ceremony and reception times

glammorazzi

Hi girls!So I am trying to figure out a timeline for the big day. If I have the ceremony at 2pm and a reception starting at 6, is that too much time in between? I figured about a half hour for the ceremony, pictures after at the church and at a different location, then arriving at the reception. I just don't want to be rushing around. I don't think we are having a cocktail hour because it is something that doesn't fall into the bugdet. Can someone give some advice?

KRHagen

Yeah, I would say that is WAY too long especially if you aren't having cocktails. I would consider taking pictures before hand and then going strait to the reception. As a guest I view anything more than and hour wait as really kind of inconsiderate.

Loveguru

Depends on how long your ceremony is. If its 45-60 min then having a receiving line and pics at church you'd get out of church round 3:30-4:00. Then you'd probably want to take a few min to freshen up, catch your breath, get something to drink then make your way to wherever it is your doing pics. Factor in travel time and time it will take to assemble wedding party to leave and while doing pics you have a good amount of time planned. If you want to move it up by a half hour that would be fine but I'd say no more.

collins.christine

I'm thinking our ceremony is going to be at 2:30 and the reception starting at 5:30-6. That's pretty typical for our area. Actually, it's a lot shorter than most weddings I've been to. The last wedding I was at was a 12:30 ceremony and the reception didn't start until 5:30. That was a little long. But it's the bride and groom's day, and they shouldn't have to rush through the most important day of their lives together just in fear of upsetting their guests. Most guests understand that taking pics and running around after the ceremony takes time.

bucky22

We're doing a 2:00 ceremony (hour long), then pictures between 3-5:30. Cocktails starting at 5:30. I think you might find its too much time even for you! Like the PP said, if it takes you until 3 to do ceremony/receiving line afterwards, you still have 3 hours to kill yourself before going to the reception. So, I'm guessing, even if you do two full hours of pictures, you're still going to have an hour to kill yourself (probably getting cocktails somewhere else). I would prefer to get the party started with everyone! Even if it means ending the reception an hour earlier. That being said, there are tons of 11:00 weddings. Those receptions don't typically start at 2 or even 3. You're guests will make do! If you're in Milwaukee, maybe arrange a Harley museum tour, Brewery tour, etc for guest to entertain themselves! (Not that you have to pay for it, if its out of budget... just offer it up as an option) Good luck!

SaraJR83

That is exactly my time line.... The ceremony is at 2, about 45min long, then the reception begins at 6. By the time the guest filter out of the church and we say our hellos and thank you for coming, then go back up to the front of the church for pictures I figure that will take a good 45 minutes... then we are getting on a bus to go to a few spots for pictures and possibly stopping for a drink. The time goes by faster than you think. My friend got married in september had ceremony at 2 and reception at 5:30 and we were rushing around. So I think those times would be just fine. That is actually the norm for the weddings I have been to. Don't worry about your guests, they will find something to do. I have many out of town guests and I have given them a list of things to do in the area and some are hanging out at local family members houses. It will be all good!

armst76

My ceremony is at 2:30, probably a 30 in ceremony.  Coctkail hour is starting at 5:30, dinner to follow.  FI doesn't want to see me before the ceremony so we will be busy with pictures after.  I'm attending a wedding this weekend that has a 12:30 ceremony and a 6:00 cocktail hour, I have no idea what we will do in between since its an 1.5 hours away from our house.

michelle142

Our ceremony was at 2:30PM, over by 3PM then we did the receiving line and most of our guests mingled outside while we were taking pictures at church (30 minutes drive time between church and reception) Cocktail Hour started at 4:30 - The WP went to take more pics, so we didn't get there until about 5:30PM Dinner was at 6PM You need to take your guests into consideration, not just your pictures. I would either try to start the ceremony later or try to figure out something for your guests to do during the gap. 4 hours is a pretty big gap, especially if your guests happen to be OOT.

michelle142

Also - we had about 1 hour and 45 minutes to take picstures after church. For us, this was MORE than enough time to get all the pics we wanted and many more. We ended up with over 800 pics just from our after church pics, not counting the ones from the reception. If you and your photog have a game plan, and your photog is good and setting up and managing the process, you should have pictures done in no time without feeling rushed.

Brewtowngrl

If you have too big of a gap your guests will not attend both ceremony and reception.  More then 3 hours from start of ceremony and start of reception is too long.  As pp said you need to think of your guests.  Skip the receiving line at church and the reception.  No one will miss it. Most will be thankful.  I promise.  It is better to make a point to mingle with your guests and thank them then.   the bride and groom usually finish dinner first.  I started to make my way around to all the tables saying hello and thanking my guests during that time.  Does your venue have a bar?  If it does you can give yourself a little extra time.  And really no cocktail hour?  Even a call cocktail hour?  I would seriously be upset if I could not get a drink before the reception dinner.

runnrgurl

Our ceremony is at 1 and our reception will not start until 5:30. However, my parents (in a family custom) are having ceremony guests to their home for beverages/food in between. I also didn't want to be rushed around...

michelle142

I know some people frown upon this, but if a cocktail hour is not in the budget, you could at least offer a cash bar with some free appetizers? That way your guests have something to do during the gap. Or maybe have a cocktail hour, but only offer free beer, soda & wine. Work with your venue, you should be able to come up with some solution.

glammorazzi

what is a call cocktail hour? The venue does have a bar...

glammorazzi

I like the idea of still having a cocktail hour with offering free beer, soda and wine. I didn't think of that. What about this: ceremony 2PM (30 min)pictures at church (no receiving line) until 3:30PMpictures elsewhere until 4:30PMcocktail hour: 5PM-6PMreception: 6PM-11PM

michelle142

That's a little better, but there's still a 2.5 hour gap. Unless I was local, I would probably skip the ceremony and just go to the reception. If I were you, I would call your reception venue to see what cocktail hour offerings they have. Every place is different. Is your 2PM ceremony time set in stone?

