Not Having Food During Cocktail Hour

I'd say it's very important. People will be hungry, and you don't want guests to be drinking for an hour on an empty stomach.

That was my thinking. It's hard to think about it as spending $400 on chips and salsa but I want my guests to be happy.

I think it depends on what time of day your wedding is. My ceremony is at 530 so we definitely HAVE to have food because people will be hangry. If it is is an odd-non-meal-time you could prob get a way with it. I do think most people expect food at cocktail hour, and open bar + no food could = disaster.

Well, we'll be having cocktail hour from about 5-6 and then the guests will be seated and have dinner brought to them. I'm also thinking it might be a little boring without food. Food gives guests something to do while they get to know one another.

What time is your ceremony? I don't think people will get hungry in 1 1/2 hours but serving alcohol gets people hungry. Will they eat RIGHT after cocktail hour?

Hmmm... we aren't having food. The ceremony is at 2 (hr long), reception starts at 4. Dinner is served at 5. We will have a popcorn bar and a candy bar though....

4:30 ceremony

5-6 Cocktail hour

6- guests are seated. Once seated, dinner will be brought out to them.

Very important esp depending on when the ceremony starts. if its around a meal time (11-1 or 4-6) I would say most ppl would be hungry by the end of the ceremony. I always want a snack. but esp around a meal time. plus the wait to get your food (and everyone at the table bc you're suppose to wait until the entire table is served to eat) once dinner is served. I would greatly appreciate being able to dip & sip.

I'm also thinking that drinking without eating may cause some tummy aches, which I don't want to happen.

Between 5-6 people will be getting hungry! And I agree with BookcaseHat - you don't want people just drinking on an empty stomach.

Plus, there might be some people there who don't drink. For example, my FH doesn't drink and he would be bummed that there wasn't food there as well.

And I think chips and salsa is a good cocktail hour food! Something to snack on while people meet each other, but not super filling right before dinner.

I think it's very important. We were in the same predicament - totally didn't want to spend the extra money but I think it's necessary.

With an open bar I would definitely recommend something to snack on. I know that the party would end pretty quickly for me if I was drinking and there was no food (alcohol makes me so sleepy). Are you taking photos during cocktail hour, is that the reason you are having one?

Yes serve food its extremely important.

JP, I definitely want to save money where I can, but my guests happiness comes before my desire to save money. It's just crazy to think about spending more than half my rent on chips and salsa.

We will be taking some photos and then enjoying the cocktail hour with our guests. The cocktail hour was included in our package.

Reading this, I instantly pictured Bethie's selfie she posted today from the "black tie" wedding she went to over the weekend

Alcohol plus empty stomachs equals tipsy guests. Most guests won't eat much before the wedding, will sit through your ceremony (short, compared to most, but still time of not eating) and then an hour of not eating and just drinking alcohol. By the time you get food, that's a long time. Honestly, I think it's worth the $400 because it will be appreciated. But I know $400 is a lot of money for chips and salsa. I'm not sure on your timeline, but we are also having a short ceremony. Our ceremony starts right at 5:30 pm, so guests should be there around 5:15 pm. Dinner won't be served until 7:30 pm. And it starts with salad, then a pasta course, then the main course. So add that time on, too. If you are having buffet or plated, add in time people wait in the buffet line or are waiting to get their plates. It's going to be over 2 hours. Which doesn't sound bad, but people might be hungry.

I wouldn't die without it, but I would probably expect something small like cheese cubes.

ETA: I typed this when there were 0 comments. Lol. Apparently I was distracted and there were lots of comments

Drinks with no food in my family equals REALLY sick relatives so we definitely opted for having something. We're doing veggie trays, small pinwheels, and various cheeses, crackers, and fruits. I didn't want to do it at first because of the cost, but my FH reminded me of my sisters' very eventful birthday party where my family all started drinking before any food was ready and the night ended with a lot of inebriated people who were very ill and a four wheeler accident. haha I'm glad I'm going with the extra food given that colorful memory. :p

Sorry it's going to drain so much of your budget though. :/ Food costs are killer.

Pancakes, our timeline goes as follows:

4:15pm: Guests arrive and are seated

4:30pm: Ceremony starts

5:00 - 6:00pm: cocktail hour

6:00pm: guests are seated

6:10: Food is served (salad, main course, cake)

Haha oh I hear ya! I think we're spending double my rent just on cheese and meat trays! Sigh.

Thank you for the input, ladies. It seems that the consensus is to get the food.

I definitely do not want people getting sick.