1:30 or 6:30 ceremony start?

MattMegMarriage

Hi all!

My fiance and I are planning a Catholic wedding in Kansas City. All of our guests will be traveling from either Chicago or St. Louis. 

Our church offers wedding ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Which is the better choice? We are not having a full Mass; only a ceremony. We do not have a designated reception start time. We plan to have a cocktail hour and sit-down dinner with dancing.

If 1:30: It would allow plenty of time between the wedding and reception for pictures, freshening up. We could provide suggested activities for our guests to fill the time in between. However, the time gap could be annoying to guests.

If 6:30: The wedding party could take photos before the ceremony. Plus, this would give guests traveling the day of some time to get to KC and get ready for the wedding. However, would a 6:30 ceremony be too late?  

Thanks in advance for your insights!

MairePoppy

Please, don't inconvenience and annoy your guests with a gap between the ceremony and reception. If you absolutely must have a gap, you should host something for your guests during that time - rent a hospitality suite at the hotel they are using and serve soft drinks and light refreshments. Giving your guests a list of suggested activities is not an acceptable substitute for hosting.

With the options  you have given, I would prefer the 6:30 ceremony, followed immediately by cocktail hour and reception.

DramaGeek

If you're having a dinner reception in the evening, then you need to go with the 6:30 time.  If you choose the 1:30 time, you'll need to have an afternoon reception.

TheVirginians

6:30 so there is no gap.

Avion22

Definitely 6:30.

HobokensFury

I hate the Catholic gap. Got for 6:30.

artbyallie

You say you don't have a set start time for your reception, yet you're clearly planning to have it in the evening regardless of when your ceremony is. That being the case, the only choice is 6:30. Gaps suck. Your guests need to be able to go straight from ceremony to cocktail hour.

AdeleDazeem

6:30pm without question.

It's not good hosting to have a ceremony followed by hours of pictures that leave your guests wandering around doing nothing.  A wedding is one event from start to finish so if you want an evening reception, you need to have an evening ceremony.

kipnus

6:30pm.

NOLAbridealmost

Definitely 6:30.  That's not too late at all! That's when our wedding started.