to have an afternoon tea wedding reception?

[pinknight]

We're planning on a small wedding, under 20 people including us. The ceremony will be at a registry office

Reception venues seem to want minimum 50 guests and insist on us paying for things like DJs which we definitely don't want (the guests will mainly be over 50).

Then if you have sit downs you have to pick the same starter, main and dessert which isn't ideal.

I've found a hotel nearby that does afternoon tea receptions which sounds nice, but I'm thinking, will it be enough food? It says sandwichers, cakes, champagyne, tea etc are included.

What would you think if you went to something like this, and do you think it's enough to fill people up?

I catered an afternoon tea wedding a couple of weeks ago. It was lovely- I had instructions to keep topping up the cake stands and to have plenty of savory stuff- sandwiches and little tarts so on. Hard work for the caterer though!

Lively idea! Check with the venue exactly what is served per head, you can arrange to have extras if you think it might be needed. Also check how much tea / coffee is included, some places charge high prices for refills.

My daughter is having afternoon tea at her wedding breakfast! Now that took some understanding😂. Of course it isn’t unreasonable it sounds lovely.

Yes definitely check regarding the drinks. My reception included as much tea as you wanted and two glasses of champagne per guest. However the final bill was somewhat increased by people ordering soft drinks, milkshakes, extra champagne etc. I even had to stop my own brother after he downed his fourth cup of coffee in an hour. They were nearly £7 a pop!!!

“My” bride and I managed the cost by agreeing on a set number of the more expensive and perishable things and a a few unlimited, so I could keep topping up with a mixture until a given time. That way I could mKe sure there were very few leftovers and kept the costs reasonable.

It looks very pretty Lipstick but I would be hungry after that because I don't want to fill up on cake instead of a meal. I'd actually feel sick getting refills of sugary cakes. I'm sure there's loads of people that would love it but I'm not one of them.

It wouldn’t be my choice. I would book a restaurant instead and give my guests either lunch or dinner. It seems a bit cheap to me.

XiCi- what about all the savory things? Would you still be hungry then?

I think it sounds lovely and I think I would prefer this to a sit-down traditional meal (and it's given me the idea should we ever get round to tying the knot!). As long as there are plenty of sandwiches! I love afternoon tea.

I've been to a wedding like this.

Best wedding I ever went to.

I think it sounds lovely id love that as a guest!!!

I got married in my late forties (1st timer) and we went to a registry office then had afternoon tea in a very nice hotel afterwards. Total guests = 12 and a mix of ages from 4 months to late 70's. A decent afternoon tea should be very filling in my experience, and probably have some leftovers.

On a previous holiday, my DH to be and I had afternoon tea at Raffles hotel in Singapore and we wanted to recreate a similar vibe.
We then threw a simple garden party for about 60 friends the following afternoon with bought in catering.
I don't do late nights and don't really drink (migraines) so this suited us fine.

Sounds perfect - but state it's "afternoon tea" then people which know what to expect.

I think there must be a funny psychological thing happening. Some smoked salmon canapés, a beautifully made roast beef sandwich with salad and a roasted vegetable skewer followed by a strawberry meringue is just as substantial as a restaurant lunch, surely?

@XiCi it’s not just sweet things though. There were an initial eight sandwiches per guest and then as many extra ones as you could eat. People were stuffed to the gills. The buffet from my night reception was barely touched cos people were still full.

@BertrandRussell People went on the same on my afternoon tea thread. I even had people suggesting I should organise hot food like chips on the side in case people were starved by my shoddy £50 per head bottomless afternoon tea

It was hilarious and frustrating in equal measure.

Go for it. I went to an afternoon tea wedding this time last year. To be honest I was concerned there wouldn't be enough food, but it turned out there was plenty. It was brought out in stages, with the cake stands for 2 to share at a time and had several rounds of these. They were catering to about 60 and they were able to handle this number. If you're concerned you should ask how much food will be included, you could always request they add a few more bits to it if desired but be aware this will probably increase the price.

Sounds perfect! Most people find a high tea quite substantial - I also don’t understand why anyone would be starving. And having no DJ sounds perfect too.

Sounds perfect. I'm sure there will be plenty of food so don't worry, just enjoy.

What a lovely idea! Very elegant.

From the photo Bertrand (and at every afternoon tea I've been to) there is just a few tiny finger sandwiches so they may fill me for a while but yes I'd be hungry pretty quickly. And I don't particularly like sandwiches so wouldn't want to get alot of refills. I guess if there were savouries such as quiche etc served then that would be more substantial but I'd think of that as a cold buffet not afternoon tea. I'd want to give my guests something more substantial. Weddings can be really long events and there's usually alot of alcohol consumed

Sounds lovely, but I would do what a pp has suggested, it is what I did too. Only 20 people, so we booked a nice restaurant, private section, for lunch with a 'limited' normal a la carte menu which catered for everyone.

They just charged us corkage and we bought our own champagne and wine! Took back what was not drunk.

Was wonderful.

My friend did this for her wedding. As much as it's a lovely treat that I go for often I personally didn't like it. People who had been drinking needed something a bit more than a few sandwiches. It was way too much sweet stuff and a lot of it went to waste. The evening was a hog roast, loads of salad etc, much better. If you're going to do it can you ask for a bit more savoy items to be included?

It sounds lovely. I'd echo PP about quantities and timing.

My favourite wedding was my sister's 2nd wedding, where it was register office followed by pub meal. We chose and paid for our own!

XiCi I'm with you, I don't really like cake and would have one at a push.

But if the wedding is late afternoon it is fine. If the wedding is at 12 or 1pm, not fine. That's lunchtime and not afternoon tea!

Some smoked salmon canapés, a beautifully made roast beef sandwich with salad and a roasted vegetable skewer followed by a strawberry meringue is just as substantial as a restaurant lunch, surely

Sounds lovely but every afternoon tea I've had has been just cake and sandwiches like the one in the photo above

I'm glad you enjoyed it Lipstck. Weddings are really personal and you know your own guests best. I wouldn't really enjoy it but I know others would. Opinions on food will always be divided and you can't please everyone so the bride and groom should just go for the day that they want