XP: Anyone want to help with my timeline?

PineapplePopsicles

I posted this on another board, but thought this board may be more active.  Feel free to chime in if you have any tips or ideas!!

Click for original post  

Anyone feel like helping with our timeline?  I feel like it is off, or maybe there is just something I'm not seeing.

Important Info:

*Ceremony Starts at 10:30am

*No Wedding Party

*No Bouquet/Garter Tosses

*Undecided on Dancing as of now

*Venue is a Restaurant with essentially 2 spaces - the indoor restaurant, which will be set up with a brunch buffet (YUM), and the patio, which is where the ceremony will take place.  There is nowhere for guests to go while either space is "flipped" to allow for a cocktail hour, so CH would be guests wandering around a buffet they couldn't eat, or ceremony chairs. 

*Open to a receiving line, but we don't know how or where to put it

5:30a - makeup or hair starts at hotel with bride

7:00a - makeup or hair (whatever one isn't done yet) starts at hotel with bride

8:30a - get dressed, travel to venue (10 mins away)

9:30a - first look pictures with groom

10:00a- guests start arriving

10:30a - ceremony starts

10:45 - ceremony ends, B&G run out to start family pics asap, guests enter reception & start finding tables, lining up for brunch, etc.

 

We don't want to do a formal cocktail hour because we want people to go ahead and start eating. We would like to squeeze in some family pics beforehand, but I don't know if there will be time.  We don't have a wedding party, and we aren't doing any formal dances, garter/bouquet tosses, etc. We have to be cleared out by 2-2:30 at the latest.  I think our preacher will make an announcement (go inside, find your seats, start eating, etc) so people are clear that they are ok to eat and they don't have to wait for us.    

 Alternately, we could have a quick cocktail hour (30 mins?) but there isn't really anywhere for our guests to go.  They would be in the same ceremony space with the chairs.  There is no option for "flipping" the space and no alternate location.  So it would be everyone standing around the ceremony chairs for 30 minutes, which seems awkward.  Even with mimosas/bloody mary's.  So letting them go straight inside & start eating seems like the best plan to us.  What do you think?

theartistformerlyknownas

I would feel awkward starting to eat the main meal food if you weren't there yet. Could you set up something like a fruit tray on each table that they can pick from once they find their seats, then open the buffet once you arrive?

SBmini

I've seen this done before where the guests sit at the tables used for the reception during the ceremony. That way, there's no change in set up needed. So after the wedding, guests can be served mimosas or coffee or what ever in that space- no change needed. 

PineapplePopsicles

lolo883 said:

I would feel awkward starting to eat the main meal food if you weren't there yet. Could you set up something like a fruit tray on each table that they can pick from once they find their seats, then open the buffet once you arrive?

UGHH that is what I was worried about.  Since it is a restaurant, the tables will be spread out and there are 35 of them.  That is a lot of fruit trays.  We don't have the options of passed apps, either.   

I had the perfect plan when we had access to a 3rd space, but the restaurant is renovating and that space won't be ready in time.  And there is nothing I can do because it wasn't in our contract originally, it was more of a "hey, by the way, this room should be ready in time and you can totally use it!" after we had signed and paid our deposit - so we thought of it as a bonus.  So then they call and tell us it isn't going to be ready and we are just out of luck because they never really promised it to begin with. 

PineapplePopsicles

SBmini said:

I've seen this done before where the guests sit at the tables used for the reception during the ceremony. That way, there's no change in set up needed. So after the wedding, guests can be served mimosas or coffee or what ever in that space- no change needed. 

I've been to a wedding like this, too.  It was actually really cool.  However, our space isn't really set up for that because it is a restaurant and we are using the whole thing - so we will be in the dining room.  We have a combination of booths/tables/etc.  It isn't like one big open conference room where we can scoot tables around.  So we are renting chairs and having the ceremony on the patio, and then the reception portion will be inside the restaurant.  

theartistformerlyknownas

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I would feel awkward starting to eat the main meal food if you weren't there yet. Could you set up something like a fruit tray on each table that they can pick from once they find their seats, then open the buffet once you arrive?

UGHH that is what I was worried about.  Since it is a restaurant, the tables will be spread out and there are 35 of them.  That is a lot of fruit trays.  We don't have the options of passed apps, either.   

I had the perfect plan when we had access to a 3rd space, but the restaurant is renovating and that space won't be ready in time.  And there is nothing I can do because it wasn't in our contract originally, it was more of a "hey, by the way, this room should be ready in time and you can totally use it!" after we had signed and paid our deposit - so we thought of it as a bonus.  So then they call and tell us it isn't going to be ready and we are just out of luck because they never really promised it to begin with. 

Then just stagger what's available when. Like have fruit and pastries available on the buffet, plus coffee station or mimosas or whatever, and then open the hot items on the buffet once you get there. It's the breakfast equivalent of hors d'oeuvres. People can still snack but not feel like you're missing your own party.

southernbelle0915

It sounds like the only thing that's stopping you from starting the reception right away are family photos. Can you do these before the ceremony after your first look? If not, can you do them after the reception?

