Seated cocktail hour??

I guess that’s fine. They can always take it from their table and walk elsewhere with their plate

We have to have a seated cocktail/social hour too, but it’s in a different area than the breakfast reception will be. Our coordinator told us a few weeks ago that the health department wants no mingling, anyone not seated at their table should be wearing a mask, and she was going to email me this week and let me know how their first event with restrictions went last weekend. I figure our guests will pretty much group up anyways- FH’s friend, my friend, my family, FH’s family, so I guess we’ll see. It’ll definitely be different.
Is there another area that you could have cocktail hour rather than in the same area as the reception? If so, I’d talk to the venue about setting up tables in that space.

Talk to the venue and see what your options are.

Also many super-fancy restaurants serve seated appetizers all the time as part of the 'upper-crust' ambience. But yes it can absolutely defeat the purpose when it's at a wedding for 50-100 where guests would ideally mingle instead of a table for 2-6 at a restaurant.

View Quoted Comment Yeah I guess that’s what we’ll try to communicate unless we can have the caterer place the appetisers on specific cocktail hour tables spread out through the venue

View Quoted Comment Yeah I hope we can do our original cocktail hour plan with high top tables but like “assign” seating so that guests just go to that table for food only. And then can walk around in that general area to view venue (it’s a greenhouse)

View Quoted Comment Yeah this is my only major drawback of all the other covid precautions - I don’t want guests to be stuck in the same room for most of the event? I’ll see about getting secondary tables they can use for cocktail hour. Maybe it could be like a little scavenger hunt - find your assigned table and explore the venue at the same time?