Canapes at drink reception

I think with a wedding at 2 and a meal at 4.30 you don't need any food inbetween. People have time to eat before the ceremony and then by the time the pictures are done they will only be waiting up to an hour for a meal. That's perfectly reasonable.

Your gap isn't huge and your ceremony isn't mega early, so I don't think you *need* something. However, if you wanted something we've seen ice cream carts and cupcakes used instead of canapes before (as well as a few other things like candy floss, popcorn etc) Anything to nibble on generally goes down well- but don't feel obliged ?

If it is something you're going to consider further, we've worked with an ice cream bike who was set up inside before too, so I don't anticipate you having any problems there unless you specifically wanted a van, or your venue has a rule against it.

We're hopefully having candy floss and popcorn at ours but I soooo love the crepe idea!

I agree with OB. Mind you, we had a midday ceremony and 3pm meal and still didn't provide canapés! Everyone was absolutely fine.

This is the same time scale as mine and we havent arrange any food inbetween, mainly for the same reason as you - its over priced for what you get and the menu wasnt appealing.

I would love to do just a selection of nibbles though in case (even if its just crisps, sandwiches, mini wraps) going to see what the hotel allow, if they dont allow food to be bought in then im not having anything - sorry guests.

We're getting married at 3.15pm and aiming to have our meal at 5.30pm and our venue coordinator told me not to bother with canapés inbetween unless I like wasting my money ?.

This has got me thinking now - we have the same timings, ceremony at 2pm, then photos, aiming to start the meal at 4.30/5. We'd always thought we'd serve canapés with the arrival drink, but actually, it's probably not worth it is it? We're just really worried about people being hungry (we always are at weddings so we really didn't want this for ours...)

Sorry to hijack your thread, OP, looks like we've got the same conundrum...

We had 2pm ceremony and didn't have canapes. But I did make a point of telling people to have a good lunch!

I went to a wedding where they served tea and cakes straight after the ceremony and that was pretty good. I'd be worried with the crepes that people would go overboard and not eat their dinner!

I have the same timings as you and we are thinking of doing mini popcorn boxes for people to graze on. I love your ideas though but I think it will be out of our budget. X

I don't think you need any nibbles but if you wanted to have something then I would go with the Ice cream as it's the least filling. You want something to take the edge of the hunger until they eat their very expensive meal you have put on and not fill them up. Crepes for example are filling so I think would be too much. If you wanted one for the evening though that's a different matter because they are amazing!!!

I think you definitely need something. It's likely some would not have lunch because of time spent getting ready/travelling/arriving at church at least twenty minutes before you do. But only something small if you are having your wedding breakfast at half four. I may be biased because we are having an ice cream trike, but I vote ice cream cart. We are using cafe bon bon and so far can recommend them.

Thanks everyone!

Think now in my mind it's a bit clearer.. was starting to get carried away! I might see how the budget goes, and if I do have some left, I might opt for the ice cream option, or perhaps just the cupcakes.. my MOH is actually a cake maker by profession, so doing my wedding cake for me.. i might ask her to do some little cupcakes/cake pops too... definitely the cheaper option as i'll just give her the moneyfor the ingredients to make them.

I do love the crepe idea, but like you say, they may be a bit filling if you have a 3 course meal a couple of hours after. If I was going to a 14:00 wedding, I'd make sure I ate quite a big brekkie or an early lunch before I went... but I don't want people to be peckish if they don't do that! They will most definitely not be hungry by the time they go to bed anyway! :-P

Oh why can't you jsut have everything!!

I don't think I'm going to have favours at the tables, so thought I could do something like this instead, I always find that favours are left behind!

I'd avoid the crepe stand - they're very nice but when I've seen them before they take absolutely ages, and you'll just have a long queue of guests through the drinks reception. With the time of the ceremony everyone will have a good chance to fill up beforehand, and I think people are generally wise to that these days and know they will be eating later than usual. And if people get a bit tiddly during the drinks, well hey-ho - it's a wedding! ?

Hiya, I had the same dilemma with our venue and ive opted to buy some mini cakes from M and S. You can pre order them and collect when you need, my venue have said theyre happy to serve them for us. I thought at least it shows we've thought about the guests and we get something we all like. Were not canape people. Plus anything left over can be served with the buffet in the evening.

That's a good idea too. I don't want to spend a fortune, but want to provide a little something if possible. One thought as someone suggested, queues might also form if people are waiting to get an ice cream etc.. I had a thought last night about getting some pretty French macarons in different colours and flavours.. This would tie in with our theme, and they aren't too pricey. I've had a chat with a few local suppliers, and they are about £1 each, but all happy to offer substantial discounts for larger orders :-D They come in all sorts of yummy flavours too! x

I agree with everyone else, you have a small gap so it isn't neccessarily needed but if you decide to keep it small, cake pops or small cupcakes would be better than ice cream or crepes as you don't want people getting full before the wedding breakfast.

We are getting married on Easter Monday and provided our venue agrees to it we will have creme eggs, caramel eggs, tiny chocolate bunnies available during the drinks reception.

I think it would be useful to give an indication about food on the info sheet with your invite. Something like: There will be a formal breakfast at around 4.30pm and a BBQ in the evening.

I know for things like guests who needed to take meds (elderlies) they really appreciated knowing when they were to be fed, we have also spread the word through family that people need to eat a decent breakfast or have a sandwich or something before the ceremony (1.30). At least people can't moan that they didn't know etc.

Personally if I was invited to a 2pm ceremony I would assume I wouldn't be eating until 4ish anyway so would make sure to feed myself before going. Canapes really aren't filling so won't be any good if people have skipped lunch anyway IMO.

Ooo that sounds lovely! Lucky guests :-) x

Sparkly Momma, that's a very good point. We haven't sorted our invites out yet, so will definitely make sure I include something like that on it. My nana for certain needs to take tablets with food, so she'll need to plan. Like you suggest, I'll make sure I let people know times we are eating and suggest they make sure they eat lunch/big brekkie either way. x

I would check with your venue as to whether this is an option - as we aren't able to provide any external food or drink

I sent them over a quick email yesterday as when we were asking about evening buffet they said we weren't allowed to have external suppliers. But she has said it is completely fine to have ice cream van, cupcakes, whatever at drinks reception. Phew!

I agree with everyone else that you don't really need them i'm sure people would be fine for that length of time, but would be a nice touch if you do provide something We're having canapés as they're part of our package and for only 20 daytime guests it's not costing loads but having your amount of guests i'm sure i'd go for something similar to what your suggesting