Cocktail Wedding Reception: Ideas for a Cocktail Menu and Wedding Timeline

If you want an evening reception, but don’t have the budget for a full dinner, you can plan a cocktail wedding reception instead. It’ll be a little shorter than a traditional wedding, but you’ll still have time for mingling, dancing and any wedding events you’d like to include. Etiquette-wise, you’re safe as long as you don’t plan it for a meal time. Even on a tight budget, you can have an elegant style wedding that you and your guests will love.

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Cocktail Wedding Reception Timeline

A cocktail wedding usually lasts 3 to 4 hours. You can include as many wedding traditions as you’d like. You can plan a casual style wedding with drinks, appetizers and mingling. Or you can include a formal entrance, a first dance and cutting the cake at your wedding:

4:00 pm Guests Arrive
4:05 pm Grand Entrance and First Dance
4:15 pm Begin Serving Appetizers
5:00 pm Wedding Toasts
5:15 pm Cut the Wedding Cake
5:30 pm Open Dance Floor
6:30 pm Toss the Bouquet
6:45 pm Last Dance
7:00 pm Grand Exit

Layout For a Cocktail Wedding Reception

Most wedding venues have set floor plans or guides. If yours doesn’t, start by planning each wedding event. Then decide on a spot for each one. Figure out where to put the dance floor, the DJ and the cake table. You won’t need a head table for your bridal party, so arrange your guests seating around the dance floor. For a cocktail-style wedding reception, you don’t need seating for every guest.

If your reception is 2 or 3 hours long, plan seating for 20% of your guests. Any longer than that, you should plan seating for 50% of your guests. To make your reception and seating area look interesting, mix and match the seating styles. Place some low round tables and chairs, plus some lounge areas for your guests.

Are Cocktail Wedding Receptions Cheaper?

Cocktail weddings aren’t always cheaper. You’ll need check the numbers before you decide. When you check how much it costs to cater a wedding, a meal package can cost anywhere from $30, $50, $100 and up, depending on where you live. When you look at the appetizer package for weddings, it seems a lot cheaper.
But the appetizer package is usually for a cocktail hour - before the wedding reception really starts. It’s typically enough to feed your guests for one hour. It’s not enough to replace a full dinner. If you want to replace dinner with appetizers, you’ll need to plan a lot of appetizers in order to feed your guests.
You can’t invite guests to dinner and give them only 3 or 4 bites. If you offer appetizers, you’ll need to plan at least 12 to 15 per person. Because appetizers are more work to make, it could end up being more expensive than a full wedding dinner.
If you want to serve only light appetizers, you can plan your wedding reception at a time other than dinner. As long as your party is planned around a meal time, you won’t need to serve a full meal.

Dinner Time Reception With Heavy Appetizers

If you plan a wedding reception to run through dinner time, you’ll need to make sure there’s enough food to fill your guests. If you want to serve appetizers as a dinner replacement, you should plan 12 to 15 pieces per person.

Before or After Dinner Reception With Light Appetizers

If you’re trying to save money on wedding catering, this is the best type of evening reception to hold. You can time your wedding reception to end before dinner, or to begin after dinner. Since your guests won’t arrive hungry, you can offer light appetizers and cocktails. For a cocktail reception that lasts 2 to 4 hours, plan to offer 8 to 12 pieces per person.

Serving Drinks to Your Guests

If you’re inviting a lot of guests to your wedding, and you want to offer a full bar, it’s best to work with a wedding caterer. They’ll be able to provide permits and trained bartenders, as well as a fully stocked bar.
Most wedding caterers will provide an open bar with one of two payment options. Some caterers will charge a set price per person and you’ll pay based on the size of your guest list. Other wedding caterers will have the bartenders keep track of each cocktail they serve. At the end of the night, you’ll pay the bill for the drinks your guests ordered.
A less expensive option for cocktail wedding receptions is to offer a limited bar. At a limited bar you’ll offer beer, wine and one or two signature drinks.

Signature Drink Cocktails

Whether you’re hiring a caterer or doing DIY wedding alcohol, offering signature drinks is a great way to save money. The cocktail can be premixed, then poured and garnished when your wedding guests order the drink. A signature cocktail is easier to serve, so you won’t need as many bartenders. If you’re doing DIY, the cocktail can be mixed ahead of time in pitchers or dispensers. When the cocktail reception starts, place them out with the wine and beer.

