Reinventing the Reception

• By Sara Cardace
• Published Summer 2007

Not all couples want to follow a traditional wedding run of show. For some, the tightly scripted progression (from ceremony to cocktails to dinner and dancing) is great. But eschewing that convention frees you to plan a reception that's entirely your own one that can be punctuated by spontaneous moments rather than premeditated cues. For some examples of how to make over the old-fashioned recipe, we enlisted event planner Loulie Walker to create blueprints for three alternative affairs. In the end, no matter how you do it, what distinguishes a wedding reception from a regular party is not the pomp and circumstance. It's the happy couple everyone's drinking to.

A Very Dapper Picnic

Blue Hill at Stone Barns.   (Photo: Erik Ekroth/Courtesy of Blue Hill at Stone Barns)

Hosting a midday affair will require a beautiful outdoor space. Scout venues with a garden or terrace, such as the Xchange on 28th Street, the New Leaf Café in Fort Tryon Park, or Blue Hill at Stone Barns (although food isn't served outside here, guests can enjoy drinks on the patio). Keep decorative elements crisp; whites and various shades of yellow make for a fresh, summery look. Deck out the reception area with white wooden picnic tables and benches, or in a larger venue, create canopied seating areas to define the space. Have waiters serve rose champagne and ladle out peach, raspberry, and green iced tea as guests arrive. Work a signature flower into topiaries adorning the tables and nestle your guests' escort cards into a bed of the same blooms (miniature daisies are especially sweet). Further play up the garden-party vibe by serving sandwich combinations that represent pairings (croque monsieurs and croque madames, for example). For dessert, offer petits fours to complement a cupcake tower, or have a pushcart vendor dish out sorbets or ices (drape the cart's umbrella with fabric that matches your décor). When it's all over, send guests home with baker's boxes of lemon squares or your favorite kind of pie, along with the recipe.