NO Dinner at the reception and just have a Dessert bar?

Dancing, drinks and dessert? No, you need to serve dinner.

It's AMAZING to me the number of people who think that they can cut costs by not serving a meal.

I have never been to a wedding where a meal wasn't served and didn't realize this was a thing until coming to WW. Or at least some people on WW think/are trying to make it a thing.

Guests are getting dressed up, traveling to you, and in most cases giving you a gift - the LEAST that you can do is provide them with a meal. Oh and the ceremony is about the couple, the reception is a thank you to your guests.

At least order a bunch of pizzas!! Drunk people love to eat

I'll let Jenna Maroney speak for me:

http://youtu.be/EJglZj8czhA

Obsserd is the new convefe.

Why are you not feeding your guests a meal?

Yes "do what you want" but as people are saying, if you do this, people will leave. They will leave very very early.

"It's my wedding day" works for your attire, your color scheme, your date, your decisions on inviting people BUT it doesn't work on the guests experience. You are a bride/groom but you're also a host, hopefully you're trying to be a good host....

By the way, no dinner would not be good hosting. Perhaps (very) heavy appetizers at least?? Like so many appetizers it's a meal because you should serve them a meal.

Please feed them dinner. I would be highly disappointed if I had to travel to a wedding around dinner just to dance and eat sugar! Please feed them!

I just had a 6:30 wedding ceremony and never would have thought to not feed my guests dinner. They were hungry and ready to eat when we arrived after the ceremony. Please feed your guests or consider changing your ceremony time.

No you need to feed your guests dinner.

If I was attending a wedding at 6:30 I would expect dinner. Also if you have a bar, dessert wont be enough to keep people sober and your guests could be very intoxicated.

An evening wedding with no dinner? No thanks honestly.

Everyone else has basically said what needs to be said, but I'll reiterate just for the hell if of it... people taking time out of their lives to attend a wedding will expect to be served a proper meal, especially at that time in the evening! Only providing sugar & alcohol is a recipe for disaster, not too mention a shit ton of pissed off guests.

Ours is a later ceremony too with a later reception. We aren't serving a full meal but are providing pork BBQ sandwiches with potato salad and coleslaw, wings, fruit platter and meat/cheese platter. I would serve SOMETHING, even if it's just appetizers. But don't feel obligated to provide full-on meals; the guests will be well informed prior that it's an evening wedding and common sense dictates a light meal/snack ahead of time if need be.

No! Your guests will be starving and will likely leave your wedding to go eat.

No. No. No.

Unless you're starting at 2PM or 10PM you really can't do this without really being rude to your guests. Sorry it sucks and it's expensive

Please if you DO decide to do this be up front with your guests about what to expect so they can make the decision to travel or not, and they know to eat before if they do decide to attend. "Ceremony time: (insert logical time) Cake and punch reception to follow". After me and FH both took time off from work, spent two nights hotel fare, drove 8 hours, spent money on gas and tolls, and gave a generous check, I was so embarassed and couldnt stop apologizing to FH for subjecting him to such a poorly hosted wedding.

This is my first time on this site and the first post I have read because I’m thinking of having a late reception and offering more bar options with desserts/appetizers instead of a full course meal. I’m so surprised how judgmental many responses are! It’s your wedding and your money being spent! Not everyone can afford a full course dinner on top of everything else. I believe as long as you let your guests know to eat beforehand it will be just fine. I think friends and family will be busy celebrating you and having fun than worrying about this. No one should have to spend their life savings to have a wedding and serving dinner is quite a large expense. I say go for whatever will make you happy within your budget needs