4 Reasons You Need a Cocktail Hour on your Wedding Day
Cocktail hour is typically the hour in between your ceremony and reception. This has become an industry standard to have at least an hour of time between each event for guests to get some drinks, have some appetizers, and get ready for the reception. Since it is such a common practice, you may not even realize the main benefits to having a cocktail hour that you’re getting. Here are the 4 reasons that cocktail hours are really important for your wedding day to run smoothly.
Photos
The main reason that there is a cocktail hour is to give the couple and the wedding party an opportunity to get their portraits done. Many weddings now are doing a first look which I wrote about HERE and this means that this is no longer the main reason for those weddings, but it does give you an opportunity to get some extra sunset portraits.
2. Setting up your Reception
Many venues will use cocktail hour as the time to finish setting up your reception space. A lot of it may already be done, but the closer they can set out things like pre-plated salads, champagne, and light your candles to the reception start time, the better off everything will be. There are also some last-minute checks that will likely get done during this time and meetings with all of the staff to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.
3. Getting Time to Chat
For the couples that have already done their photos with their first look, cocktail hour is a great opportunity to hang out with your family and friends. Even if you’re doing your photos during cocktail hour, giving your guests an opportunity that is really meant for mingling is a nice way to break up the day from sitting in your ceremony, sitting for your dinner, and dancing the night away.
4. Getting the Excitement Going
Cocktail hour also is a great place to build the excitement for your guests. Having some entertainment for them like live music or a guest book is a good way to get them buzzed for your day. Additionally, those drinks they will be having will get the buzzed for your day too. The anticipation of getting the reception started surely is a nice way to get them excited for what is to come!
Some cocktail hours are longer in other countries, but usually an hour is the perfect amount of time here. You don’t want your guests to get antsy (or drunk), but all of these benefits above are super important. Make sure to talk with your venue about having a cocktail hour if for some reason you don’t already, and make sure to take advantage of all of these benefits for your wedding day to run smoothly and to have the most fun possible!
If you would like some more help to plan your wedding, you can reach out to me here.
