Cocktail hour before ceremony?

emilynt11

I am planning an outdoor wedding at 6:00 PM, with a meal and dance to follow (until 11:30).  The dinner and dance are in the same location (just inside a building).  I would still like to have all the traditional things such as cake cutting, garter/bouquet toss, etc.  I am worried about having enough time for everyone to be able to eat, as well as socialize without rushing everyone before the dance.  I am anticipating a fairly large amount of people (200-250ish).  I was thinking about having a cocktail/social hour before the ceremony began, maybe like 4:30-5:30 so people would be able to socialize before the ceremony.  We would also be taking pictures during this time as well.  I just wondered if anyone had been to a wedding like this, or what thoughts were?  I also wondered how I would word all of this on the invites?  Opinions please!

SarahPLiz

A friend of a friend did this. THeir wedding was outdoors in July in Texas, so they served lemonade (virgin and otherwise) to their guests, so they could stay cool during the ceremony. Their guests really appreciated the cool drink.

jules0505

I'm getting married on 9.25.10 and have a similar timeline. My cocktail hour is more for keeping my wedding party entertained while we take pictures. I'm debating on whether to invite the entire guest list to the cocktail hour or just the wedding party and their families. My wedding is at my Dad's farm, so I anticipate that there will be a lot of other family hanging around that day.

If I decide to invite the entire guest list to the cocktail hour, I'm going to mention it on the "Reception" card which might turn into more of a timeline of events.

Good luck! I'm interested to see other opinions.

danieliza1127

I don't see any probem with the cocktails before the ceremony, but I also don't think it's necessary.

We had a 6pm ceremony, cocktail hour 6:30-7:30, reception 7:30-midnight and it was more than enough time to do all of the tradition reception stuff.  You'll have plenty of time to do your special dances and cut the cake and all and still have plenty of dancing. 

danieliza1127

Also, "the dance" is not a separate part of your reception.  It is your reception.  The DJ will play background music all evening long and after dinner, he'll likely switch to more upbeat stuff so people can get up and dance whenever they're ready.  It's not like you'll suddenly stand up and say "okay everyone, now it's the dance part, everyone dance!"  The people who want to dance will do it when the music is right.

amagwire

I don't think you need to worry about letting guests know that there will be cocktail hour, dinner and dancing. It's sort of standard.  My only suggestion would be on the invitation to say whatever you want about the ceremony and then "dinner and dancing to follow", or something equally as simple.  It's not necessary to give a timeline. People generally know what happens at weddings, especially since you say you want a very traditional reception.