We plan on renting an activity center in our town to host 200-250 people on a Saturday night Summer/Fall 2015. We've been engaged for almost 2 years now and are finally ready to get this show on the road. I've been to only one wedding (when I was in middle school) where the ceremony and reception were in the same room but they were separated by a curtain. The center we plan on renting has a small "stage" (just a platform that's one step up - wide enough to hold a traditional head table which receptions at this space often do) in the front corner of the room where we would perform the ceremony while guests are already seated at their dinner tables.
I guess I just wonder how others have gone about having their ceremony and reception together. If we start the ceremony at 4:30 and plan on taking most if not all pictures beforehand, should we begin dinner (buffet style) right at 5? If that would be the case, should we start the ceremony at 5:30 instead?
Any and all opinions are welcome! I'm in my early 20s and have only attended a few weddings in my adult life so any direction is truly appreciated!