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As soon we’d all made our way up the aisle, it was time for cocktail hour! (Well, I guess technically it was a cocktail-less hour, since the only alcoholic beverages we served were wine and Champagne…but I still like to call it cocktail hour. It sounds classy that way!) Our guests spent the time in between our ceremony and reception mingling in the backyard and munching on some seriously delicious food.
Water, Iced Tea, and Lemonade
Stationed hors d’oeuvre #1: Fresh Fruit Display
Stationed hors d’oeuvre #2: Imported and Domestic Cheese Display (With Fresh and Dried Fruits, Assorted Olives, Roasted and Candied Nuts, Breads and Gourmet Crackers)
Left: Our officiant goes for a Caprese Skewer. Right: Stationed hors d’oeuvre #3: Vegetable Crudites Platter (Accompanied by Parmesan Ranch and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus)
Close up of Passed hors d’oeuvre #1: Caprese Skewer, (Our catering staff passed the hors d’oeuvres on antique silver trays collected by my mom and I.)
Two guests (My childhood friends)
More guests enjoying cocktail hour…shout out to you, C! (If you still read my blog!)
Longtime friend of my family and her boyfriend…aren’t they adorable??
Passed hors d’oeuvre #2: All American Bourbon Glazed Mini Sliders
Passed hors d’oeuvre #3: Ahi Sushi Rolls
And what were we doing, while our guests hung out and ate this delicious food, you ask? Taking family pictures, of course! I’ll spare you all the group pictures of random people you don’t know, but here’s my favorite one, so you get the idea:
From left to right: My brother/groomsman, my dad, my mom, me, Mr. Turtle, Mr. Turtle’s mom, Mr. Turtle’s dad, Mr. Turtle’s brother/groomsman
Aww… what a wonderful, and color-coordinated family! 
We kept our family pictures pretty simple, just taking them in the same place that we held our ceremony. My main advice for these shots is to plan out beforehand exactly which groups you want pictures of. If you don’t do this, it can get awkward. But we had a plan, and made sure everyone we’d need was gathered nearby, so it only took our photographer like 15 minutes to get all of the pictures.
Next, our family joined the guests for cocktail hour, and Mr. Turtle and I, along with our wedding party hurried off to a nearby field to take some group portraits!
In case you missed out on my earlier recap posts:
*Note: To answer your fashion questions, my dress was by Casablanca, the bridesmaid dresses were by Watters, and the guys’ suits were from Banana Republic.
And once again, all of the beautiful photos were taken by our wonderful photographer, Chloe Murdoch of Mike Larson Inc. (The fabulous food was catered by the lovely team at Epic Weddings, based out of San Luis Obispo, California.)
WHEEEEEEERE are you people getting these adorable glass beverage dispensers??? i want them for my reception. was it provided by the catering company?
Everything looks so delicious! I would have been all over the Caprese skewers, yummm!
The food looks awesome! And, you can definitely still call it a cocktail hour. Wine and champagne are my kind of “cocktails”
The food looked delicious and bright. mmmm…sushi.
And your mom looked absolutely radiant!
xoxo,
Fen
@HELLOLVR: Ours were provided by our catering company! I got a super cute one as a wedding present though, from Pottery Barn. I’m not sure if they’re still carrying them. I’ve also seen them at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target. Hope that helps!
Such fabulous food and food shots! I wish we had pictures of our food. 
Somehow we have ZERO food pictures. Zero.
Ugh, photog fail.
Wow, your guests were sure well fed during the cocktail hour!
Im so hungry now. And Im drooling over those beverage dispensers too…they are IMPOSSIBLE to get in NZ! And not worth shipping from the States. *pouty face* Love your family pic, you all have such great smiles 
Mmmm! I’m hungry! All those bites look delicious! What a fun cocktail hour!
I’m so hungry now. It looks like a great cocktail hour.
The apps look delish! We did some Kobe sliders at our cocktail hour, and they were going like hotcakes!
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Mrs. Turtle, Central California Age and Occupation: 21, Art Student/Teacher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 22, English Student Engagement Date: August 16, 2008 Wedding Date: July 2010 Venue: Mr. Turtle's Grandparents' backyard, Arroyo Grande, CA About Me: I am a California girl who loves the beach and the mountains, but is quite satisfied living right in the middle where I can enjoy the best of both worlds. I am happiest when traveling to faraway places, wandering through museums, watching old movies, or baking up a storm. Mr. Turtle and I are high school sweethearts and fellow book nerds who both drive Mini Coopers and are most likely to be found browsing in antique stores. We're having so much fun planning our European garden wedding with a vintage twist and can't wait to share more of life's adventures together!
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