What time should the ceremony start?

kag0215

The reception cocktail hour starts at 5:30 and it takes about 5 minutes to get there from the church. The ceremony will take about 30 minutes, and we are not doing pictures before the ceremony. My mom thinks 3:30, but FMIL thinks that's too long of a gap. The reception coordinator suggested having half sheets of papers with a list of places that people can go during the gap. I don't know I just want enough time to take pictures at the church and (cross your fingers) outside at our reception site, but I don't want to be rude to the out of town guests that aren't familliar with the area. Help!

viewfromheaven05

If you're done by 4:30, that will give you an hour or more for photos.  Even if it cuts into your cocktail hour you'll be fine!

CHarley2B

I have a huge gap. I think that you have to do what you feel comfortable with. I didn't want to feel rushed or stressed out during the day and I didn't want to worry about if something running late and throwing off a tight timeframe. I think you should just do what the coordinator suggested and give your out of town guests some options of things to do.

Musicheals71

I'm doing all formal pics BEFORE the ceremony so that I can actually enjoy my cocktail hour!

demarcosjd

I would suggest 3:30pm. We had a good amount of time in between ours and I am so glad we did and didn't try to cram things back to back. If you are taking pictures with your whole BP after you need that time. There are a lot of other things to take into consideration also, like depending if you are doing a receiving line after the ceremony, leaving time just in case something happens and you don't start your ceremony right on time. That extra bit of time can really come in handy on the day of and eliminate any unnecessary stress. The last thing we wanted to do on our wedding day was rush around. Your guests will find things to keep them occupied.