Torn with ceremony decisions, help me see the light!

HaylyAmber

Good morning everyone!  Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.  My fiance and I are having a very laid-back, non-traditional wedding luncheon at a cute bistro near the beach, about 70 people.  I had a few ideas for the ceremony and I want to keep things simple.  So here goes.  Tell me what you guys think... pros, cons, everything.

We only have four hours at the restaurant, from 12p to 4p.  The restaurant has a small garden with an arbor and gazebo in the back, but they won't let us come any earlier to do the ceremony.  Here is what I'm thinking: mimosas when the guests arrive (they have a mimosa fountain, cool right?), and then ceremony at 12:30 in the garden (probably 20 minutes tops, just a quick reading and exchange of vows).  I'm just concerned that 3 hours for lunch, cake, family time is not enough?  

My other thought was a ceremony on the beach a bit earlier because then I could get my photographer to take some nice photos but then I'd be asking 30-35 couples to find parking in mid-June near the beach in NJ at 11 am, walking through sand, etc.  If we do the ceremony at the venue, I don't get the great photo opportunities as we would have at the beach...  I'm torn.  Plus if we did a beach ceremony, we are only allowed a half hour prior to the reception to set up centerpieces and decorations (which will be minimal, but I don't want to be stressed out)

Helpppp!

artbyallie

Three hours is plenty. I had a lunch reception as well. The ceremony was at 11. Practically everyone was gone by 3, so we went home and took a nap before setting out on our honeymoon.

princess pop

Your bistro idea seems really nice and peaceful. I'd go for it. Mimosa bar sounds fab!

Jen4948

I like the bistro idea.  Best wishes!

mcda04

Can you do a first look session in the beach?

3 hours is plenty of time especially since it's at a restaurant and I'm assuming there will be no dancing.

AddieCake

Plenty of time. Our lunch reception only lasted about 3 hours, and that was perfect.

HaylyAmber

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_torn-with-ceremony-decisions-help-me-see-the-light?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:4e080661-164c-4295-ad3c-f09262e27a24Post:2413c3a4-f324-452b-bfa4-a17be1b9c11e">Re: Torn with ceremony decisions, help me see the light!</a>:
[QUOTE]Can you do a first look session in the beach? 3 hours is plenty of time especially since it's at a restaurant and I'm assuming there will be no dancing.
Posted by mcda04[/QUOTE]

<div>We could do a first look, I sort of thought about doing that too... I just wanted to have enough time to set up at the restaurant.  I'm trying to keep everything as minimally stressful as possible <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" /></div>

HaylyAmber

Thank you for your help, everyone.  I feel much more at ease now!

daveANDkristen

I think you're plan sounds fine.  If you want to stretch the reception a bit longer though, why not start the ceremony at noon?  Then move right into the reception at 12:20-12:30, end the reception at 4, and then head to the beach for photos.

kaos16

The other thing to keep in mind, if you choose to do the beach ceremony you will need seating for everyone at the beach location.  That's an additional matter someone will have to deal with organizing, and possibly setting up and taking down.

Ladies correct me if i'm wrong, but I feel like as a whole, midday weddings tend to be shorter than evening weddings.  That would make me think your timeframe is just fine.

Perhaps they can have a welcome mimosa handed out as people enter and make their way to their seat for the ceremony instead of taking a half hour ahead of time for drinks.  That's similar to what we had at my venue.  It was called a champagne greeting.  It's highly inlikely that everyone will show up at exactly the same time, so as they filtered in they were given a glass of champagne, mingled for a moment or two and made their way to their seats.  Worked out nicely.

Lastly, while I don't advocate making others help with wedding set up. . . . if someone asks what they can do or offers to help, maybe hand over the placing of centerpieces on tables to that person.  It could save you some stress!

HaylyAmber

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_torn-with-ceremony-decisions-help-me-see-the-light?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:4e080661-164c-4295-ad3c-f09262e27a24Post:02e3f82d-a954-46c9-82cb-66e55ca4697f">Re: Torn with ceremony decisions, help me see the light!</a>:
[QUOTE]The other thing to keep in mind, if you choose to do the beach ceremony you will need seating for everyone at the beach location.  That's an additional matter someone will have to deal with organizing, and possibly setting up and taking down. Ladies correct me if i'm wrong, but I feel like as a whole, midday weddings tend to be shorter than evening weddings.  That would make me think your timeframe is just fine. Perhaps they can have a welcome mimosa handed out as people enter and make their way to their seat for the ceremony instead of taking a half hour ahead of time for drinks.  That's similar to what we had at my venue.  It was called a champagne greeting.  It's highly inlikely that everyone will show up at exactly the same time, so as they filtered in they were given a glass of champagne, mingled for a moment or two and made their way to their seats.  Worked out nicely. Lastly, while I don't advocate making others help with wedding set up. . . . if someone asks what they can do or offers to help, maybe hand over the placing of centerpieces on tables to that person.  It could save you some stress!
Posted by kaos16[/QUOTE]

<div>Good idea with the mimosas, that's sort of what I was going for but my thought process was that if I started the ceremony right at noon that people would be coming in while it was going on.  Maybe quarter after would work.</div>

daveANDkristen

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_torn-with-ceremony-decisions-help-me-see-the-light?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:10Discussion:4e080661-164c-4295-ad3c-f09262e27a24Post:c648772c-2b59-43e3-8f6d-4a5fc1f31686">Re: Torn with ceremony decisions, help me see the light!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Torn with ceremony decisions, help me see the light! : Good idea with the mimosas, that's sort of what I was going for but my thought process was that if I started the ceremony right at noon that people would be coming in while it was going on.  Maybe quarter after would work.
Posted by HaylyAmber[/QUOTE]



Guests are expected to arrive on time, and it would be rude to start your ceremony after the printed time to accommodate late comers. Make sure your invites say 12:15 if the ceremony is to start at 12:15.

sarah_goodrum

I understand not wanting people to be coming in once the ceremony has started - no mater how laid back it is, and PP Daveandkristen is quite right, you don't want to start the ceremony after the time printed on the invitation to accommodate late comers. At the same time, you don't want the vast majority of guests to arrive while you're still setting up - 12:15 seems like the ideal compromise - it gives you enough time in the restaurant to get set up before guests arrive, a little time for mimosas and guests to get settled and plenty of time after for lunch. Be sure to talk to your photographer in advance if you think you might want to go to the beach after for photos - he/she may charge extra for going over time or changing locations, especially if its last minute, or he/she might need to be going to another wedding later that day and extra time might not even be an option.