Overview / Cocktail Hour

Cocktail Hour

Guests come down to the garden for drinks and photo bingo, with the boardwalk to explore.

Time4:30 – 5:30 PM
Guests
~50

A few of the venue's chairs in the garden for the grandfathers and older guests.

LocationGarden and boardwalk, Garden91
Rain planComing soon
More details
Drinks
At the drinks cart

On the terrace outside the 1st floor, above the garden, for cocktail hour only.

Baileys Bubble Tea (a mini Baileys tipped into brown sugar milk tea, with pearls, coconut jelly, or grass jelly), Guava Gin Fizz, Gin & Tonic, Plum Highball, a Guava Sparkler with no alcohol, Taiwan Beer, unsweetened oolong tea, and water. Full recipes on the Catering & Bar page.

Photo bingo
Bingo card and boardwalk spot

A bingo card of photos to take, one for each guest (on the DIY list); guests take the photos on their phones. The first to get 5 in a row wins a prize.

A game or photo spot on the boardwalk (which: TBC), with a mirror on a stand and arrow signs pointing the way (wording and exact spot: TBC).

All rules and signs are in English and Chinese.

StatusIn progress
Show info for

Schedule

Bubble tea

TBC

One delivery from a local tea shop (which shop: TBC). The pearls are best until about 6:15 PM; the jellies last all night.

  • Brown sugar milk tea in bulk
  • Three toppings: brown sugar pearls, coconut jelly, and grass jelly
  • Cups, lids, and wide straws
  • Milk tea and jellies chilled in the 1st-floor kitchen
  • Pearls kept at room temperature, since they go hard in the fridge
Where
Drinks cart, 1st-floor terrace
Who
Catering & Bar
Same time

Cocktail hour

Guests have drinks in the garden and on the boardwalk.

  • Drinks from the drinks cart
  • Photo bingo in the garden and on the boardwalk
When
4:30 – 5:30 PM
Where
Garden and boardwalk
Who
GuestsCatering & BarCouple

Family photos

Family photos, with the grandfathers first so they can rest.

  • Grandfathers first, seated
  • Then anyone leaving after cocktail hour
  • One shot with everyone reading the wedding newspaper
Where
Balcony, under the trellis
Who
PhotographyCoupleWedding party

Clear the balcony

The ceremony comes down once photos finish. The venue's own orchids stay.

  • Chairs
  • Ceremony speakers
  • Trellis additions
Where
Balcony
Who
Florals & DecorDJVenue
Same time

Sunset photos

Couple photos in the golden light before sunset.

  • Goodbye photos with the grandfathers at the end, if they're leaving
Where
Garden and boardwalk (spot TBC)
Who
PhotographyCouple

Candles lit

Our florals and decor team lights the candles on the 3rd floor before guests come up.

  • All candles lit
Where
3rd floor
Who
Florals & Decor
Same time

Guests upstairs

Guests go up to the 3rd floor for dinner.

  • Older guests use the elevator
Where
Garden → 3rd floor
Who
GuestsUshers

Drinks at the tables

There's no bar on the 3rd floor, so the caterer puts drinks on each table. The bar reopens in the 1st-floor kitchen for the party.

  • Red wine, Taiwan Beer, Sprite (for red wine with Sprite), oolong, and water on each table
  • Pour as guests sit down
  • Kaoliang for anyone who asks
Where
3rd floor
Who
Catering & Bar

Goodbye photos

TBC

A few photos of the grandfathers with the couple, about 5 minutes.

  • If they leave after cocktail hour: at the end of the sunset photos, before they go
  • If they stay for dinner: at 6:50 PM, after the cake cutting
Where
Garden (or the 3rd floor at 6:50 PM)
Who
CouplePhotographyDay-of coordinator

Bouquet upstairs

The bride gives her bouquet to her mom during the welcome speech.

  • Take the bride's bouquet from her after sunset photos and bring it to the 3rd floor
Where
Garden → 3rd floor
Who
Family crew
Same time

Pack the drinks cart

The drinks cart is for cocktail hour only. The giant flowers in the garden stay out until the end of the night.

  • Drinks cart packed by 5:45 PM
When
5:30 – 5:45 PM
Where
1st-floor terrace
Who
Catering & Bar

Clear the boardwalk

Our florals and decor team brings the photo bingo spot in before dark.

  • Photo bingo spot in from the boardwalk
Who
Florals & Decor

See it in the full timeline →

Notes by vendor

🏛️ Venue

Venue page →

  • Confirm the drinks cart spot on the terrace outside the 1st floor, and whether it needs power
  • Confirm about 50 guests can use the boardwalk, and that a game or photo spot there is OK

💐 Florals & Decor

Florals & Decor page →

  • Giant flowers on the lawn, in the same style as the entrance (how many and where exactly: TBC), 1:30 – 2:15 PM
  • Paper lanterns and string lights over the garden (how many, and where they can hang: TBC with the venue)
  • They stay out until the end of the night
  • Photo bingo spot on the boardwalk, 1:30 – 2:05 PM, before the first look, and in before dark (about 5:30 PM)

👯 Wedding party

Wedding party setup →

  • Photo bingo cards on the cocktail tables and at the drinks cart, 1:30 – 2:05 PM

📷 Photography

Photography page →

  • Giant flowers on the lawn, with the Taipei skyline behind
  • Stepping stones across the pond, with the white pavilion behind
  • The boardwalk, where we do the first look
  • The trellis on the balcony, for family and wedding party photos
  • Guests at the drinks cart, and playing photo bingo, including the boardwalk spot

🍽️ Catering & Bar

Catering & Bar page →

  • Run the drinks cart on the terrace outside the 1st floor
  • Passed appetizers for about 50 guests around the garden, 4:30 – 5:30 PM
  • Serve the cocktail hour drinks listed under Drinks at the top (we supply the drinks)
  • For the cart style and the cocktail, see the inspiration in The look

The look

The garden

After the ceremony, guests come down from the balcony to the garden. The drinks cart is on the terrace outside the 1st floor, at the top of the garden. Giant flowers on the lawn match the ones at the entrance, paper lanterns and string lights hang over the garden, and there's a photo bingo spot on the boardwalk (a game or photo spot) for anyone who wanders down.

Today

What we want

Inspiration

The garden seen from the terrace outside the 1st floor: lawn on the left, gravel path on the right, pond and pavilion below, Taipei skyline behind. The terrace is outlined in yellow.
Where the drinks cart goes: the terrace outside the 1st floor, outlined in yellow.

The boardwalk

A wooden deck under a leaning tree, past the farm, with built-in benches and the Taipei skyline behind. It's where we do the first look, and the photo bingo spot is here during cocktail hour.

Today

The boardwalk: a wooden deck with built-in benches and low stools, a large tree leaning across it, and the Taipei skyline and hills beyond

What we want

Mock-up coming soon