To think I'm not starving my wedding guests.

[MBlaze]

Helpful Mumsnetters, please let me know if this is enough food for a wedding. I think it's more than enough, but DP thinks we need to add more food!

Timings are approximate...

2pm - Ceremony
3pm-5pm - Crepe or ice cream van, canapes (3 each) and drinks
6pm - 3 Course dinner (Vegan and Gluten-free options so nobody should go hungry.)
7ish? - Cake after dinner
9pm - Cheese board with bread, crackers, grapes, figs etc

Surely that's enough food considering the ceremony is at 2 and people can have breakfast beforehand?

DP thinks we should provide more than a cheeseboard after dinner and should hire a fish and chip/burrito van or ask the caterers for something more substantial. We aren't having any evening only guests, so I really don't think people will need another meal 3 hours after a 3 course meal.

What do you think?

It is plenty . Sounds lovely .

When people are drinking a lot, they might want something more than cheese and biscuits (and not everyone loves cheese). Maybe not another meal, but i’ve seen bacon butties, pulled pork buns, that kind of thing.

This is fine.

Providing your guests 100% realise there’s no meal until 6pm.

So they can still have lunch.

Don’t want them expecting 3 courses mid afternoon and going without.

I did that once for a wedding. Ceremony at 1. Hotel at 2:30. Was just afternoon tea. And not even a generous one! We were all staaaaaarving and people still say they should have just warned us then we’d have had lunch and been fine.

I think it's enough food but does it have to be a cheeseboard? Just because at that time surely the party will be in full swing so I'd say a cheeseboard would be a bit more difficult to eat in between dancing etc

If you're having pudding no need to serve cake until you 8/9 when you do cheese and wine (for the drunks) and cake and tea (for the aunties).

We did this at our wedding and it was perfect.

*orher stereotypes are available

Yup, you need to warm guests. Some will be travelling so may forego lunch, assuming they’ll be fed around 3.30/4...

i agree with your DP

^warn

It depends. Are they all going home at avtane hour or will this be an all night piss up?

Cheeseboard, whilst nice, is a pain to eat if you don't have a table. If you end up moving done tables for the dance floor and/or have separate evening guests it'll be a pain. Something like bacon/sausage/fish finger sandwiches would be easier for people. But sounds like enough food.

We put 'food to served at 6' on our invitations do that people knew to fill up!

I'd be starving but i am fat

It's fine. Maybe an alternative to cheese board but not aswell. It will get wasted. I've been to so many weddings where food is being pushed in your face all day, it's too much.

No offence, but it's the 3pm to 5pm hiatus that might be problematic.

People are usually starving at that point, and three canapes are not going to cut it TBH. I do realise there will be a three course at 6, but if nothing else, lots and lots of nibbles does help pass the time before that as well as soakage!

Look again at the canapes/nibbles. Trust me, that's when people get pissed because they haven't enough nibbles/canapes.

Hmm, maybe I choose something other than cheese and biscuits then.

It's the cheapest evening option from the caterers, and I thought it would be the best time to cost cut as people wouldn't be too hungry and will be drunk

Other options offered by the caterer are:

• Mini cones of fish and chips
• Cheese on toast
• Mini doughnuts and hot chocolate

Which ones would you prefer?

I know a lot of weddings such bacon butties, but my partner is veggie and I'm gluten free and don't eat pork (nightmare couple, I know ), so it seems pointless to get something we wouldn't eat ourselves.

I attended a similar timed wedding a few years ago and was starving by the time the meal was served. Sorry!

We lived an hours drive from the venue so in order to be at the ceremony for 2 we had to leave at 12.30 (to allow plenty of time) which meant getting outfits on, doing hair/make up at 11.30 so the latest we could eat was, say 11. That’s a 7 hour wait for food with only a few nibbles in between. It’s a long time!

Maybe consider doing more canapés per guest or at the very least let your guests know that the meal won’t be until 6pm

I think bacon rolls/fishfinger sandwiches and cones of chips instead of cheese board... but then I like filling food when drinking!

It's popular to have a hot buffet for evening guests

Agree with hoppy, people don’t eat that much after the main meal, but they’ll demolish canapés in no time

There will be crepes at 3, which will be unlimited so people could have a few if they're really hungry, and then a few canapes.

I thought that would be fine until 6 but I might have to rethink.

Maybe serve the cake in the evening and have fish and chips type thing for evening.

Starzig - We aren't having any evening guests

How about chip butties served at the same time as the cheese and biscuits?

We put a rough running order in with our invitations because we had people travelling some distance, and quite a few kids, it meant people knew what to expect in terms of waiting times.

Cheese board is the perfect evening food, but you must have ABSOLUTELY LOADS.

If you're only offering three canapes each then honestly I wouldn't bother. Will get people's appetites up without satisfying them. Canapes are expensive and not filling. Scones or sliced cakes better.

As pp says, what's happening in those two hours? Mingling and photos? That's slow.

It's the 3-5pm bit that's the problem. You need more than sweet stuff (assuming the crepes offered are sweet only)and 3 canapes each! Have more savoury options then I agree a late night hog roast to go with the cheese.

Cross posted.

Crepes are hard to eat delicately if there isn't a table and cutlery. I assume you're expecting people to be nicely dressed? Also very labour intensive for what you get.