Cocktail Hour

Cocktail hour serves as a way to fill up the window of time between the ceremony and reception. It allows the bridal party to take photos if they haven’t been taken yet, allows you to greet your guests in a receiving line if you opt to do so, or allows a room to be transformed if the ceremony takes places in the same area as the reception. Cocktail hours are commonly an hour long, but can be shorter. Here are a few things you’ll definitely want to have at your cocktail hour:

-Music. Music sets the mood for your reception. If you don’t have the budget or option to use your band or DJ, talk to management about hooking up an MP3 player.

-Drinks to greet guests with. You don’t want your guests spending 20 minutes of their cocktail hour in line at the bar, so make sure the waitstaff has drinks waiting for them.

-Seating. Especially for older guests, an hour is a long time to stand. So be sure to offer some type of seating. Also, a good rule of thumb is to have one high top cocktail table for every twenty guests.

-At least one food station. You’ll definitely want to serve some type of food, and even if the waitstaff is serves hors d’oeuvres, a food station allows a place for guests to congregate and mingle.

-Enough bartenders. You’ll want to have one bar staffed by two bartenders for every one hundred guests. If this is in your budget, it will keep the lines down.

-Premixed drinks. Speed up lines at the bar by having premixed pitchers of something like sangria or punch behind the bar.

If you follow these tips it should ensure that your cocktail hour runs smoothly, and will have your guests in a great mood for your reception!

If you need help planning a cocktail party or another event please call us at 248-408-4602.

photo: http://blog.oregonlive.com/mix_impact/2008/11/large_homebar_opener_lg.jpg   

~Liz