Time between church and reception

rodriguezleah

If my church is at 4:00 in Our Lady of fatima church in queens ny and the reception starts cocktail hour at 7:30 in Leonard's of great neck in Long Island is that enough time in between to go to the queens botanical garden to take pictures? And my wedding is on April 12, 2013 on a Friday and each place is about 15 minutes away from each other HELP!

maggieandrey

If your question/ concern is about traffic on Friday, I'd try your local board. 

If it's for the gap, I think that's more than enough time for your pictures, but i would be concerned about what your guests are going to do for 2.5 hours while you're taking pictures.

bibliophile2010

Assuming the Botanical Gardens are not too far from either the church or the reception venue, I would agree that there is time for pictures. If you're having a mass, it will be over at 5:00 or 5:15 depending on things like how long the readings are, how long the songs are, how long the priest's homily is, how many guests receive communion, etc.

I also wonder about the guest situation, especially since many of them will have taken a day (or half-day) off of work to be at a 4pm wedding. I know gaps are common in some circles, but to me, it seems avoidable on a Friday.

Calypso1977

i dont live in NY, but i would imagine that traffic on a friday night going out of the city to long island would be pretty bad.  they may actually need the whole 2.5 hours to get out there.  i sort of equate it to traffic coming out of Boston headed to the Cape.  your wedding will get out right at rush hour.

is finding a church on long island, closer to the reception site an option at this late date?

Riss91

Well the gardens are on the way to the reception hall, so that is working in your favor. But, the LIE (Long Island Expressway) on a Friday night is bound to be horrendous. I would contact your transportation vendor and ask their thoughts as they would likely have some experience with that traffic.

I would also, as pp suggested, come up with something for your guests to do in-between because that gap might be pretty long.

I've been to evening weddings in Brooklyn and it has taken me an hour to go 10 miles. It might be better for you to try and do those pictures before the ceremony. Also - keep in mind when the sun will set - you might not have enough daylight for outdoor pictures after the ceremony.

Mbecker912

your cutting it really close because weddings usually dont start right on time and you are going to want to take pictures at the church so that will take time not to mention friday noght traffic on the LIE 

Mbecker912

your cutting it really close because weddings usually dont start right on time and you are going to want to take pictures at the church so that will take time not to mention friday noght traffic on the LIE 

professorscience

I think the bottom line is that you need to be willing to let go of taking pictures at the alternate location if it turns out that it just can't happen.

In Dallas, a lot of couples do "Day After" shots where the bride and groom get dressed up again (not necessarily on the exact day after the wedding) and get more shots of just the two of them, so maybe you could do that at the botanical garden on a later date?  I know it would exclude your WP, but you would get gorgeous pictures of the two of you and not be pressed for time on your wedding day.