The ceremony and reception might be two separate events on paper, but your guests experience them as one big thing and when there’s a noticeable gap between the two, the energy can fall flat pretty quickly.
If your ceremony starts at 4:00 PM and ends at 4:30 PM but your not having guests take their seats for dinner until 6:00 PM… you need a plan for that gap.
Typically, weddings will have a cocktail hour. And let me be the one to tell you, you need one. Even if it’s only 30 mins, just go ahead and plan to have one. You don’t want guests placing their jackets at the reception tables before your photographer gets photos of the room, and you definitely don’t want guests sitting around wondering when they get to eat.
Pretty much, here’s what you need to do: you need to feed guests or have drinks available (non-alcoholic is fine, but alcohol is always appreciated for a party), have music playing, a bathroom close by, and have a space for guests to mingle. And if you really want to go above and beyond? Give them something fun to do.
Fun things for your guests during cocktail hour:
- Yard Games
- Photobooth
- Guestbook
- Animals (yes, animals, lol! Look up the Beverage Burros and you’ll understand)
- A live wedding painter
- Live musicians
- Charcuterie boards or food stations
- A “How well do you know the couple?” trivia game
There’s SOOOO much you can do curing cocktail hour. Get creative and make it your own! Do it, I DARE YOU.
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