Appetizer/Dessert Reception Menu- thoughts?

Jnissa- I understand your, and others, reasoning, but we're not able to change times even if we wanted to (the ceremony venue is only available at night). I know it's not a common thing not to serve a full sit-down meal, which is why I a) have it on the invitations and b) added enough appetizers for people to have 10-12 pieces each. I know about half the people will most likely leave by 10pm, especially the families with kids. And on the dinner note, I'm hoping that for one night, people are ok with eating an early dinner and then eating more later on at night. If they're not ok with it, as much as I wish they could be there, they are totally free to say no to coming. I'm trying to make our guests as happy as possible with the budget we have. I asked for opinions on if it was enough food, and you and others have said it isn't, so I'll be adding more food, and taking away small amounts from other areas of the budget.

How about cupcakes and an ice cream bar?

Now you're talking! Looks delicious I would eat all that up in no time.........especially cause I am so dang hungry right now cause I want to fit perfectly in my dress Saturday.

Rusticbride- Protein is exactly what I was trying to get more of! A carving station might be too much :/ But the antipasto has salami, pepperoni, cheese, olives, etc. Maybe meat and cheese platters? Or deviled eggs?

Bling bling- We have a 4 tier cake with 2 different flavors, so I thought maybe cupcakes would be too much. Ice cream would be AMAZING, and I thought about it MANY times haha but the logistics of it..too hard to do with a lower budget If I had double the budget, I would for sure go ice cream bar though

Staci and Rachael- Yay! Glad it's looking better. Thankfully we have time to tweak the amounts, so if needed, we can do more. I don't have a ton of room to cut in other areas but I will definitely either cut other stuff or find extra work if more food is needed

Ashley- this is true! I was just thinking we could add our own olives and pepperoni/salami for cheaper from the store than asking the caterer to provide more haha I have friends who have offered to assemble food, so it just seemed easier that way. I'll edit that now. And I forgot kids LOVE pepperoni haha

I think if you did a slider or taco bar.. that'd be awesome.

Rusticbride- Hmm. The caterer doesn't have sliders as an option, and I don't trust any of my friends to DIY it. However, I would say probably half our guests are Mexican, and could very well make tacos a thing in our wedding, though neither my fiance or I are Mexican ourselves. I will check on that!

Fajita and/or taco barar... I think that would really help fill people up a little more in addition to the food you have... and at least tacos.. those *shouldn't* be super expensive.

I personally eat dinner a lot earlier than 7-8pm, but as someone else said, people will be getting ready for your wedding, and then arriving around 7:15pm.

People are going to want dinner.... and they will eat as if they're eating dinner. If they know you are only having app's, then they will act like squirrels and store their nuts. If you throw in a hot food bar/station, then I think that would help a lot.

Your revised menu looks much better!

One other suggestion, since you know you have gluten-intolerant people attending your reception. You might want to make sure you have savory appetizers they can eat as well, if possible. Fruit, veggies and antipasto are good, but if the caterer can make sure to not include bread or flour in the meatballs as well, I can assure you your gf guests will thank you for it.

As a caterer...I think you need more apps and less dessert. Way less desert.

LisaKitty- oh thank you so much for that reminder! I will definitely make sure of that. I assumed quiches were gluten free, but duh the crust I will make sure I remember this, thanks!

Oh! I went to a wedding that had a taco and fajita bar and it was AWESOME!!! I Love mexican food!

I'm also confused...did I read somewhere you aren't going to have soda for your guests? Are they just going to drink water all night?

I don't think you have nearly enough food. I know you say that you prefer to have the wedding at night, but the type of reception your planning seems like it would be best suited for the afternoon. Otherwise you're running the risk of people leaving extremely early to go eat an actual meal. Just because the ceremony doesn't start until 7:15ish doesn't mean everyone will have time to grab dinner after taking the time to get ready and commute to the ceremony.

Basic rule of thumb is to allow for three times as many appetizers as people...and thats just for your stand pre dinner snacks.

I think with the start of your ceremony you are going to have some very hungry people (I saw an episode of Four Weddings that had an App/Dessert reception and the guest brides were so hungry that they had a pizza delivered o the parking lot of the reception!)

