Time between Ceremony and Reception

shanonmcdowell

Hey Ladies,
Need some advice - our catholic church ceremony is at noon, I couldn't get the later one it was taken
So when should the reception begin? Is 5pm too late? We are not doing a full mass b/c I am not Catholic so the ceremony is only going to be like a half hour, then photos there etc. we hsould be out of there by 1:30pm-ish, then we are gonna go to the Camden waterfront to take some photos, then be at the reception site by 3:30pm-ish to take some more photos there (Collingswood Grand Ballroom). Then Cocktail hour starts at 5pm. I have rooms blocked out at the Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill, so I figured guests can check-in grab a light lunch if they want, chill out for a little bit, change outfits if they wanted then come to the reception.
What do you all think - is that too much time in between?

chrisa91011

We have about the same amount of time in between ours. Our ceremony is at 2pm (we our doing the full mass) so we figure we will be done by 3 and then our reception is at 5. I have gone to a few weddings this year so far and still have two more to go and they all seem to have a good amount of time in between the ceremony and reception. Everyone always seems to find something to do!

CHarley2B

I am in a similar situation. My ceremony is going to be at 2pm and the reception starts at 6pm. I just didn't want to feel rushed or have to worry about time so I felt like the gap would give people time to get to the reception and give us a little time to take everything in. I know the gap isn't traditional but it works for us.

JuJuBee541

Reading the posts here actually made me feel better about my own situation!! Our slot for the chapel is for 12-130, but our cocktail hour doesn't start until 5pm... but I wanted to give ourselves enough time to take plenty of pics without being rushed, as well as with enough travel time to make it back to the hotel/ballroom (our venue is approx 20-30 min from the chapel)... to relax for a little while, and not miss a minute of our cocktail hour!  I have been telling my FI that this gap is fairly common, but I know he's still not quite as comfy with the idea!  But I think it's fine, and I've been to many weddings with similar time gaps, so I'm not worried, and you shouldn't worry either!

shanonmcdowell

Thanks Ladies! I feel better about the gap! Our wedding party is gigantic so it'll probably take time to gather them all up during photos, etc. as well. So I think the time will go by fast for us anyway.

njgal26

What we did to help give people ideas, especially OOTs, was include a little "pamphlet" with directions to and from the church and reception site, along with local places to go to for meals.  This not only helped people that stayed over night know where to grab breakfast the next day, but it also helped people to find places to go to after the ceremony while waiting for the cocktail hour to being at our reception site. 

shanonmcdowell

Great idea njgal26! Did you include that in the overnight guests bags at check-in? Or with the invitation?

njgal26

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_south-new-jersey_time-between-ceremony-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:128Discussion:e45afdc2-f6eb-4577-93c1-877199d33e19Post:96c62cbc-9298-43e9-a8c3-93b9f47345ed">Re: Time between Ceremony and Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]Great idea njgal26! Did you include that in the overnight guests bags at check-in? Or with the invitation?
Posted by shanonmcdowell[/QUOTE]


We included it with all of the invitations b/c though alot of our guests were from NJ, some weren't really familiar with the area of our reception site and it helped a few of them to find a local pub that we had listed.  Plus we printed it out on colored copy paper so it was light enough to not alter the weight of the invitations!

Crys&Bri

Shanon-  Off topic, but did you have to do anything (permits, etc.) to have pics taken at the camden waterfront?  We were supposed to have ours done at Citizens Bank ballpark, but that fell through.   Now we are looking into other options and I think the waterfront is really pretty, but I wasn't sure if there was anything that I had to do.  ANy info. would be great!  Thanks!

shanonmcdowell

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_south-new-jersey_time-between-ceremony-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:128Discussion:e45afdc2-f6eb-4577-93c1-877199d33e19Post:4351aaa7-d8a9-41be-aa02-83a3cf6b257b">Re: Time between Ceremony and Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]Shanon-  Off topic, but did you have to do anything (permits, etc.) to have pics taken at the camden waterfront?  We were supposed to have ours done at Citizens Bank ballpark, but that fell through.   Now we are looking into other options and I think the waterfront is really pretty, but I wasn't sure if there was anything that I had to do.  ANy info. would be great!  Thanks!
Posted by Crys&Bri[/QUOTE]

Hmmmmm, good question. I haven't looked into it yet, but I was assuming you didn't need one, as it is mostly the river and skyline, no commercial or artistic trademarking, but I will make sure. I will let you know!
I am kinda new to the area and couldn't think of any othere places i.e. parks etc. to take photos. Any other suggestions? So far the waterfront seems to be my favorite.

lmparlett

Our ceremony was at 2, and cocktails started at 6. The gap was not bad at all, because our ceremony was at the shore and recept was in Voorhees.  It gave us plenty of time for pictures and travel.  Many of our guests either went home, or went to a bar in between.  Everyone seemed fine with the gap.