No food at cocktail hour

Wedding planner was a requirement for our venue, however she is a friend so we're paying her the bare minimum.

And I'm not for going food, not trying to at least. Dinner is going to be more food then we need already. I understand the necessity of it with alcohol being served but as someone who's been to quite a few weddings I've never actually eaten during the cocktail hour as I'm too busy socializing. That has been the general consensus within my group of family and friends as well. Just trying to get more opinions.

As for as the bridal party gifts go, I'm trying my best to make this happen with DIY things. However, FH doesn't see the need for it at all so we're butting heads a little.

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That is why i you!

"Wedding planner was a requirement for our venue".

Why the hell would that be a requirement??? Who told you that?

ETA: NM HAHAHA I thought you meant "wedding party was required".

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The owner of the venue (part of our contract), it's actually very common in the area I live in. We managed to snag the cheapest venue with minimal rules (only requires a wedding planner while others make you use their caterer, alcohol, wedding planners, etc). Unfortuntely I live in an area where people come to get married so things aren't the cheapest, however with connections I've managed to do a lot with little.

View Quoted Comment My friends, family, and I often eat more at the cocktail hour than at the dinner. We all socialize, but we eat a lot.

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Me too. Cocktail hour is my favorite part. In my experience its usually better then the main course.

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Ditch the photo booth is you can (if you have not paid for it) as people will want food a lot more than a photo of themselves.

Your Bridal Party can go with elaborate gifts - please don't compromise the comfort of your guests for bridal party gifts. You could always give them gifts after the wedding, like a week or two afterwards.

And giving a bracelet they have to wear for the wedding....that is not a gift, that is a prop.

She said they already scrapped the photo booth.

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Thank you, I agree completely that I would much rather have more food than give the bridal party gifts. I'm working on finding them all earrings, but I have one bridesmaid who doesn't have her ears pierced so I've had a time finding her matching clip ons. Working on some DIY gifts, but I'm not the craftiest person. Hoping to find something good soon.

Didn't even consider having a photo booth when I saw the prices!

Our ceremony and reception also took place at the same venue. We had planned for only a 20 minute break in between to allow our guests time to grab a drink, mingle, and find their seat. We thought since it was only a 20 minute break there was no need for food. The ceremony got over at 5:25 and food was to be served at 5:45. Our caterer was not prepared and the food wasn't served until 6:50. I was livid. Our guests were hungry and bored. I was so embarrassed especially since our coordinator just kept telling us "it will be out in a couple minutes". I would have had someone run to the store and buy chips and salsa if I knew how long it would be. I HIGHLY recommend you bite the bullet and have some type of food there!

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Unlike you, I miss things!!! LOL! !!!

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HAHHAHAHA you're so funny!!!

I definitely think that it is worth looking into if you can bring your own snacks in for cocktail hour. Our catering contract says no outside food/drinks but when I clarified with them we just have to have "shelf stable" food (I'm guessing so no one gets food poisoning and blames it on them) so we are doing a "snack mix" bar where people can make their own mix. I've also seen things like popcorn bars which is another cheap alternative to traditional cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres

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That's such a great idea! Thanks for the advice!

Chips and salsa you say go with your taco bar, but seems redundant to me. Why not move things and have the taco bar station at cocktail hour, not with the dinner? Also, bridal party gifts are not necessary before the wedding. Some couples do their thank you to wedding party tea, dinner, or send small gifts , immediately after the honeymoon. They should get a note or letter of sincere thanks, written before the wedding. But gifts are not a requirement then. You can shop for each, an individual present not same for everyone, on your honeymoon. Which gives you financial " breathing room" though any cost still exists. Only the written thank you , and not a one liner on a thank you card but more of a letter, is ever required. As long as you tend to that pre-wedding, you are fine with etiquette standards.

I cut my guest list to make sure I could afford everything. I know some things happen and we sometimes can go over budget. I am sorry this is happening. Maybe change a full bar to beer and wine only, thats usually a cheaper iption andbmight be ablentonadf in your food. Chips and salsa for an hournis a little skimpy to have them drink on top of that might make the evening go awry. Good luck and congratulations on your special day!

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Perhaps they would allow premade platters from Costco or such? Don't be afraid to mix up your food themes. You can have mini tacos, wings, eggrolls, etc and no one will think "Oh my gosh what about the theme?" They will think "Dang these wings are good!"

View Quoted Comment The taco bar is the actual dinner (more a buffet than a station), it would be over kill to serve it as at cocktail hour. Thank you for the advice on the bridal party gifts. We aren’t going on a honeymoon but a wedding party dinner after the fact is a great idea!

View Quoted Comment Thank you! It’s defintely been a lot of things coming up we didn’t anticipate that bad thrown off our budget a lot. We’ve been pretty savvy with spending so far, already offering only beer and wine and such. Hopefully we can pull through and come up with some money somewhere!