Reception
Question:
I want my reception to be a gathering of family and close
friends only. However, I would like to invite a much larger
crowd to my actual wedding ceremony. The ceremony and
reception will take place on the same day, but obviously at
different times and places. Is this acceptable? How should I
work out the invitation situation?
Answer from Johanna Kaestner
By Recommendation Only
Friends of mine solved this problem very cleverly.
They invited all their friends to the wedding ceremony and
served champagne and appetizers afterward.
Later, they went with the guests they had invited for the
reception to a restaurant.
Good luck,
Johanna
Question: We are
considering an early wedding on July 4 so out- of-towners
can leave later in the day and not miss an extra day of
work. We are planning a brunch for the reception. Do we
still have a band and music? Is brunch better to serve as a
buffet? How formal can we go with attire and still be
appropriate? thank you
Answer from Johanna Kaestner
By Recommendation Only
With the trend towards celebrate custom-designed weddings,
you are free to have your food served or offered
buffet-style. The same is true for the attire. You might
not ask the guests to wear "black tie," however, you can
choose any wedding gown and your husband, fathers, and
groomsmen can wear tuxedos. You don't need to hire a DJ or
a band; consider a harpist instead, because background
music makes a celebration much more festive.
Good luck, Johanna
Question: I hope you can
help me; my fiancée and I finally have our list together but
the problem is the reception. We are having the reception at
a museum with Art. We have a total of 200
guest that we are inviting to the wedding. However, we are
only inviting 125 to the reception. This number consists of
family, wedding party, and a few friends that are like
family. How should we word the invitations and not offend
people. We want all of our guest to know that we are having
an invitation to eliminate people hearing where it is by
word of mouth coming by w/o
invite. How do we word the inserts that indicate there will
be a reception. Please help!
Answer from Elysia Heller
Elysia Heller Events
I have never come across this dilemma in my business. I
have seen smaller ceremonies with more guests invited to the
reception, but I have not seen the reverse, and I could not
for the life of me find any reference to it in any of my
books on etiquette. My own sense of propriety tells me that
there is NO proper or polite way to tell your guests that
they have been invited to the ceremony only and not included
to attend the reception. I think the only conscionable way
to handle this is to include those invited to the ceremony
to the reception as
well, or if this is a matter of money, keep you guest list
smaller for
both.
Question:
I am wondering
if it is appropriate if I do not give a meat choice for
a wedding dinner. Say only Fish or Pasta.
Answer from Cay Lemon
Zest
Production
It has become more common in the last few years to have
Fish or a vegetarian option for the entree. Many people
have changed their diets and are eating less red meat.
Question: Do most in-house
caterer offer tasting appointments for the bride and groom
prior to reserving the place? I'm very interested in having
my wedding at a winery, but I was told tasting are usually
arranged 2 months prior to the wedding. Is this pretty
standard? or can I sample their menu before making any
decisions?
Answer from Johanna
By Recommendation Only
Tastings
vary
from caterer
to
caterer
and
from
venue
to
venue. You
should
be
able
to
talk
to
the
caterer
about
the
tasting
and
that
you
want
it
earlier.
However,
there
might
be
some
cost
for
you
involved,
because
some
caterers
charge
for
their
food.
Usually
this
cost
will
be
applied
to
your
bill
at
booking.
Send
us your questions!
