Wedding timeline rant

2019bride

hello all, me and fh are having a pretty short wedding/reception. (6:30-10:30)

I’m having such a hard time planning the timeline on how the day will flow starting from the ceremony to the reception. 

We arent fans of doing first looks so I’m worried that the time we spend taking photos after the ceremony will cause us to have less time to enjoy kicking off the reception. 

we also may not have a cocktail hour due to a tight budget and I’m worried our guests will get bored waiting on us to finish with our pictures. I’m not a fan of having our guest wait on us so I’m trying to find something budget friendly for them to do
during that time. My FH suggested that they just go into the reception space and wait. ( A BIG NO ) for me. 

Also, we are having the wedding at our church and our pastor told us since it will be over at 10:30 then we need to basically start breaking down by 9
so we can start cleaning and be out of there EXACTLY at 10:30. I’m so not okay with that as I don’t want to be worried about time while I’m trying to enjoy my day. He also told us that 10:30 is the time that we will have to wrap it up. We originally said 11:30!

If anyone can help me or have suggestions please comment and let me know what We should do. 

Im also looking at other venues. I feel our pastor isn’t being flexible.

[Deleted User]

Oh wow! I'm so sorry about your pastor not being flexible about the space. You will barely have time to eat. I hope you're able to find another venue that is reasonably priced. I was just in a situation where changes had to be made several times before a final agreement could be reached. Keep pressing back and try and get them to change back to 11:30. 

I've been to several weddings where we skipped the cocktail hour and everyone went into the reception space to get drinks and find our seats. About 15-20 minutes tops the wedding party came in. Maybe if you do pictures super quick you won't need a cocktail hour. I personally wouldn't keep them waiting more than 15 minutes if you're not doing a cocktail hour. 

If all else fails:
6:30-7 ceremony
7-7:15 pics
7:15-9 reception

It's a little give and take. I know you want pictures, but if you're confined to a space with limited time and a budget without a cocktail hour you may have to forego some things. 

Ooooooh! I really hope you can convince them to extend the time or at least find a different venue that meets your needs. Good luck!!!

knottiea52504eddfef3eda

My .02 is to find another venue. I don't know when your wedding date is, but if you have the time and money, lessen the headache and find a new venue. There will be enough things to worry about than having to deal with an inflexible pastor and venue.