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Original poster

Do people expect food after dinner at wedding?

489 replies

Budka · 08/03/2025 16:24

Ceremony is at 1:45 pm. We are serving very filling canapés and cocktails at 3:30pm and dinner at 5:30pm. There will be the actual cake, a homemade cake table, hydration station and a snack table. The wedding ends at midnight. The meal itself is A LOT, we are doing a sit down buffet (think Las Vegas buffet).

I've seen trends where a pizza/burger van turns up as guests are leaving.

Would you as a guest expect more food after dinner?

I personally wouldn’t. I do feel people get weird at weddings re good where they almost expect to be fed and watered on the hour, every hour. But in everyday life you would probably be happy with eating far less (I do appreciate dancing, drinking causes hunger).

But would you expect to be given more food after dinner and cake?

My sister thinks we should order a load of pizza to send people away with.

i dunno i find the idea a bit ott. We are serving a lot of food. People are not those bottomless pits! But I obviously wouldn’t want people to actually be hungry.

OP posts:
Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 18:03

anyone whose hungry can stop off at the hundreds of fast food places on their way home

OP posts:
Icanttakethisanymore · 08/03/2025 18:02

Budka · 08/03/2025 17:44

There’s also a word class attraction to explore that people pay money to visit. It’s an adult only wedding with free booze and food. And then a disco. Not a theme park.

Jeez.

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Oh go on…. Tell us where it is? I think it sounds ace OP. I’m sure you’ll have a cracking day. Don’t let the miserable buggers bring you down 😊

ETA..,. Is it the Natural History Museum?

ETA2 - I can’t think of a terrace with a view there do scrap that 😂

melonalone · 08/03/2025 18:00

Budka · 08/03/2025 17:53

Yes, both my grandpas will need one

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Maybe good to have anyway for people who aren’t keen on sitting on the ground in fancy dresses etc.

Burger van sounds good OP! If buffet table is going to end up inside choose a big enough room - I went to one where there was a very smelly cheese board in a very small and very warm room. I like cheese but the smell was absolutely wild!

Coffeeishot · 08/03/2025 18:00

Budka · 08/03/2025 16:32

yeah something like this, that’s just what all the wedding people refer to it as. I am very much in the wedding industry bubble right now.

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I think that's. Cute and practical. What Is on your snack table? I wouldn't bother with burger vans it's just another hoha, maybe do a finger buffet

Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 18:00

Amuseaboosh · 08/03/2025 17:56

Sorry if I missed this. Is there a world-class attraction where the wedding is being held?? 😁

OP, you have good views on the food. The rest of it, forget the miserable responses. Have a beautiful day, and soak it all up. It takes so much planning and then is over in the blink of an eye!

Congratulations ❤️

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Thank you!

OP posts:
LumpySpaceCow · 08/03/2025 17:59

Your wedding sounds great - can I come!?

MarkWithaC · 08/03/2025 17:58

Rivari · 08/03/2025 17:39

It's funny because on a thread a few months ago about a birthday party the OP was hammered by posters for not wanting to provide food at a party which was 8-12, and here you are being told it's fine not to feed people!

Personally I think people will fill up on your canapes because they will have had to eat brunch rather than lunch to get to the ceremony, then they won't eat so much at dinner. And dinner is VERY early at 5.30 so people will definitely be hungry again after drinking all afternoon and evening.

However your snack table sounds more like a buffet so that should be ok. Just make sure it's catering enough food.

As an aside, sitting on picnic blankets with only "lawn games" for entertainment sounds utterly shit and I would be bored senseless. I would definitely try to make that bit shorter.

sitting on picnic blankets with only "lawn games" for entertainment sounds utterly shit and I would be bored senseless
And you sound utterly rude, and rather childish actually, needing certain kinds of entertainment all the time and sneering at someone who has different ideas.

soundsys · 08/03/2025 17:58

I'm so sorry you clearly said in the OP it finishes at midnight! Therefore I think you're fine 😁

SnoopysHoose · 08/03/2025 17:58

Canapés and drinks at 3.30, dinner at 5.30, which will be about 2 hours, then a snack table available? that's plenty

soundsys · 08/03/2025 17:58

I think it depends on what time the wedding finishes tbh! If it's 11pm or midnight I think you're fine and don't have to offer anything else. If it's 1am or 2am then something to soak up the booze around 10.30/11pm is welcome!

Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 17:57

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/03/2025 17:53

At DD’s we provided a ‘cheesecake’, i.e. tiers of round cheeses, with grapes, etc., baguettes, butter and chutney, in the evening.

Yes I think I would like to do something like this for the snack table. Right up my alley.

Honestly with that and the homemade cake seems like plenty of food. We’re talking half a day, not a week!

Im questioning the burger van now.

OP posts:
roses2 · 08/03/2025 17:57

I don't think you need substantial food at 9pm if you are having a three course meal at 4/5pm then a snack table a few hours later. If you're in Central London, most people will leave ~11pm to get the last tube home and can easily find snacks if they are particularly glutenous. It's not as if you are in the middle of nowhere and people have to drive or go back to a hotel.

