What kind of food to serve ?

It depends on what time your reception will be held. If it is taking place during meal time, then a full dinner needs to be served as finger foods will not sufficiently fill your guests.

Exactly what PP said. A full meal should be served if your reception is held during a meal time, but just finger foods and cake would be fine for a short afternoon "cake a punch" style reception.

We're getting married at 4pm near Austin, TX. My fiance says is the BBQ capital of Texas, so that's what he wants to serve. I prefer Mexican food. Either way we're serving a full meal plus cake and other desserts.

We are having an evening wedding and reception which will fall during meal time, so we will be serving hors d’oeuvres, followed by a full meal and cake.

We're having a 530 ceremony followed by cocktail hour with appetizers and drinks, full sit down meal, and dessert.

A full meal is generally expected at weddings, so I'd say if you stick to finger foods and dessert, just put a heads-up on your invite or wedding website (ex: "light refreshments to follow") so guests know what to expect!

View Quoted Comment We’ve decided on having a dinner !

In both of our families/social circles growing up, cake and punch was the norm. Anything beyond that was considered over the top extravagant only seen in the movies. In recent years, the shift has leaned toward a full meal but still casual with restaurant delivery as opposed to a fancy caterer because we all care about taste over looks. Prior to maybe 5 or 10 years ago, neither of us had ever seen a full meal beyond just cake and punch or sandwich platters from Costco. That’s what they prefer/can afford. For reference, we’re in our 30s with families from major cities so this isn’t rural.

We are planning to spoil our guests with a full meal which is not what they are used to or will expect. As tempting as it is to call up the local Mexican or Chinese restaurant we love to drop off pans of our favorites, we decided to go with a catering company to take care of everything and they need to have amazing food and still be affordable.