Menu for a Cocktail Wedding Reception

A good menu includes a variety of small appetizers or hors d’oeuvres that can be eaten in one or two bites. If you offer a variety of appetizers with different tastes and textures, your guests will feel like they had a feast at your wedding.

If your guest list is more than 50 people, try to offer 8 different types of appetizers. If your guest list is less than 50 people, plan for 6 different types of appetizers. It might seem like a lot, but when you’re deciding, remember to consider less expensive options, like crackers and cheese or chips and dip.

Delicious and inexpensive ideas:

Cheese tray
Vegetable tray
Chips and dip
Crackers
Breadsticks
Pretzel bites
Flat bread
Biscuits
Olives
Nuts

Hearty appetizers to serve:

Another option that’s easy on the wedding budget is to choose a dish that can be prepared all at once, then served in small dishes or shot glasses as an appetizer:

Macaroni and cheese
Macaroni salad
Potato salad
Chicken wings
Meatballs
French fries
Greek salad
Waldorf salad
Coleslaw
Soup cups
Chili cups

Add some canapés or mini sandwiches:

Mini grilled cheese
Savory puff pastries
Sliders
Pizza bites
Pinwheels
Garlic bread
Bruschetta
Crostini

Finish with some sweet treats:

Mini cupcakes
Tiny donuts
Fruit tarts
Mini desserts
Brownie bites
Truffles

Hiring a Caterer For Drinks and Appetizers

If you decide to hire a wedding caterer, it might be hard to find one willing to do only appetizers on a Saturday night. If you have trouble finding one in your wedding budget, try to remember that it’s not personal.

For the caterer, it’s purely a business decision. Imagine that you own a business. To earn money, you spend one day preparing, one day doing the thing, then one day cleaning up. For 3 days of work, would you want to earn $5,000 or would you want to earn $20,000?

Caterers only have a certain number of days in their schedule, and they book up fast, especially for weddings. Don’t take it personally if you don’t book one right away. You might need to go through a whole list. If the first one you contact isn’t a good fit, just move on. Keep looking until you get the one that’s in your budget and happy to cater your wedding.

If there aren’t any caterers that seem to fit your budget, think about planning your wedding for a Thursday, Friday or Sunday instead. Caterers might be more willing to work with your budget if your weddings not on the most popular day.

Once you do get a wedding caterer, make sure to sign the contract and put down the deposit to reserve your wedding date. Before you sign, make sure you understand the contract and ask questions if you need to. If your wedding caterer agrees to changes or extras, make sure it’s written into the contract.

Here’s what else should be in your catering contract:

Both of your names
Date and location of your wedding reception
Start and end times of your food service
Type and amount of food and drinks
Total cost including taxes, gratuities and extras
Minimum guest numbers or dollar amounts, if required
Slicing fees, if you’re serving wedding cake
Corkage fees, if you’re bringing your own wine
Delivery fees or service charges
Deposit due date
Any interim payments due
Final payment due date
Overtime charges

DIY Reception Ideas

To save even more money, consider planning a backyard wedding, or an at home cocktail reception. With no venue fees and an open schedule, you’ll be able to plan any food, drinks and decorations that you like.

If you’ve got a small guest list, you can self cater your wedding food and drinks. Make everything ahead of time, then hire someone to warm up the food and pass it around during the party.

If you are planning DIY for a bigger guest list, make sure you have enough people to help you. Remember to include all the wedding catering tasks, like refilling ice, clearing away used glasses and taking out the trash.

Before you DIY your alcohol, make sure to check with your wedding venue and your local laws around serving alcohol. If you get the green light to set up your own wedding bar, choose a few brands of beer, wine and two or three signature drinks for your cocktail menu.

Invitation Wording for Appetizer Weddings

The most important part of the wedding invitation is to let your guests know there won’t be a dinner. It would be terrible if they showed up hungry and ready for dinner. As long as you’re not scheduling your wedding reception for dinner time, you’re covered etiquette-wise. You just need to make sure your guests understand.

If your wedding invitation has enough space, you can include the start and end time for your reception. Or you can write phrase or two to describe the type of party and what you’ll be serving. Here’s some wording you can use:

Cocktail reception to follow
Please join us for cocktails and appetizers
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres to follow
Please join us for light refreshments

Wedding Planning Book

Just getting started with your wedding planning? If you haven’t decided on your venue and food service yet, this ebook can help you find the best value and plan a great wedding on any budget: