Reception Ideas

Posted Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:55 PM

I saw these reception ideas on yvonne614's blog & I'm thinking of doing a combination of the two:

*Dessert Reception/Champagne & Cake*

Thoughtfully timed between meals, champagne and cake and dessert receptions presume that guests will not come—or leave—hungry. For that reason, these celebrations generally take place immediately after a late afternoon or late evening ceremony and are almost always served buffet style.

For a dessert reception, one of the obvious choices for the menu is bride’s cake and groom’s cake. Bride’s cake is usually a white cake and the groom’s cake is typically chocolate. In addition, you could serve the following: 

Assorted cookies 
Assorted pastries 
Cheesecake 
Ice Cream with different toppings (you can set this up as a do-it-yourself table)  

For beverages, you could serve coffee, tea, water and carbonated beverages (cola, seltzer). 

*Cocktail Reception*

A cocktail event can begin as early as 4pm, but no later than 6 pm.  Hors d’oeuvres are passed by tray, served buffet-style or some combination of both. Typically, the event wraps up around 7:30, when most guests begin to think about dinner. 
For this type of reception, you could do small finger foods and appetizers. Here are some suggestions: 

Mini ham and cheese croissants  
Chicken salad sandwiches cut in fours 
Fried chicken fingers with honey mustard & barbeque dipping sauce 
Mini quesadillas 
Cheese and crackers 

For beverages you could have several stations set up: 

Iced tea (both sweetened and unsweetened) 
Flavored punch 
Flavored water 
Champagne and wine 

Couples may offer a traditional bar, with an assortment of hard liquor, mixers, wine, champagne and soft drinks, serve a signature cocktail—like Blue Moon  or cosmopolitan—or choose a favorite drink like a martini or margarita, and give guests their choice of sweet or savory variations.