I would definitely mix in A LOT more proteins...right now you are allowing for 3 meatballs per person if everyone shows up....thats not necessarily a lot....your veggie and fruit tray will be gone in the blink of an eye (you really should have 4 of them or so. Your anti pasti should be doubled, and so should the quiches, double your spinach dip and add hot/cold shrimp.

Cheese and cracker is also a good idea...if you don't have enough food options for you guests they are going to be leaving early and bitching about how starving they are because there wasn't enough food. Personally, I'd be mortified.

ETA: Found a couple links that can help...

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/appetizer.html

http://www.angelfire.com/bc/incredible/appybuffet.html

At this point IMO it may be better to examine the option of inexpensive meals rather than sticking to the intense list of apps & desserts? For 120 people this menu cant be cheap, if the goal is to save money. Maybe try a local BBQ, Mexican or Italian restaurant they can do full meals super reasonably. But, these are the things that happen when your wedding vision doesn't exactly mesh with your budget. Good luck I'd hate to have a bunch of hangry kids at my wedding or too hopped up on sugar, which may be even more dangerous

Emmy- We are looking into inexpensive meals. We haven't signed any contracts for catering or anything yet. And my "vision" is to have an evening wedding, my guests happy, and dancing. None of those things equal the need for a high budget, as long as I get enough food for people to fill up on, which is why I've asked for people's thoughts and advice on the matter. I am definitely open to changing things! (As long as I can get the groom to agree haha he's stuck on the idea of only desserts!)

Maltese- thank you for the links and info! I'll see what I can do, but I think realistically the cost to double everything is going to be too much. We're looking into other options too

I agree with the some of the other posters. This is a light app. reception that would have been appropriate for an afternoon wedding between 2:00 and 5:30 PM. Once you move an event to the evening, guest expectation tends to be more formal, not less. Anyway, the venue is rented and that isn't a negotiable issue.

Are you going to have people actually serving this food? It sounds as though it's all going to be laid out on tables and people will just line up and take what they want. I would be terrified that many people (especially men) would not realize they are limited to a certain amount of meatballs and mini quiches, which are the substantial apps. I'd be worried that those last in line would be faced with a nearly empty serving tray and they'd be asking each other, "Is there more?". I'm not trying to give you a hard time or throw a wrench into your plans -- I'm trying to help you avoid something that you really don't want to see happen at your wedding. I would seriously rethink the whole thing. I would spend the money on two large buffet offerings. You've got a healthy guest list -- 120, and this menu seems geared to a smaller crowd. Lots of people think app receptions are budget friendly, but you really need a good selection of hearty appetizers to satisfy your guests. As for the dessert table, beyond the cookies, these are small cake bites and donut holes. The cheesecake bites will disappear immediately, and my guess is that the 25 kids are going to hit that table like locusts.

The posters mentioning hungry guest showing up have a valid point. If you were getting married on a Saturday evening, it would be far easier for a majority of your guests to eat a very late lunch or an early dinner, but you're getting married on a Friday evening. People will leave their jobs and may have enough time to run home to change, or maybe not. I don't see time for dinner unless they grab a drive through on the way to the wedding. I know your invitations say appetizer reception, and I've been to those. When it's an app. reception, you should still leave feeling as though you had a substantial meal. You can keep adding more of this or that, but eventually you're going to end up spending as much as two full buffet offerings would cost.

As for beverages, I didn't notice any. At a Friday evening app. reception, I would expect some kind of alcoholic punch, at least. However, if you are fine with a dry wedding, you do need to offer something interesting to drink.

@centerpiece will you marry me?

Agree with everyone else. A heavy appetizer reception is fine but these apps aren't exactly heavy. You may want to think very seriously about a station or two in addition. When we priced it out, a buffet was more economical than stations or a combination of passed apps and a display. As long as folks are aware that there's no dinner served, you should be fine with some more proteins.

But dry and no soda? C'mon. That's just ridiculous. These guests are presumably adults capable of deciding If they can handle carbonation and a little sugar. Grocery stores and clubs have deals on cases all the time. At least have a festive punch option.