What to do with guests between ceremony & reception?

CootBride · April 2011

I'm getting married at my church, which is pretty small. We can have the ceremony & reception there, but the whole church is just one room...so my question is, what do I do with all of the guests between gigs while some people tear down the ceremony chairs and set up tables and chairs for the reception? Do I try to push them somewhere else, have them watch us deconstruct & reconstruct the space, or is that tacky? Any ideas?

aerinpegadrak · April 2011

If there's somewhere for your guests to go for refreshments, then they can go there while the room gets flipped. Otherwise, just have them sit at their reception tables for the ceremony. It's quite common, and lets you go straight from ceremony to reception.

dparisi · April 2011

You could put some refreshments outside depending on the time of year, but I think that PP had the best idea, just set up the room for the reception and people will sit at their tables for the ceremony.

MyNameIsNot · April 2011

If the weather will cooporate, I'd do a cocktail (or "cocktail") hour outside. You could do a tent if it's iffy. Give people a chance to mingle and have some refreshments, and then bring them back in when the room is flipped and you're ready for the main event.

sklink0486 · April 2011

I agree with aerin. I've been to a wedding where they tried to flip the room and we basically got pushed against the wall and/or random spaces and had to stand for about 30 min, watch them flip it, and try to get over to the hourdearves table. We would have been much more comfortable sitting at reception tables during that time- no flip.

mary9449 · April 2011

Ditto, PP. Set up some refreshments outside while the changes are being made. As a guest (depending of the time of year, of course) I would love to step outside for a little bit. It would be a nice breather and would break up being in the same space for a length of time. Good luck.

trinabrie · April 2011

I am getting married in two weeks and don't know what to do with the guest between the ceremony which starts @ 10.45am and the reception which starts at 12pm. The two locations are within walking distance of each other <5mins. Ideas?

Audrey&Austin · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guests-between-ceremony-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:6025cc00-1a26-48eb-bc2e-405f65326168Post:4ab907ac-fb32-4054-9ce4-3f04ad7b4bef">Re: What to do with guests between ceremony & reception?</a>:
[QUOTE]I am getting married in two weeks and don't know what to do with the guest between the ceremony which starts @ 10.45am and the reception which starts at 12pm. The two locations are within walking distance of each other <5mins. Ideas?
Posted by trinabrie[/QUOTE]
You should not have had a large gap in the first place, and with two weeks it would be pretty much impossible to book something for the guests to do during said gap.

MairePoppy · April 2011

@trina-your gap is less than 1 hour, probably closer to 45 minutes. Have a reception line after the ceremony. That will close the gap a bit more. Ask the banquet manager if she will allow the early arrivals into the reception venue to find their tables.

aerinpegadrak · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guests-between-ceremony-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:6025cc00-1a26-48eb-bc2e-405f65326168Post:4ab907ac-fb32-4054-9ce4-3f04ad7b4bef">Re: What to do with guests between ceremony & reception?</a>:
[QUOTE]I am getting married in two weeks and don't know what to do with the guest between the ceremony which starts @ 10.45am and the reception which starts at 12pm. The two locations are within walking distance of each other <5mins. Ideas?
Posted by trinabrie[/QUOTE]
That's what a cocktail hour is for. If the reception is scheduled to start right at 12:00, then provide some light refreshments (despite the name, booze is not required, though always appreciated) while people are mingling and finding their seats.