Cocktail Wedding Budget
by Coryanne
(LA, CA)
I am planning a cocktail wedding because I think it will be fun, a little different and more appropriate as we have both been married before. I think our friends will enjoy a cocktail reception as much as we will.
I also thought it would be less expensive than a sit down wedding. I have read that in several locations, but I am not finding that to be true. In fact I have found that after I pay the venue, the table and chair rentals and the linen rentals it is very close in price as the venues "wedding package" price.
Has anybody had a cocktail wedding that wouldn’t mind giving me a quick snapshot of where the budget was spent and if you were able to pull it off for less that a traditional sit down reception?
Our Thoughts
A cocktail wedding reception can be the perfect option for a second wedding. There are a few things that you can do to try to reduce food costs.
The main thing that will typically increase costs is the amount of staff needed for your reception. So, limiting or eliminating the number of staff is one approach to trying to lower costs.
Any type of station that requires having catering staff there to serve you and your guests will increase your budget. This includes carving, pasta and any other stations that require staff to serve the food.
You can still have a pasta station, for example, but just eliminate the option of having someone there making individual servings for your guests.
You can also try lightening up on passed hors d'oeuvres to eliminate additional staff.
Lastly, you can shorten your reception time. Instead of the typical five hour reception, try shortening it to 3 ½ hours.
Sit down dinners take up a lot of time. That wasted time is mostly avoided with a cocktail reception, so guests have more time for mingling and dancing.
To Your Wedding!
Danielle & Stephen
