Not serving food to guests..ideas?

What about small sandwiches or roll ups sandwiches? You can get platters, not have to worry about heating them up and then do some sort of desserts. Where is your venue? Make sure they allow outside food and not their caterer. It's definitely doable, just let your guests know ahead of time.

I would say 2-6 sounds about right. Simple cake and punch people will hang around usually for a few hours. Instead of so much dancing I know when people have afternoon type weddings they do games, That keeps guest having fun and staying a bit. And no I wouldn't be offended as long as it wasn't during a meal time. I would probably leave about 5pm.

We are doing our own food and were thinking of either a taco bar or small sandwiches.

The taco bar is a great idea, I've used it for other parties, I have a guy locally who does one for $5 a person, and it's all you can eat tacos, including 3 types of meat, salsa, guacamole, and chips... Baja style...

I also like the taco bar idea. If you are only having cake, the wedding should go no longer than three hours, in my opinion. You should really feed your guests a meal if it goes past 5. There are some great suggestions in the comments above.

Honestly i would be upset if I went to a wedding that had no food. You definitely need to let your guests know that there will not be a meal served. Like the other ladies said maybe you should serve some appetizers.

I agree with the other ladies that it's fine to do desserts only as long as you let people know. I also agree that I wouldn't stay more than a couple of hours at this type of reception. We do this at my church and the reception last like an hour where people mingle and then go home.

Overall, you would have a better guest experience and retention with food. My friend who owns a bar found out guests stayed longer and had a better experience, and ordered more drinks when he made use of the kitchen and offered just a few items that were easy to prepare in that tiny kitchen space.

You could always do what another friend of mine did....bought some batches of pulled pork, chicken, and a couple sides like potato salad and baked beans, the whole thing cost him 300.00 and that included paper plates and plastic cutlery. And it fed like 60 people. You could find an option like that in your budget surely. I wouldn't stay long if I got invited to a no food wedding.

If you can bring the food, go to a store that sells food in bulk, make tiny sandwiches, get the cold shrimp, stuff like that.

Yea, anything's better than nothing. The BBQ restaurant is often a cheap option, or store deli.

I think what you are doing is fine. You just have to watch the time. Maybe a 2pm ceremony followed by a 3pm dessert reception. There is nothing wrong with a cake and punch reception. When my grandmother got married in the 40s that's all that was expected.

@Pezzy where is your friend located? Is he/she near Hellertown PA?

Thanks everyone I think we are definitly going to look into sandwhiches and stuff! I like the taco bar idea but i dont know if it meshes well with our wedding theme

There is a lot of fabulous advice here! I agree that I would assume a cake and punch or a dessert and champagne reception would only last around three hours. 9-12, 2-5. I would be a hungry girl beyond that time period. There are some fabulous ideas for ways to include some inexpensive food here. I guess it all depend on where you are hosting and the look you are going for.

Shorter more formal and chic, fancy dessert and champagne approach or a longer casual taco bar/cookout party feel.

My friend did a home reception after getting married in Vegas where she hired a BBQ place to bring a roasted pig and she used her Aunt's backyard. It was a lot of fun and people even danced a little bit.

Cake and punch receptions are fine as long as you inform all of the guests beforehand. If you actually want to do food then you could also do subway/costco/samsclub party platters and plate them on nice plates along with some fruit and cheese.

Have you thought about doing a brunch wedding? I've heard that they are much cheaper and lots of people really like the idea.

I agree with everyone else about making the reception short if you aren't doing a full meal.

Yea if you have less food it cannot be anywhere near traditional meal times..I agree with Stephanie, it also has to be shorter..I feel like 2-4 would be the best compromise. But if you do do tacos and sandwiches it could go into meal times..you just have to crunch the numbers and see what works for your budget.

Have you considered doing breakfast for dinner? It is WAY less expensive. Do a pancake bar, waffle station, eggs to order, hashbrown station, fruit table.

Oh my goodness I love the breakfast bar idea!! Only thing is we want to do it ourselves.. so if we pre make it all how will we heat it up? We do have a kitchen...

For A Breakfast Bar U Would Want To Try And Stick To Thing That Can Be Prepared And Reheated. Quiche, Strata, Breakfast Casserole And Pastries. Breakfast Is Also The Least Expensive Meal Of The Day So You Can Definitely Make The Money Stretch.

Eggs would be tough, but there are lots of recipes for french toast casseroles which you could prepare ahead of time and stick in the oven in large trays. Waffles and pancakes can be made ahead of time and frozen and reheated in the oven. You could maybe do a crockpot egg breakfast casserole (tons of options with eggs, cheese, hash browns, and sausage or some variation of that). Costco has trays of fresh fruit. Then you could buy a case or 2 of champagne and OJ and have mimosas (if you want drinks).

Pretty sure were sold on the breakfast buffet! THanks girls! Great idea!... now do I need to have a brunch/morning wedding? I mean most people like breakfast anytime of day tho? Would you be upset if you went to a wedding and excepted dinner/late lunch food and got served breakfast?