Brewtowngrl

Call = your guests pay for their cocktail. Better, but you have allocated a lot of time for pics. I would try and push back ceremony to 2:30-3. I know a lot of catholic churches want the ceremony done either though.

Backpackers

If people skip the ceremony and just go to the reception just because they have to wait, then they don't really care about you. I think that timeline (the revised one you posted) sounds good. It's Milwaukee. There's lots of stuff to do. I was just at a wedding last weekend in Madison and we had 2 hours to kill so we went for a walk, then went to a barand got a drink and just sat and talked. Don't lose out on pictures just because you're afraid your guests will be bored. They will be fine.

September 2010 Bride

Like most people are saying, keep you guest in mind otherwise not a lot of people will go to the ceremony, only the reception.  I would try to push the ceremony time forward atleast another half hour to cut down on the down time for your guest.Also most guest are resourceful and can find something to do in between.  For weddings I have attended most guests just go to a near by bar in between and have a couple drinks or even light appetizers.  I really all depends on your guests.

glammorazzi

I like the revised timeline that I put up too. I don't really want to push my ceremony back a half hour because it is going to take time for people to leave the church which means making more time for pictures to get started also. I have to figure in a drive time to get to another picture location and to get everyone set up there plus figure in drive time to the reception. I kind of want a little breathing room with no rush. Everyone that we are inviting are from the Milwaukee area and everyone is familiar with it. If some people want to go home then most of them can.Thank you for all of the responses!! This is really helping me!

KRHagen

Maybe this will help.....here is our time line We took into consideration both ourselves and our guest. We also understand that no matter how much time you allot you will ALWAYS feel rushed and be pressed for time. Grooms family and attendant pictures - 1 to 2:15pm Brides family and attendant pictures 2:45 to 4:15pm Ceremony - 5pm (30 min) Cocktail Hour - 6 to 7:15pm Joint family pictures - 5:45 to 6:15pm Additional pictures 6:15 to 7:15pm Dinner 7:30pm and do table visits

jen052284

Most weddings that I have been to have had a large gap in time between the ceremony and reception. I have always been able to find things to do even if I was out of town. It is your day so do what feels right for you. Your guests should understand.

Saraevh

I agree with most people.  Big gap of time = a pain for your guests.  I've been to weddings where the ceremony was at 1pm and the cocktail hour started at 5 and it was obnoxious.  I've also been part of a wedding party with this kind of a gap and all we did was drink for 4 hours before arriving at the reception.  Everyone was so drunk by the time we got there it was flat out ridiculous.  This is what we did for our wedding:  3:00pm ceremony that was over by 3:30ishReceiving line until 4:00pm  5:00pm cocktail hour with appetizers and booze  6:00pm dinner  We had an hour for guests to putz around, which I feel is the limit.  This gave us about an hour and a half for pictures.  It was the perfect amount of time, and really kept things moving.

jaclynfallin

Wow, some of the posts have me re-thinking my timeline too.  We have the ceremony starting at 1:00, reception at 5:00, so similar gap to yours glammorazzi.  I am ordering the invitations soon, so I need to figure this out.Our reception is at the Memorial Union, only 2 miles from the ceremony venue, First Unitarian Society.  The problem is that we need to be out of the ceremony venue by 3:00 and I have been warned not to push the ceremony time past 1:00 so as to allow time for the receiving line, cleaning the room out, getting all the cars moved, etc. by 3:00.For the reception, we are planning on:5-6 cocktails6:00 dinner start7:30-11:30 DanceI may be able to move the cocktails up to 4:30, I meet with the caterer soon, so I'll find out.  The Memorial Union has the wonderful terrace on the lake where my guests can hang out, have a snack and a drink...I'm just worried about them having too much fun before the reception, but I guess that is out of my hands regardless.

jaclynfallin

Another thing to consider is that if you want a smaller, more intimate ceremony, this longer gap between may give you that as previous posts suggest.  We are only inviting family and close friends to the ceremony, so I am not as worried about keeping a lot of people happy with the timing.

mrspgabriel

Here's my timeline: (I'm getting married on NYE this year) Ceremony 1pm (long, catholic ceremony, well over an hour) Cocktail Hour 5-6pm Sitting for dinner 6pm Reception ends at 1am I realize there is a long gap between the ceremony and the cocktail hour.  I originally had the ceremony at 2pm but I heard so many worries about a winter wedding in WI that I decided to give extra time.  I'm sure the ceremony won't start on time.  My reception venue is typically 25-30 minutes from church and over half our guest list is staying at the hotel so we wanted to give people plenty of time to travel to the hotel, get checked in, freshen up, and make it to the cocktail hour.  It's an added bonus that we get more time for pictures.