Panini Reception

I would be concerned they wouldn’t be hot by the time they get to guests. There is nothing wrong with heavy appetizers and they are often actually more filling than a plated dinner because they are more food (20 pieces per person minimum is recommended and a plated meal is the equivalent of 10 pieces of heavy appetizers). So I would be suspicious if the caterer gives you less food with heavy appetizers.

If you want plated/buffet vs appetizers, it’s all personal preference. For example, in NYC cocktail hours with extensive stations of heavy appetizers along with passed are standard and most guests have no room to eat the plated meal served after. Yet so many say the opposite is true because they envision someone trying to make a full meal from a couple cheese slices and a single passed satay or egg roll.

My friends did gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and soup at their wedding, and it was awesome. Do what you love, it’s your celebration (and you are feeding your guests for free!)

I guess this would depend on your guests. Would there be sides? How many paninis can each person get? Will they be made to order? What about people who are vegan/vegetarian or allergic to gluten?

I love the idea of a cocktail/ app only reception as long as it is described as so on the invitations. Panini's would be a nice filling option 😋

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It makes perfect sense that she would get less food in heavy apps for the same price as a sit-down meal. Appetizers cost more to produce because of the labor involved.

I worry for paninis to be fresh and warm, you’d end up with a really long line. Maybe speak with the restaurant and see how they would plan on avoiding lines. Otherwise. I wouldn’t give up on the heavy apps option right away. Are you located in a HCOL area? We are doing heavy apps and for 6 options the cost is 13/person, but I live in Utah where costs are medium-low.

As long as the restaurant thinks that they can execute it properly, then I’d say go for it. If you’re having a laid-back wedding vs traditional wedding then why not! Not every wedding has to be the standard sit down meal if it’s not something you want. Just make sure that there’s plenty of food and drinks for your guests. Sidenote… You know your guests best, but it’s 2021 And more than ever we have people with gluten allergies dairy allergies etc., so just make sure that if any of your guests do you have these allergies that you can plan for them

Hello Katelyn!

There's nothing wrong with the panini reception idea.

In fact, you can't please everyone no matter what. Plated meal,buffet, cake and punch,BBQ,pizzas or something else: some of them will dislike your choice but most of them will like it since:

1- Most people are not picky eaters and love "casual" food/meals.

2- They will be fed for free 😉.

The only requirement is to make sure you provide a vegan option and you consider potential food and drinks allergies.

This is the reason why you should go with what you and your future husband want.

Just say panini and I'm there- where's my invite

So no, I wouldn't be disappointed. I'd think it's cool and off-beat. Tbh, I don't tend to really enjoy most stuffy wedding food. The high order of steak, fish, chicken dishes tends to lack the flavors and deliciousness they usually bring. A break away from that would be awesome, and dually awesome when you know the food matches the couple better.

I say it’s your wedding and youre paying for it so do what you want. I think the panini idea is so fun. I personally hate messy bbq at weddings...

It’s your wedding! If you know the paninis are good, they’re a reasonable price, AND you’ve known all along that you wanted something more casual, then I say go for it. Your guests will probably appreciate something different.

If it is daytime I think it would be fine. If it is an evening wedding, I just worry that it’s not a substantial enough dinner. Especially if I was drinking, I would worry that a panini would not be enough dinner for me.

That sounds awesome! I went to a wedding once with a pizza buffet and I had lots of fun. I think your guest would prefer to be full rather than fancy

I love the panini idea but I echo the concerns about sides-- I hope you'd serve some chips, pickles, etc- really go with the theme! They're not usually messy, people can eat them standing up....would you serve them through the night? A panini after a few drinks would probably hit the spot!

I'd rather eat paninis and wraps than BBQ at a wedding!

How casual is your reception? That sounds really fun if I was dressed casually, so panini drips onto my jeans, whatever, all good! If I'm wearing a dress/dry clean outfit then nah.

I do agree with having alternate foods for people with dietary restrictions, maybe green salad, hummus and veggies, and samosas or something?

I enjoy both a seated reception AND a cocktail style reception. But, I feel that cocktail receptions need to be approached slightly differently. Funny enough, we just changed all of our wedding plans, state, venue etc. and we’re having a cocktail party reception now. The timeframe of the wedding/reception also changed and it’s shorter and starting and ending much earlier (2-6pm). That way we aren’t serving heavy appetizers and stations during the time most people want a full dinner meal. That change from plated to cocktail style was really decided based on the new venue being a rooftop, overlooking the ocean. The environment seemed best for a reception with less formality and more movement. Although we could have used large tables up there, we preferred the variety of lounge furniture, bar height tables/chairs and stand-up pub tables that already existed.


So seating style is important when selecting your meal choices for a cocktail reception. Paninis are fine but it might work better if they’re cut into small rectangular pieces that can be eaten with one hand while holding the plate with the other. I think bite sized paninis would also work well with the sliders and chicken tenders to add variety.
But, as someone said above, you’ll never please everyone. So don’t stress yourself trying to and don’t change the reception style that you desire. But be sure to list that it’s a cocktail style reception so that your guests are fully aware.