All About Pre-dinner Cocktails

[soontobemrsmacho]

Hi sissies! I was hoping someone could help me with this portion of our wedding.

We originally planned for cocktails to be 2 hours, from 6-8PM. But after reading various comments in other threads, now I am thinking that it should only be from 6-7PM, with the dinner reception starting at 7 instead of 8. But is that one hour cocktail time enough for the photo ops of me and h2b, and also the entourage?

We will only be having about 170 guests max, and that's 99% family and only a handful of our closest friends.

Would you stay the whole reception if cocktails were 2 hours long?

Hope to hear from you all! Thanks sissies!!

[120515]

our cocktails will also be 2 hours to give guests enough time to mingle, play games, and get their turn at the photobooth. another reason is for them to be able to explore the resort :-)
as long as you have enough food and drinks and interesting activities, i don't think the guests will mind.
we will just start earlier though - around 4-6pm. hopefully our church ceremony will only be an hour or an hour and a half maximum :-)

[shygirlme]

^^hi sis what time is your wedding? Mine kasi started at 3pm and I think ended at 4pm? Then we had pictorial with our entourage outside the church then kami lang ng husband ko. Natapos kami sa pictorial around 530 na. Guests arrived at our venue around 530 then yung iba natraffic they arrived at 630 even us arrived late. Nag entrance kami with the ento around 7pm na. Nasa timeline ng coord ko 630 dapat start ng program namin kaso we're late kaya 7pm na nagstart. Nagstart ng dinner around 730pm?

[yannuh]

^plan naman namin 1-1.5 hrs max yung cocktails. Dun na ipapasok ang photobooth, 1-2 games siguro saka strings will play na din para di sila mainip. isqueeze na lang namin lahat sa 1-1.5 hrs na yun yung photoshoot & change to second look, baka kasi mainip din sila pag super tagal kahit madaming activities e.

[120515]

^^hi sis what time is your wedding? Mine kasi started at 3pm and I think ended at 4pm? Then we had pictorial with our entourage outside the church then kami lang ng husband ko. Natapos kami sa pictorial around 530 na. Guests arrived at our venue around 530 then yung iba natraffic they arrived at 630 even us arrived late. Nag entrance kami with the ento around 7pm na. Nasa timeline ng coord ko 630 dapat start ng program namin kaso we're late kaya 7pm na nagstart. Nagstart ng dinner around 730pm?

our wedding will also start at 3 so we're hoping to end around 4, same as you :-)

not too many pictorials at the church so everyone can start heading to the venue. since there's no traffic, people shoul be at the venue in 15-20 min

we'll have the rest of our post-nup pictorial at the venue already and while we're doing that, we keep the guests entertained with activities :-)

[lyr3hs]

Hi mga sis!! Hingi lang po ng advice.. Our wedding kasi will start at 2pm.. The church is around 1hr away from our reception siguro pag traffic. What time kaya dapat ang cocktail hr at reception nmin? Parang sobrang aga naman kasi kung 4:30 ang cocktail at 5:30 ang reception?

[bzbee]

sissies konting advice lang. if you're gonna make your guests wait for a long time, make sure you'll inform them before hand para makapaghanda. or at least keep them busy with cocktail foods or photobooths.

i attended a wedding once, they made us wait for almost 3 hours kasi natraffic pa yung couple and we only had peanuts on the table. cant say it was a budget wedding kasi some
of their suppliers are really sikat. iba lang siguro ang priorities. its just that if we knew we're gonna wait that long without any decent food, sana nagdrive thru muna kami ng miryenda.

be considerate din. bale wala ang lahat ng pinaghandaan if all the guests will remember on your wedding is how long you made them wait.

[120515]

sissies konting advice lang. if you're gonna make your guests wait for a long time, make sure you'll inform them before hand para makapaghanda. or at least keep them busy with cocktail foods or photobooths.

i attended a wedding once, they made us wait for almost 3 hours kasi natraffic pa yung couple and we only had peanuts on the table. cant say it was a budget wedding kasi some
of their suppliers are really sikat. iba lang siguro ang priorities. its just that if we knew we're gonna wait that long without any decent food, sana nagdrive thru muna kami ng miryenda.

be considerate din. bale wala ang lahat ng pinaghandaan if all the guests will remember on your wedding is how long you made them wait.

i experienced this, it was not a nice experience.

this is why we're making sure the cocktails are really substantial and not just peanuts and chips. i'm also going to check with my coordinator whether we can have some nice seating in the cocktail area so the guests don't have to keep standing for 2 hours or maybe we can already let the guests go to the main reception area and serve the cocktails there so guests can already sit if they want to.

