Maryland Wedding - Do We Have to Serve a Full Meal?

Costs of your Maryland Wedding can add up and catering is one of the big-ticket items. At $50 per plate on the low end and nearly $100 per plate on average, a small tweak makes a big difference in the overall cost of your Maryland wedding.

It is worth keeping in mind that food is critical to the success of your wedding. A guest that attends the wedding ceremony will spend six-seven hours at your event. If you want them to stay and party with you there will have to be good food and plenty of it. Nothing will empty your dance floor faster than empty bellies!

When it comes to planning a wedding, couples have a lot of questions. That is understandable since this is something you only do once if you do it right.

As an award-winning Maryland Wedding DJ serving Frederick MD | Washington DC | Northern VA, our passion is helping couples have the best experience possible and to be an asset in all facets of wedding planning. This article is one in a series of articles intended to help anyone who is planning their dream wedding.

Do we have to serve a full meal at the reception?

It's all in the timing.

You can have a cocktail party wedding reception if you don't schedule it during prime dinner time when guests will expect to be fed. Your options are to have an early afternoon, for a light lunch or hors d'oeuvres wedding reception -- say a 2:30 or 3 p.m. ceremony, with the reception to follow and end before the dinner hour (say 6, 6:30), or late evening, with a cocktail or dessert menu (we're talking 8:30, even 9 p.m. for the ceremony).

Though the times on your wedding invitations should clue people in that they are not getting dinner, don't just leave it at that. Include wording in your invites to make the situation clear: "Join us after the ceremony for cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and dancing at the Art Institute..."

Don't worry that some may consider it "rude" not to serve a full meal. As long as you've given them fair warning, it's your prerogative to do the wedding reception your way, and if cocktails are better for your budget and the art museum is more important to you than chicken cordon bleu -- go for it.

Think outside the box.

Feeding 100+ people is expensive. But just because you may not be able to afford a full dinner doesn’t mean that you can’t properly feed your guests.

A buffet may be out of your price range, but “heavy appetizers” like buffalo wings, egg rolls, tacos, or even slices of pizza aren’t going to be as expensive and they’ll still be able to fill up your guests.

If you’re concerned about budget, contact a local caterer and have a frank discussion with them about what you can afford to see if they can offer you a menu that’ll work for you. Also, be sure to think outside the box: contact your favorite local food truck or chain restaurant that may have cheaper options to work within your budget.

Looking for more ways to stretch your budget and have an amazing wedding that your guests will hate to see the end? Check out this article covering 50 Ways to Maximize Your Food & Drink Budget.