Amuseaboosh · 08/03/2025 17:56

Budka · 08/03/2025 17:49

I think it will be nice for guests to have a bite to eat with champagne/cocktails/mocktails on a sunny terrace with a pretty view after a church ceremony. And that time allows people to play lawn games if they want or have a wander around the world class attraction where the wedding is being held. Or sit in the corner and be miserable starving to death

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Sorry if I missed this. Is there a world-class attraction where the wedding is being held?? 😁

OP, you have good views on the food. The rest of it, forget the miserable responses. Have a beautiful day, and soak it all up. It takes so much planning and then is over in the blink of an eye!

Congratulations ❤️

Wonderberry · 08/03/2025 17:54

It sounds fine and weddings I have been to haven't had more food available after the wedding dinner. There is usually just the leftover cake and drinks.

If you are having evening only guests then there should be some sort of food provision for them (could be a buffet).

Drinks and canapés after the ceremony is also very normal, I'm not sure why people are getting angsty about this.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/03/2025 17:53

At DD’s we provided a ‘cheesecake’, i.e. tiers of round cheeses, with grapes, etc., baguettes, butter and chutney, in the evening.

Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 17:53

Neurodiversitydoctor · 08/03/2025 17:43

I hope there are some chairs for those less able to sit on the ground....

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Yes, both my grandpas will need one

OP posts:
godmum56 · 08/03/2025 17:53

Budka · 08/03/2025 16:30

cause that’s very normal whilst photos are being taken. At least in my opinion it is. All the caters we spoke to had this as the go to option.

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of course they did, they are the onews making money!

Bignanna · 08/03/2025 17:51

boulevardofbrokendreamss · 08/03/2025 16:26

Do you have enough of the very filling canapés? Why serve them before the meal if so filling? Also canapés IME at wedding and corporate events not everyone gets something they want if they're at the back of the room and someone has eaten three of something.

I'd do a chessboard in the evening.

What on earth is a hydration station?

Chessboard- that’s an original move! Will that last all knight?

Throwitback · 08/03/2025 17:50

The wedding breakfast feels late - our ceremony was 1pm, canapés served straight after at the drinks reception from around 2pm - 3:45pm, while we got pictures taken. Then speeches 4pm ish and wedding breakfast served 4:30pm-6:30pm. We then had coffees and chocolates during ‘chill time’ and cake cut at 7:30pm, straight into first dance. Evening food (hot sandwiches and sides) and wedding cake served around 9:30pm.

At the moment your meal seems a bit late to allow for evening food at a reasonable time, which means people will probably get hungry at 10:30/11:00pm?

Friend had a late wedding with dinner at around 6pm and she had cake and cheese boards at 10pm ish.

Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 17:49

minnienono · 08/03/2025 17:40

I'd skip the canapés as too close to dinner, bring dinner earlier and have canapés mid evening

I think it will be nice for guests to have a bite to eat with champagne/cocktails/mocktails on a sunny terrace with a pretty view after a church ceremony. And that time allows people to play lawn games if they want or have a wander around the world class attraction where the wedding is being held. Or sit in the corner and be miserable starving to death

OP posts:
DonnyBurrito · 08/03/2025 17:49

Budka · 08/03/2025 17:29

Yes, exactly the style canapés we are having. Not a blini in sight.

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Well I'm sure your guests will be impressed, and probably a lot less drunk later! Having a decent bit of protein early on is what stops you getting so drunk, apparently!

Even so, that wedding still had a bit of a buffet on later in the evening. Hotdogs and sliders, etc.

What's on your snack bar btw?

Sherararara · 08/03/2025 17:47

We had bacon butties at 10pm for all which went down a treat.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 08/03/2025 17:46

Budka · 08/03/2025 17:04

There is an open bar

Lawn/wedding games

The wedding is also at a well known attraction which people will also be able to enjoy before the evening meal or whenever really

Can I come? Wink
It really does sound lovely, and including a timeline with the invitations was an excellent idea - if more did this it could solve a lot of issues

As said, with no separate evening guests, plentiful food including a generous snack table and folk who know when the food's coming I'd honestly not bother with any more. You'll never please some whose jaws apparently have to be moving all the time, but surely a point comes where you've done enough

Wexone · 08/03/2025 17:46

my wedding timeline was similar to yours. I also provided a drinks reception. food was served at half 10 band too a break and we served fish chips and mini burgers it was all eaten. people always remember when not enough find is served. you need it for soakage. band started at 10 to 11 again and went on till 2am. provide as much food as you can

Original poster
Budka · 08/03/2025 17:45

Itisjustmyopinion · 08/03/2025 17:41

I don’t know why you have asked as you seem very dismissive of the comments suggesting that evening food is a common part of a wedding reception.

Its your wedding so do you but I know if the guests at my wedding had the choice of a table of samosas and cheese or a table of burgers/pizza/rolls and bacon, well let’s just say there would be a lot of samosas left over

Not really. I have conceded and said I will look into food in the form of pizzas/burgers/bacon baps coming out at around 10pm.

OP posts:
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