the activities for the guests will be the photobooth, games at the fair, mario kart video game, and signing of jenga blocks. we'll keep our kiddie guests occupied with activity books and crayons 

[shygirlme]

^kaya priority ko yung cocktails kasi nga expected ko matatraffic kamI. Bumili ako ng pretzels and chips. Sa s&r tapos may starbucks then may appetizer. tapos pinauna na din nila yung soup and salad

[belle_v2g]

Sis.  Our ceremony starts at 2pm.. pero usually daw 2.30pm pa talaga nagsisimula dahil sa pila.. matatapos sya around 3.30 to 4pm na. Our reception is 30min away. Cocktails ko starts at 4.30pm. After 30 min iopen namin the candy buffet. We'll have starbucks,  photobooth, and some activities by DTS para di mainip ang guests. Keep them busog and occupied while waiting.

[lyr3hs]

Sis.  Our ceremony starts at 2pm.. pero usually daw 2.30pm pa talaga nagsisimula dahil sa pila.. matatapos sya around 3.30 to 4pm na. Our reception is 30min away. Cocktails ko starts at 4.30pm. After 30 min iopen namin the candy buffet. We'll have starbucks,  photobooth, and some activities by DTS para di mainip ang guests. Keep them busog and occupied while waiting.

Hi sis belle until what time nkareserve sayo yung venue? Yung sa BL kasi 5 hrs [textspeak!].. So if 4:30 ang start ko, party should end at 9:30..

[belle_v2g]

5 hours yun samin sis.. 4.30pm til 9.30pm.

[xxIcePrincessxx]

We originally planned for cocktails to be 2 hours, from 6-8PM. But after reading various comments in other threads, now I am thinking that it should only be from 6-7PM, with the dinner reception starting at 7 instead of 8. But is that one hour cocktail time enough for the photo ops of me and h2b, and also the entourage?

Would you stay the whole reception if cocktails were 2 hours long?

Hope to hear from you all! Thanks sissies!!

sis what time is your wedding ceremony? 8pm might be too late for dinner reception.  Baka magutom na mga guests mo and you don't want cranky guests at the reception.  And parang kulang din ang 1hr for pictorial.  if you will push thru with the 6-8pm schedule, siguro na lang sis make sure you have ample serving of cocktails and finger food para hindi mashadong magutom ang mga guests. And just like our sis here, provide worthwhile and fun activities during cocktails  

Ako personally i wouldn't mind waiting for 2hrs as long as there's something to do AND munch on hehe

For us we'll have the candy buffet and chips station, interactive photobooth, wordgames and word puzzles at the cocktail tables.  Plus this really funny wedding guestbook "The Real Wedding of the Century"
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.490614241007123.1073741834.300650433336839&type=3

[belle_v2g]

Ang cute nman nyan sis

[xxIcePrincessxx]

^dba sis! we wanted it sa reception to kinda break the ice, lighten the mood and prepare the guests for the reception program

[sevangelista]

caterers usually serve pass-around appetizers. pwede mo dagdagan un ng chips and nuts. you can also have food carts.

Pwede naman 2 hours un cocktails basta provide enough food and activities para di mabore un guests. Consider rin na 7pm is dinner time to most people.

Take note rin na may short program and baka abutin ng 30 minutes before makakain un last table sa buffet line. So, mga 830pm na makakakain un guests mo if 6-8pm un cocktails.

Remember, hungry guests = angry guests.

[happydee]

hi sis xxiceprincessxx!!! that guestbook is the coolest and funniest idea ever!!!! i will include that at my cocktail-hour too ^^ sana meron pa sila on stock Thank you for sharing!!!

[dcpdane]

nakakapressure magphotobooth ah. pero sis pls pahiram ng jenga guest msg idea super click to for sure. may Naka experience na ba sa inyo ng cocktails ni kbyc? kamusta? kasama kasi sa package namin. idea ng mother in law ko pic frame ang souvenir and chair name/label. kumbaga nakalapag na sa plate nila may calligraphy na name nila. then ito yung magiging frame ng photobooth pics nila. cutie no!

[120515]

hi dcpdane, go ahead and use jenga blocks for your guestbook, too...i got the idea from tumblr

[caleeice]

I initially wanted to have super sized board games during cocktail hour. Pero million years mag-reply ang Supersized PH, which I think is owned by Teena Barreto (based on the email's signature), and they just sent the rates with no explanation or apology whatsoever for the super delayed response! Ano pa bang fun ideas for cocktails? I want to keep our guests busy.