Time between ceremony and reception...

rachelaedwards

I need some opinions..

My Church can only accomodate a 1:30PM mass.  It is a full mass that will conclude at 2:40PM.  The church is in Canton, MA - and the reception is in Providence.  The cocktail hour is set to start at 5PM.  My wedding is in December - so for me the time between is perfect - since it gets dark at 4:30 I figure I will have 2 solid hours of daylight for great pictures.

As for my guests - once they leave Canton at 2:45 - it is about a 40 minute drive to Providence - which brings them there around 3:30.  SO that leaves then with 1.5 hours to kill....I felt really bad about this initially - but really there are no other options on moving the ceremony.  I am doing a hotel block at Biltmore - so some guests can go check into there room, grab a drink etc before heading to the reception.  Many of my guests are Local and will most likely go to a bar for a drink or even stop home if they wanted.

Do you ladies think this is absolutely horrible?!  Any ideas?

i2012do

NO i don't think its horrible this happens to a lot of people actually, and guests just "figure it out"
Our ceremony ends around 4:00 and our cocktail hour doesnt start until 6:00
Not everyone is staying at hte hotel, but enough peoople are that if people want to go back there they can, and if not, everone else can do what htey want. Take a drive by the water, go for a drink (which i assume most will do ) or maybe grab a coffee or something.

You can't really worry about it, people are adults and will figure it out.

My girlfriens mass eneded at 3 pm in providence and her reception at quidnessett started at 430, so we had an awkawrd 45 minutes to kill. We ran an errand at CVS then just went and grabbed a coffee and sat in the air conditioned car. We got to the reception a few minutes early and sat outside and chatted w friends.

Edit: I wanted to say there s plenty of things to do in providence. I would just make sure ot write things up on your website. Perhaps suggest a stoll at Waterplace park, a drink at jackies or at the biltmore, and a stroll around thayer street. Guests will find things to do if they know the area

i2012do

Don't forget, you never know what traffic might happen on 95, so even if you plan on 40 minutes, it might take some people closer to an hour dpending on how fast they drive and what traffic they hit

LOMLBOAT

I agree w/ i2012do, this is happening more and more that there is a good chunk of time inbetween ceremony and reception.  My mom was horrified in the beginning and said we had to have them back to back with only a short time in between for the commute, but that doesn't work for OUR time schedule, so she got overruled.

I am having a 2:30 full Mass in Providence and the cocktail hour doesn't start until 6 in Newport.  So I'm giving people a little under 2 hours to either go home (85% of the guests are local) or grab a drink, check into a hotel (if staying over) or just hang around Newport.

I went to a wedding with 3 hours in between and that was after we made the drive from the Church to the reception.  We went to a local bar and just had some beer and hung out, it was like a pre-cocktail hour.

ghowlett

I don't see any problem with that.  I actually prefer when church weddings have a gap like that, so I have time to go home & change and don't have to wear a cocktail dress & heels to a church.  And you're right, there's plenty of places for them to go in Providence to spend an hour or so.

RoyalOrient

I had a two hour gap in between our traditional Cambodian ceremony (which was 4 hours long) and our Western ceremony/reception. Most of our guests went to the hotel for drinks, changed into party attire, or just rested like my uncle took a nap at the hotel. Our local guests also went to the hotel bar and some went early to the reception to take pictures on the beach. Most guests figure out something to do on their down time. Also, there was a good 25 minute commute between the two places.

dberrett

Yup, agree with PP, you're totally fine. You can't bank on traffic, so more time is better than less. You might consider posting ideas for stuff to do and directions on your website like a PP said. We also created little information packets that we put in a little basket at the ceremony. It had a map, directions, and a list of some bars or other things to do closer to the reception location. They were all taken!

Mandafly84

Just chiming in to say I agree with PPs.  Don't worry about having a "gap."  I've been to VERY few weddings that didn't have a gap!  And I've NEVER been to a wedding with a religious ceremony that didn't have a gap.  You're fine.

tiffad

For what it's worth I also agree with PPs. It's actually much nicer having a little time inbetween for those last minute errands. Also, like 2012 pointed out you never know what 95 is actually going to be like.

HeatherR45

I agree with 2012 too, you could make up a list of things to do in Providence, or nearby bars to go to since people might not want to walk around outside depending on the weather.

jmorta04

No worries about this.  Your guests will figure it out.  I had a 2 pm ceremony with a 6 pm cocktail hour.  Some guests went back to the hotel (which was our venue) and had some food or drinks, a few of the local people got together at someone's house, and a few went out to a restaurant.  I didn't hear one complaint and my family will speak up if something bothers them!  Actually, many people told me they loved the extra time to hang out together.  My family "took over" the bar at McCormick and Schmicks in between the ceremony and reception!  I also gave a list of restaurants and things to do in my OOT boxes and some people used that list to help them find things to do.