Cocktail Hour Station

Cocktail hour is the highest-density service moment at most weddings: 100% of guests are present, all are hungry, and the window is short. A cocktail hour station needs to be designed for throughput — small portion sizes, fast assembly, queue-friendly placement away from the bar line, and enough staff to plate continuously for 45–90 minutes. Food trucks and grilled cheese pop-ups can work well here because the format is naturally finger-food, but the caterer should validate the production plan for the menu, stations, crew, and guest count rather than relying on a universal rate.