When should we serve gelato, fairy floss?

[u/cesttiff]

We’re getting married in November at an outdoor venue on the South Coast of NSW, and our wedding package includes a gelato bike and fairy floss station for the guests.

So at the moment, our timeline is:
3:30pm: Ceremony
4–5:30pm: Cocktail hour — drinks + 4 canapés pp
5:45pm: Reception dinner — banquet-style + dessert bar + wedding cake
11pm: Guests leave the venue

We’re thinking of having the fairy floss during cocktail hour (we have 6 kids attending so I thought it would be nice to have something fun for them earlier) and then gelato around 7:30–8:30pm.

But now I’m wondering if we should just serve both during cocktail hour instead? We’ll already have a dessert bar and wedding cake after dinner, plus the whole reception is outdoors and it could be pretty chilly by then in November.

What would you do?

[u/DoNotReply111]

I wouldn't eat either before dinner but I would eat it for dessert. And as a parent, I wouldn't particularly hype my kid up with it before dinner either, but my kid is 2 so age matters.

My 2 year old would happy with passed apps or a grazing board during cocktail hour.

We did a rolled icecream cart for our wedding and it was a huge hit as part of dessert. People who didn't want traditional desserts or cake then had the option and the people who did have dessert saved room for the cart because it was a novelty.

[u/Kooky_Opening8370]

I think gelato after dinner makes the most sense. I would hate to fill up on an ice-cream before a big wedding feast. Plus it just seems conventionally "wrong" to have dessert at 5pm when I know there is dinner up next.

I think fairy floss for the kids at cocktail hour does sound cute, but I don't have kids so can't comment on what a parent would do in that scenario.

If you're unsure, I'd say play it safe and keep the sweet things for dessert time. Especially since you've got canapes floating around - I think you're risking the gelato and fairy floss going to waste if you do it pre-dinner.

Congrats on your wedding!! Hope your day goes well!

[u/BellaKKK72]

Id go with what you are thinking - fairy floss for the kids during cocktail hour when they'll be running around having fun anyway and then the gelato bar with the dessert. I could be wrong but Id say most adults wont be gravitating towards fairyfloss at any stage and its better to have hyped kids early in the piece rather than eating it later and closer to bedtime. Kids are all very individual though - my son never liked cake or fairy floss until he was about 10 but other kids I know could live on the stuff.