Pros & Cons of crw vs. Traditional Wedding Reception

I've worked as a catering server at plenty of cocktail parties and sit-down dinner parties. Most caterers charge more per person for a comparable amount of hors d'oeuvres because they are more labor intensive to make and serve than a more typical buffet or plated meal.

It would only be less expensive if you provided a smaller amount of food total (not enough to make up a full meal). And for that, you should have a much shorter reception at a non-meal time. That could be a pro or a con, depending on your preferences.

You will also still need seating for everyone, even for a cocktail reception, so no money savings there.

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much this was super helpful

I agree with the previous poster. I would think you'd need to serve enough appetizers in order to constitute a full meal. Appetizers are smaller in size and take more labor than a large meal that caterers can make quicker and are less labor intensive so if anything I would think just serving heavy appetizers would actually be more expensive. Plus you do still need to have seating for each person so you wouldn't be saving money seating wise either.

I disagree with PPs on the general statements because it really does depend on your caterers, venue, and where you're located. My wedding was in the early afternoon, so the reception was at a non-meal time and we had hors d'oeuvres only - no formal dinner. Chairs and tables were included with the venue, so no extra costs there. The venue provided the catering and their hors d'oeuvres option was $20pp cheaper than the least expensive full meal option. We even added an extra option (we were allowed 4 choices with the package, then added another at their a la carte rate) and still ended up saving about $1500. We had more than enough for everyone (including vendors) to have a full meals worth of food, and there was still some left over.

I've worked a TON of weddings as a caterer, bartender, and DOC. In my area, what I experienced for my wedding is the most common. The vast majority of caterers in my area charge significantly less for just hors d'oeuvres and they usually include enough to constitute a full meal. So what it really comes down to is looking at the options you have and figuring that out with what's available. There's not really a one-size-fits-all answer to this one. My experience is that it definitely worked out and saved us a good amount, but others may have a completely different experience.

Cocktail receptions tend to be MORE expensive because per-piece adds up when you get enough to provide a meal. The exception might be a non-mealtime wedding (like 2 pm) where you don’t have to provide a full meal. Then it might be less.

View Quoted Comment Regards to seating, I’ve been reading a few forums that day since a cocktail wedding reception gives a mingling vibe, don’t provide seating for everyone so people will mingle. Recommendations?

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much! I live in a big city so I’m anticipating even with trying to keep the size of the cocktail reception low it’ll still come out to a pretty penny.

View Quoted Comment So if I had the reception around 4PM that could drive up the cost because that’s about "dinner time" usually for traditional wedding receptions?

I looked at doing a few chef stations for ours and compared it to our full buffet dinner with china and the three stations was $1000 more. It would've been really cool, but the amount of additional staff and equipment they needed just really put it out of range for us.

They seem so fun and I've enjoyed the couple I've been to, but they are definitely more expensive in the long run.

View Quoted Comment People can still mingle, but each person should still have a place to sit in the event they want to. Otherwise you could end up with not enough seating and people who want/need to sit won't have a place to due so. It will also give them some place to put their drinks or purses.