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"If a formal multicourse dinner in a stately ballroom is out of your wedding budget, or just doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t feel very you, scale back the pomp of a traditional reception and ramp up the good times with an elegant cocktail party instead. By turning the &amp;amp;#8220;mingling hour&amp;amp;#8221; into the main event (hors d&amp;amp;#8217;oeuvres are usually guests&amp;amp;#8217; favorite part of the evening anyway) and including only the meaningful-to-you traditions, you can host a celebration that still feels like a wedding&amp;amp;#8212;minus the hefty price tag. 1. Venue &amp;amp; D&amp;amp;#233;cor. Host a cocktail party anywhere&amp;amp;#8212;an art gallery, your favorite neighborhood bistro, or a historic house. Restaurants and hotels are particularly amenable because their in-house staff knows the drill, and you can eliminate the extra expense of an outside catering company&amp;amp;#8212;not to mention rentals! Flowers are an important touch, so consider hiring a florist or having a friend create arrangements. And even though you&amp;amp;#8217;re throwing a roving reception, it&amp;amp;#8217;s a good idea to provide seating. Cater to older folks with traditional table-and-chair groupings, and create pockets of intrigue for the youngsters with high-tops and tufted banquettes. Last, keep the lighting dim&amp;amp;#8212;it flatters everyone and keeps the mood festive. 2. Dress Code. It&amp;amp;#8217;s your wedding&amp;amp;#8212;feel free to go full-on traditional, or mix it up in something short and flirty. Specify what guests should wear on your invitation (&amp;amp;#8220;cocktail attire&amp;amp;#8221; is fool-proof), and if you&amp;amp;#8217;re having a bridal party, consider putting your own festive spin on the bridesmaids&amp;amp;#8217; dresses. Instead of going for identical looks, scan the fashion glossies for a color you love, broadcast your choice, and let your &amp;amp;#8217;maids choose their own individual styles in the selected shade. This will look terrific in photos while allowing their personalities to shine. (And they&amp;amp;#8217;ll love you forever for letting them pick dresses they actually like!) 3. Food &amp;amp; Drink. Make it clear on the invitation that a full meal will not be served. &amp;amp;#8220;Please join us for cocktails and hors d&amp;amp;#8217;oeuvres following the ceremony&amp;amp;#8221; does the job&amp;amp;#8212;and is a necessary nudge to heavy drinkers who would, on otherwise empty stomachs, hang from chandeliers. Plan to have 8 to 12 different amuse-bouches in rotation (count on each guest&amp;amp;#8217;s eating six per hour), and be mindful of diverse tastes and dietary restrictions when selecting appetizers. Bolster passed bites with a few stations&amp;amp;#8212;from a display of great cheeses to a raw bar of oysters, shrimp, and clams. As for the spirits, you can opt to provide either a full bar or have champagne, wine, and a signature cocktail. 4. Music. If you want a dance party, and piping in your own music from an iPod is out of the question (though there&amp;amp;#8217;s nothing wrong with that), then book a DJ, as an 8-to-12-piece band would likely overwhelm the venue. Carve out a front-and-center spot for the dance floor, and open it up an hour into the festivities. If your party is more about conversation and write-home-about-it food, that&amp;amp;#8217;s quite all right, but don&amp;amp;#8217;t forgo music altogether. Hire a small ensemble to play live tunes in the background; whether it&amp;amp;#8217;s a jazz trio with a front man jamming on phonographs or costumed gals crooning French chansons from the &amp;amp;#8217;30s, music is key! 5. Cake &amp;amp; Dessert. Choose the traditions that feel right for you. After all those passed hors d&amp;amp;#8217;oeuvres, a traditional tiered cake might be the perfect counterpoint. If so, be sure to give the cake the limelight, just as you would at a seated reception. After the well-documented cutting (slice, feed, smooch, snap!), have servers carry out pieces of cake and flutes of bubbly. Consider passing additional desserts&amp;amp;#8212;mini cr&amp;amp;#233;me br&amp;amp;#251;l&amp;amp;#233;es, panna-cotta parfaits, or brandied sugar candy. For last call, serve boozy milkshake shots to energize the crowd for the after-party&amp;amp;#8212;whether it&amp;amp;#8217;s planned or just an impromptu migration to the nearest bar. 6. Run-of-Show. Since this kind of party runs at a faster clip than the average reception (three hours, say, compared with five), you&amp;amp;#8217;ll want to schedule a few key wedding moments throughout the night. The best strategy: Pass hors d&amp;amp;#8217;oeuvres for an hour before segueing into the first dance. Then open the food stations to keep guests on their gustatory toes. About two-and-a-half hours into the party, cut the cake. Last, wind down the evening with a few time-honored rituals, like the bouquet toss and toasts from your nearest and dearest. Be mindful that toast-givers may be loose-lipped this late in the evening, so prepare to flinch a little&amp;amp;#8212;and laugh a lot. --Written by Heather Lee for Brides What are your tips to make a wedding cocktail party just as special as a big reception? More from Brides: *The Ultimate Wedding Dress Guide *The 50 Most Beautiful Wedding Cakes *Celebrity-Inspired Wedding Hair and Makeup *31 Wedding Dress Trends From the Spring 2013 Collections *12 Unique Wedding Flower Ideas photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2012/06/how-to-throw-the-perfect-weddi>