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The final verdict: Do I go with a cocktail or seated at my wedding reception?
A cocktail reception has a more chill and relaxed environment. Your guests will munch on hors d’oeuvres and canapes during the reception.
A sit down wedding, as the name implies, is a seated reception with a more formal ambiance and your guests will dine on plated meals, or buffet style.
Both of these are great choices and will result in the same outcome – delicious food filling your hungry guests.
However, the two will produce different vibes to your wedding. Both have different costs involved, distinct space requirements, and have their own pros and cons.
To provide some clarity, we’ve created a list for you to compare and help make your decision making process a bit easier.
Cocktail Reception
Some would think a cocktail reception would be cheaper. However, this is not always the case. Food can definitely be more affordable for a cocktail wedding, unless you’d like to explore higher end dishes like oysters! All your decisions play a factor and our Sydney wedding videographers & photographers have seen delicious menu sets that range from $40 per head to incredible and higher end cocktail dining experiences at up to $120 per head. This makes little difference in a seated reception – it all boils down to the menu.
At Honeybear Films, our wedding videos and photos show a more candid style to films and images as people are interacting more in a casual vibes.
Some samples of wedding films we’ve shot at Southern Highlands
Seated Reception
How can I choose which style I want?
Deciding which kind of wedding reception you want doesn’t necessarily lie on the budget. It comes down to the type of vibe you and your partner want to have. For some, the fixed flow of formal dining, speeches planned around courses, and breaking it out on the dance floor is the perfect wedding. A seated wedding provides you control of each element and can plan better how the flow would go.
For others, they prefer the chance to mingle with the guests over easy conversation, over being seated behind the table. Planning your speech, cutting the cake, and your first dance and other highlights can be planned around a cocktail reception, and it’s all about keeping your guests excited and interactive while being able to move around and have an enjoyable time.
When planning the vibe you’re going for, the most deciding factor is what is important to you and your partner. Whether this be focusing on having your loved ones dancing on the dance floor, providing plenty of time for the speeches or going around mingling with guests, it’s about what will have the happiest outcome.
Our wedding videographers and photographers at Honeybear Films aim to blend into the background and guarantee that whichever reception style you choose, it will look natural and candidly flowing. Our approach focuses on capturing the event as it goes along spontaneously. Our team would be happy to discuss which style would work best for your wedding vision
The stilted breath he takes when she walks down the aisle.
The peace on her face when she rests her head on his shoulder.
The silence of the world when they kiss.
Unseen by the eye, captured by film.
