Our Cake and Punch reception was timed perfectly, around 2:00 pm, so we would not have to serve lunch or dinner. We wanted to save money and not carry a lot of debt after the wedding. The goal was to get off to a great start financially as newlyweds.

If we scheduled our wedding before 12 noon or anytime after 4pm, we would need to spend a few hundred more dollars to feed all of our guests. Traditionally, you should serve lunch or dinner if your reception is scheduled before noon or after 5:00 pm. However, if you schedule your wedding to start around the lunch hour and finish around 2:00 p.m., you can get away with having a cake reception comfortably. Most people will have breakfast or lunch before they arrive. So, we carefully planned to serve our guests cake a punch between 2:30 and 4:30pm.

Having cake and punch also frees up extra cash and allows you to be more creative with other expenditures you will have. Your ultimate goal is to make your guests happy. It might also be a good idea to find out if anyone in your bridal party has food allergies. Some folks can't have nuts in their diet. If anyone happens to have allergies, get two cakes with the extra money you saved by not serving lunch or dinner.

Our cake and punch reception went off without a hitch. The wedding finished about 2:30 and we proceeded to the reception area. We got tons of great compliments from everyone about the cake and how delicious it was.

As we entered the reception hall for the first time as husband and wife, our guests commented on how beautiful everything was. No one knew we were even trying to save money by serving cake and punch. I must admit, I was a little nervous when we entered for the first time as husband and wife. I thought about whether serving cake and punch would be controversial. I was wrong to even think about it. As time passed, I realized it was a silly thing to be worried about. People were just very happy for us.

I can't imagine any of our guests approaching us to complain about getting cake and punch instead of lunch or dinner. It's the beginning of your new life with your marriage partner. If you decide to have a cake and punch reception, go for it and don't think twice about it.

Think of ways to make your wedding cake the focal point of the room. When everyone arrives they are sure to be blown away by how the room looks. Add some creative lighting to the cake table, candles for center pieces always looks romantic. Sprinkle flower pedals around the cake and each table. Use decorative colors to accent the table cloths and napkins.

You can also save money by using some of your wedding flowers as a wedding cake topper as we did. It looked great. Ultimately, we were not concerned about what others thought because we knew everyone had our best interest at heart. They loved the cake and punch.

If you decide to serve lunch or dinner, there are other ways to save. You could have your guests bring a dish of food, better known as a potluck. You'll get a variety of food choices but your bridal party may not like the idea of bringing a dish of food to a wedding. Keep in mind, the food has to be prepared and carried from one place to the next. This technique can be successful as well.

If you choose to have cake and punch reception, just remember to time everything so you don't have any doubts whether you should serve lunch or dinner. Enjoy! Happy Wedding!