Abby Connolly
While planning a big, white wedding with a beautiful ceremony and elaborate reception can be fun and memorable, it can be very expensive and exhausting to plan.
Because of today’s economy and the less pressure to host a traditional wedding, many couples are opting for more low-key celebrations in honor of their marriage.
A wedding style that’s been re-emerging as weddings are being downsized is a ‘cake and punch’ reception.
A cake-and-punch wedding means that after your ceremony, you’ll have a much shorter, more casual gathering with little bites of food instead of a whole meal, and it feels more like a simple party versus a long, blown-out reception.
This type of reception usually occurs between mealtimes and lasts only two to three hours instead of the usual four to six hours.
If this kind of casual reception sounds up your alley, here are some tips for hosting a cake and punch style wedding reception.
When planning this kind of wedding, you’ll want your ceremony and reception to fall between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. This is because you don’t want someone showing up to your wedding starving and expecting to eat a massive meal at your reception because they won’t.
Once you know for sure this is the kind of wedding you want, get ready to clarify that on your invitations. Because big traditional weddings with long receptions and big dinners are the norm, your guests must know they shouldn’t expect that.
Specify on your invites that the wedding ceremony will be followed by “small bites and cocktails” or even the old-fashioned “cake and punch.” This will help guests plan in advance and prevent people from showing up hungry.
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