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Ericha
Devoted November 2018

Cocktail hour and appetizers

Ericha, on March 5, 2018 at 12:53 PM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 29
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Hi all!
So my FH and I are having a debate as to whether or not we need to serve appetizers during our cocktail hour. I am for it, and of course he is saying it's unnecessary because the cocktail hour is for people to drink. Our ceremony is scheduled for 4p, and we expect it to go no longer than 30 mins. So ideally, the cocktail hour would be from 4:30p- 5:30p (while he and I do photos). At 5:30p, our family style taco bar would open up for people to eat. Now, mind you, we are having a photo booth and are asking each person to "sign" our guestbook with a picture they take in the photobooth during this time (we know this can be time consuming, and cause a backlog of people, so we figured it would be better to do during a "downtime"), so it's not like they won't have something to do. We will serve both alcohol and no alcoholic beverages during this time. So, what does everyone think? Are appetizers needed, or no?

29 Comments

Latest activity by joey, on March 15, 2018 at 2:30 PM
  • BoudreauToBe
    Master July 2018
    BoudreauToBe ·
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    You need to have food - no question about it.

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  • Sarah
    Master June 2016
    Sarah ·
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    Yes appetizers are needed. People will be hungry and drinking with no food is a terrible combination.
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  • Susan
    VIP December 2017
    Susan ·
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    Yes, you need appetizers, even if it is just crackers with cheese, fruit, and veggies. I wouldn't want to drink for an hour without anything to eat, I'd be feeling pretty tipsy.
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  • L
    Just Said Yes November 2018
    Lisita ·
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    Yes especially since you will have so much going on. People will be happier with appetizers at their hands.
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  • Daria
    VIP January 2019
    Daria ·
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    Yes you need food. signing your guest book and photoboothing is not going to take anyone an hour. And they are not going to stand on a line to do it either. they will mingle, eat and drink and sign the book.

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  • NVV2B
    VIP January 2019
    NVV2B ·
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    I would be bummed if there weren't any appetizers. It doesn't need to be anything fancy.

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  • BrandiWeds18
    VIP May 2019
    BrandiWeds18 ·
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    Food and cocktails...its a must..he must consider the travel time of those to attend the ceremony and the time they are at the ceremony where they may have not eaten. Plus eating with a drink would be much better for their stomachs in my opinion. Cocktail hour in my head is always snacks and drinks.

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  • MelisM
    Expert January 2019
    MelisM ·
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    Yes, you need to have food when there is alcohol. You will have some very tipsy guests if you don't.

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  • OG Kathryn
    Champion May 2016
    OG Kathryn ·
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    Thats usually my favorite part of the night because of the appetizers and stations. You need food.

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  • Mrsbdg
    Champion August 2017
    Mrsbdg ·
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    You need appetizers if you're throwing alcohol out there.

    You can do displays if passed apps is too expensive.
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  • O
    Master October 2017
    O ·
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    Absolutely. Need food at the cocktail hour! Our guests were chasing the servers down for more food 😂
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  • Heather
    Devoted June 2018
    Heather ·
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    If you are serving alcohol, you need to have food available to the guests.

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  • Ericha
    Devoted November 2018
    Ericha ·
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    Since we are doing tacos, I was thinking chips and salsa? The caterer was already planning on providing that as part of the taco bar... I was thinking maybe we just move that over to where the cocktail hour will be instead?
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  • Going to the chapel
    Master July 2017
    Going to the chapel ·
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    You absolutely need appetizers during cocktail hour.

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  • MrsRies&Love
    VIP May 2018
    MrsRies&Love ·
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    Hey Ericha! We're doing tacos, too, but are still having passed apps during cocktail hour. Just to give you some ideas of what we're doing: mexican street corn, yucca fries with chimichurri sauce, and churros with spicy chocolate sauce. We are also having a nacho bar, but that's to be served with the tacos at dinner (as well as rice, beans, and corn chowder).

    I think it's totally acceptable to do chips/salsa at cocktail hour time. My only concern would be to make sure there's enough food for everyone at dinner. Are you serving anything except for tacos?

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  • B
    Super May 2019
    B11 ·
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    I think you need something more substantial than chips and salsa. I’d add in some guac and maybe different kinds of quesadillas and taquitos.
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  • earias
    Champion December 2017
    earias ·
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    You definitely need to provide apps during cocktail hour especially with people drinking. Chips and salsa are good but not enough. I would add at least 2 or 3 more items.
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  • Ericha
    Devoted November 2018
    Ericha ·
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    Oh, we are. We will have rice, beans, an elote making station (the Mexican corn you are referring to, but we are doing the kernels in cups instead of on a cobb), some type of soup I think (I forget the name of it- my FH wanted it), guacamole... But I might do the guac with the salsa during cocktail hour now that I thought about that.
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  • Ericha
    Devoted November 2018
    Ericha ·
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    Spaced on the guac. The caterer will have that too, so that would be with the chips and salsa.
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  • MrsRies&Love
    VIP May 2018
    MrsRies&Love ·
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    Ahh good! Yeah, I would totally just move chips/salsa/guac to cocktail hour then. Do you think you could turn it into more of a nacho bar, and include cheese dip and some heftier toppings?

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