Catering Your Wedding Reception Cocktail Hour
Dallas, TX - While not every wedding reception will feature a cocktail hour, this tradition is an enjoyable one, and provides an opportunity for the wedding party to spend some time together. Whether it’s finishing up the wedding pictures or, as is tradition in some families, stopping by a local pub for a few drinks, the cocktail hour provides the wedding party some time between the wedding and the reception to blow off some steam.
The cocktail hour typically will include hors d’ oeuvres and drinks, at a minimum. The food at your wedding reception cocktail hour is often simple yet elegant. A popular choice is to have fruit and cheese trays at the cocktail hour. This allows your guests to have just a little something to get their palate ready for the main dinner service.
Your wedding reception cocktail hour can be more formal, in terms of food. Your wedding caterer may be able to offer you choices of a number of different appetizers, hors d’oeuvres and canapés, as well as hot and cold food trays. It’s common to choose a seasoned or savory dish of some sort, such as marinated seafood appetizers. In addition it is usually traditional to offer some sort of sweet treat, too. Here again, fruit is one of the best choices for your wedding reception cocktail hour.
When it comes to alcohol, you‘ve got some choices for the cocktail hour as well. You may wish to limit alcoholic beverage service to wine and beer during the cocktail hour, or you may use the cocktail hour to offer specific elixirs to your guests. In some cases, you may not start alcohol service until after the cocktail hour in order to save some money on the cost of liquor. However, it is more common to end liquor service earlier in the evening, rather than deprive your guests during the cocktail hour.
It’s not uncommon to have a theme for your cocktail hour, as well. For example, you might make your cocktail hour the “martini and cigar” hour, and offer a variety of high end cigars and gin martini drinks during that time. The theme should be one that complements your wedding theme, as well.
Entertainment is also a popular option during the wedding reception cocktail hour. You might feature a single musician, such as a pianist, harpist or classical guitarist at the cocktail hour. This will be very different from the entertainment that comes later on in the evening, whether it’s a DJ or a band. The cocktail hour musical entertainment should be much more subdued than the entertainment that comes later on in the reception.
You can consider other forms of entertainment during the cocktail hour, as well. Some couples have chosen to have other types of performers. A magician who travels from table to table entertaining the children is one option. You might include a performance artist, or even a mime. Really, the type of entertainment you choose for your cocktail hour is limited only by your budget and your imagination.
Biographical Info: Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Walnut Hill located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. He also runs a local search marketing firm, MarketingMeasure and employs those additional capabilities in the overall marketing services menu of offerings. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or pcrum@MarketingMeasure.com.