and do you think that a late afternoon wedding is any less romantic?

You can do a cocktail reception, but it has to be heavy hors d'oeuvres. The caterer will help you build a menu that will be sufficient. It needs to be enough food to qualify as a meal, so think more stations than a single buffet. It's totally fine to have a casual atmosphere with a mingling meal. You'll need to provide seating for about 60%, and then provide tall tables for guests to put their drinks on. It doesn't save you money to go this route, but it's a different style reception. Seen it work many times

I agree with pretty much everyone, you need to either delay your wedding, or serve food. And personally I think some sort of snacks should be served either way since people are drinking. You also need to make sure you communicate to all the guests that food won't be served in my opinion. If it's a cost thing, look into doing "heavy hors d'oevres" instead of a meal or full buffet. My best friend had a 7pm wedding and served that, we still sat down and got it from a buffet but i believe it cost her in the range of 18.00 per person (outside of seattle), the food was delicious and it was fun to have lots of options to pick through

@Audrie, an early afternoon wedding would be more appropriate for a cocktail reception. People have time for lunch earlier, and you can finish around 5 or 6, so people can to to dinner. The time won't make it any less romantic at all! And you can still do an after party later that night if you really want to party and let loose.

Yes the girls are right. You could do that time, but you need to have filling apps to atleast tide them over until they can hit up Wendy's Late Night Menu. Any time 5-7 people are expecting dinner... They are more than likely travelling and will be hungry. We are doing ceremony at 5:30-6, cocktail hour (winery tour/tasting) until 7 and dinner and dancing until 11pm

I think mid afternoon would be perfect for a cocktail reception. I think if you do it later in the even with a cocktail reception, you could do heavy appetizers, but you may be cheaper doing either a sit down meal or buffet. If your heart is set on the time, change the meal plan. However, if your heart is set on doing an cocktail reception, then change the time.