Doubling Up on Cocktail Hour – How to Avoid the Lines

Cocktail hour is a wonderful way for your guests to get a taste of many different delectable foods, but the last thing they want to do is wait in line for a long time and miss out on other stations! To avoid this, we always recommend doubling up on your food stations. The threshold for each food station is about 200 people -  meaning that 200 people can go through each station during a typical cocktail hour. If you have more than 200 guests, you should definitely double up on your stations. For instance, if you would like to feature 8 unique food stations, you should actually have 16 stations set up (2 of each). You’ll also want to make sure that your guests receive speedy drink service at the bar. Having one bartender for every 75 guests is ideal, but you can push this number up to 100 guests if need be. With these 2 tricks, you will ensure that your guests get all of the food and drinks they want at cocktail hour without worry!

Buffets and Food Stations

Buffets and food stations are a great alternative to a sit down dinner, providing guests with a variety of great cuisine at you wedding. The deliciousness of the food can quickly be overshadowed by the long line guests have to wait on before they get their food. To avoid this problem, we suggest that our brides have 1 buffet and/or food station per every 100 guests. This prevents guests from crowding one buffet line and still allows the guest to choose what they want to eat. We get asked all the time what is the magic formula to prevent long lines and this far, this is the best best solution ( just always make sure you do double sided buffet lines).

Stations We Love

Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to food. We often recommend our clients to have different food stations at our events (Garba, Sangeet, Mehendi) to ensure that every palate is pleased and it makes for a fun event. Here are our favorite food stations to have, along with some examples of dishes features at each:


Chinese/ Thai: Chinese fried rice, Green curry with Jasmine rice, Pad Thai Noodles, Veg or Non Veg Spring Rolls

Indo- Chinese: Vegetable Manchurian, Manchurian Chicken, Chow Mein, Hakka Noodles (my personal favorite)


Middle Eastern: Assorted Hummus, Tabbouleh, Fried Kibbe Balls, Falafal Live Action Station


Indian: Vegetable Pakora, Paneer tikka on skewers, Kati rolls with Channa, Paneer or Chicken


Kebab: Chicken kebab, Vegetable Kebab, Sheekh Kebab

Fries (very new): Masala fries, Sweet potato fries, French Fries with Truffle Oil, Curly Fries