With the summer season unofficially kicking off, and the dive into many weddings already beginning. Let’s talk about drinking at weddings my wedding family! Better known as cocktail hour. 🍸 This post goes out to all my wedding guest!

Let’s start from the beginning, cocktail hour is the time in-between the ceremony and the reception and can usually set the tone for what’s to come. Usually during this time the newly wedded couple takes their precious wedding photos and the guest get to mingle, eat some fabulous hors d’oeuvres and drink. This almost sounds like my Friday nights, just kidding, my Friday nights most definitely involve getting to bed by 7:30pm. The cocktail hour or in some cases hours – this is definitely a possibility, I have been at a few weddings where the typical 60 minute cocktail hour turns into a longer gap of a break in between the ceremony and the reception.

Now, there is no wrong or right way to do a cocktail hour, couples plan what works best for them especially when they are taking their wedding photo. So as a guest, what is one to do if the cocktail hour is 30 mins, 60 mins or (gasp) 90 mins or longer! First take a deep breath. Most couples will have a well planned theme of activities not to mention drinks (hopefully open bar) to keep guests occupied. So not only should there be drinks and a plethora of them, there should also be food. This should go without mentioning but unfortunately, I have attended a few weddings once where the cocktail hour lasted about 75 minutes no big deal right? wrong? the food consisted of mixed nuts, it was a dry wedding AND nothing planned or even suggested to the guest. So we all just stood around a little confused.

Now there are several ways to approach cocktail hour, my hope for you as the wedding guest is you you are entering the the cocktail area. You are greeted with a warm, loving, let’s get ready to party atmosphere, the live band or DJ has the best mood music playing at the moment, there are beautifully decorated tables everywhere, it looks like a scene from a movie. The bar attendants are waiting and ready to serve you either a signature drink or your favorite drink. The catering staff are waiting and ready with plates of the best yet uniquely named bite-sized foods. Even if it is a wedding where you are not that close to the couple and you do not know anyone, whether there are events planned or not, your intention is to – MINGLE. Afterall, that’s a great way to get to know the additional family members use that time to introduce yourself to the side of the family you do not know, introduce yourself to the friends of the family, you just might make new friends in the process. You will get to know your new family members if you don’t already, and if there are children at the wedding, engage with the children. It is all in how you view it, the cocktail hour creates the perfect opportunity for leasurily bonding. Keep in mind the guest at the wedding are probably people you will begin to see more often at other family gatherings down the line. So go dance, eat and be merry after all, you are there to celebrate love between your two favorite people. Happy Attending. ❤️