HI, my ceremony and reception are in the same location.
We are planning to have the reception directly after the ceremony. (cocktails and hor d'ouevres right away)
The hall suggested we have a small gap in between. (around 15-20min) They want to be able to switch things over more easily. (the ceremony is in the lobby area)
I wasn't planning on a gap at all. Before or after the ceremony an announcement would be made that following the ceremony people would be welcome to enter the main dining hall where hors d'ouevres and drinks would be available at 5pm. (people could enter the main dining hall and find their seats and rest their stuff down, go freshen up, smokers could go outside) The hall basically just doesn't want most people to stay in the lobby. (no strict policy but it would m ake the take-down easier)
Our ceremony would start 4:15pm and end about 4:45pm. The hors d'oeuvres and cocktails start at 5pm. This leaves 15 minutes of extra time. Is it ok to have a 15 minute amount of time following the ceremony where people are on their own. (as in nothing is planned)
I am in the process of figuring this out. I aim to make this as guest friendly as possible.
EDITED for spelling