PineapplePopsicles

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I would feel awkward starting to eat the main meal food if you weren't there yet. Could you set up something like a fruit tray on each table that they can pick from once they find their seats, then open the buffet once you arrive?

UGHH that is what I was worried about.  Since it is a restaurant, the tables will be spread out and there are 35 of them.  That is a lot of fruit trays.  We don't have the options of passed apps, either.   

I had the perfect plan when we had access to a 3rd space, but the restaurant is renovating and that space won't be ready in time.  And there is nothing I can do because it wasn't in our contract originally, it was more of a "hey, by the way, this room should be ready in time and you can totally use it!" after we had signed and paid our deposit - so we thought of it as a bonus.  So then they call and tell us it isn't going to be ready and we are just out of luck because they never really promised it to begin with. 

Then just stagger what's available when. Like have fruit and pastries available on the buffet, plus coffee station or mimosas or whatever, and then open the hot items on the buffet once you get there. It's the breakfast equivalent of hors d'oeuvres. People can still snack but not feel like you're missing your own party.

I will ask to see if this is an option.  Because of the way they set up the buffet, I can see them saying that it has to be all/nothing set up, and that sort of makes sense to me just based on the layout and such.  BUT if there was a solution to having people stand around the ceremony space, I think it would be easier to have them bring some light snacks/coffee/etc. out there.  But then people are just standing around the ceremony chairs, and the jazz band is inside.  

Goodness.  Is it tequila-thirty, yet?

PineapplePopsicles

southernbelle0915 said:

It sounds like the only thing that's stopping you from starting the reception right away are family photos. Can you do these before the ceremony after your first look? If not, can you do them after the reception?

I don't think there is time beforehand, but if we can wrangle everyone afterwards, or maybe do them later in the reception, this may be the perfect solution. You may have just saved the day.  TELL ME MORE!!!

theartistformerlyknownas

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I would feel awkward starting to eat the main meal food if you weren't there yet. Could you set up something like a fruit tray on each table that they can pick from once they find their seats, then open the buffet once you arrive?

UGHH that is what I was worried about.  Since it is a restaurant, the tables will be spread out and there are 35 of them.  That is a lot of fruit trays.  We don't have the options of passed apps, either.   

I had the perfect plan when we had access to a 3rd space, but the restaurant is renovating and that space won't be ready in time.  And there is nothing I can do because it wasn't in our contract originally, it was more of a "hey, by the way, this room should be ready in time and you can totally use it!" after we had signed and paid our deposit - so we thought of it as a bonus.  So then they call and tell us it isn't going to be ready and we are just out of luck because they never really promised it to begin with. 

Then just stagger what's available when. Like have fruit and pastries available on the buffet, plus coffee station or mimosas or whatever, and then open the hot items on the buffet once you get there. It's the breakfast equivalent of hors d'oeuvres. People can still snack but not feel like you're missing your own party.

I will ask to see if this is an option.  Because of the way they set up the buffet, I can see them saying that it has to be all/nothing set up, and that sort of makes sense to me just based on the layout and such.  BUT if there was a solution to having people stand around the ceremony space, I think it would be easier to have them bring some light snacks/coffee/etc. out there.  But then people are just standing around the ceremony chairs, and the jazz band is inside.  

Goodness.  Is it tequila-thirty, yet?

It's always tequila-thirty.

They should be able to just only physically put some of the food out early (especially cold items), and have the waitstaff add the hot items into the chafing trays half an hour later.

Maybe just pull an Oprah and leave a coffee cake under everyone's ceremony chair.

PineapplePopsicles

@lolo883 i just laughed out loud at work and now everyone is looking at me like i'm nuts.  Which, is sort of true.  But i can just imagine our preacher being like "and if you'll look under your chair..." 

theartistformerlyknownas

YOU get a coffee cake, YOU get a coffee cake, YOU get a coffee cake!

southernbelle0915

PineapplePopsicles said:

southernbelle0915 said:

It sounds like the only thing that's stopping you from starting the reception right away are family photos. Can you do these before the ceremony after your first look? If not, can you do them after the reception?

I don't think there is time beforehand, but if we can wrangle everyone afterwards, or maybe do them later in the reception, this may be the perfect solution. You may have just saved the day.  TELL ME MORE!!!

(pre-wedding stuff and ceremony...)

10:45  -  Ceremony ends and preacher makes announcement that B&G will do a receiving line from the outside area to the inside where guests can immediately get their food and find their seats

11 - 12*  -  Brunch (somewhere in here you can have toasts if doing)

12:30/after people are done eating  -  cut the cake*

1-2/2:30 - socializing/dancing

* family formals could take place while people are eating since you will have done a receiving line and don't have to do table visits. OR after you cut the cake while everyone is eating dessert - whichever makes more sense. FWIW, our family formals took about 15 minutes. We gathered everyone and gave our photog a list of who needed to be in what photo so it was very efficient.