11 o'clock ceremony?!

CJPJ2011

Hey girls! I wanted some fellow knottie advice about the time you're planning to have your wedding ceremony and/or the times of day that are most common for ceremonies to begin. FI and I have been planning all along for a noon wedding, but have run into quite a problem with our ceremony location.

Basically, the church I'm a member of (where we considered having the ceremony) has recently condemned the chapel because of the presence of asbestos, leaving us to search for another location. We've already booked our reception at Primrose Cottage in Roswell, and have been trying (without much luck) to find a church within a close proximity to the reception site. We've got Primrose booked from 12 to 5, and we were originally planning to book a church within walking distance to the reception (there are 3 on the same street as Primrose). We figured even if the ceremony started at noon our guests would be arriving to the reception no later than 12:30, so (to make a longer story short) we didn't see a need to have the ceremony any earlier than 12 o'clock so long as the ceremony and reception venues were close enough to eliminate extensive travel time between the two. Unfortunately, things have not ended up as we were anticipating and it looks as though all 3 of those churches will be unable to accommodate us. We have found a couple of churches that could work, except that they're at least 25 to 30 minutes from Primrose. I should also mention that we can have the wedding ceremony at Primrose, but this is really a last LAST resort as it is much more meaningful for us to have our ceremony in a church. So, I wanted to see what yall would recommend if you found yourself in a similar situation. Would you consider having a wedding ceremony any earlier than noon to allot for additional travel time from ceremony to reception (to keep from loosing almost two hours at a reception venue that you've already booked)? Or would you forget having the ceremony at a church entirely, and just book the ceremony at Primrose as well??

Sorry to write a novel, and thanks in advance for any advice or input you may have!!

mallory319

I think that would be fine.  I am having an afternoon wedding at The Atrium, so I'm doing that 12-5 thing too (although I'm having both wedding & reception there).  I think you should just consider travel time for your guests to meet the 11am time - but I wouldn't think it would be a problem!

pokepoke27

There isn't really a problem with an 11 am ceremony.
Personally I prefer the convenience of the ceremony/reception in one place, but if it's more meaningful to have it in a church then by all means find one in your area. Although I do have one question: Why is it so meaningful to have it in just any church? I could definitely understand wanting to get married in YOUR church, but isn't a church that you don't attened just as much a building as your reception site?
I hope I don't come across as rude, it's a genuine question from someone that isn't very religious trying to understand the sentiment behind your preference.
Good luck!!

CJPJ2011

Thanks so much for the advice! I was really concerned that most of our guests would be irritated that they had to be at a wedding so early in the day, but it sounds like an 11 o'clock ceremony may not be such a bad idea after all.

About having the ceremony in a church that we don't regularly attend. I absolutely understand what you're trying to say...and actually, a number of churches seem to be weary of this as well and, as a result, have decided that they will not accommodate non-member weddings in their facility. For us personally, we see a wedding as both a commitment to each other and to the relationship that we share with Christ. Our belief is that the ceremony should be very spiritual in nature and is, in and of itself, a service of worship that should be entered into in the presence of God. While I suppose there is no hard and fast rule that says a Christian HAS to be married in a Church (sorry if that is the way it came across in my initial post), the spiritual experience and presence that is found in a place of worship, even if it isn't your church home, is what FI and I are looking for on our wedding day.

Hope that explains our preference a bit more clearly. Thanks again for the advice and best of luck with your wedding plans:)

winter443

If you're able to find a church that isn't too far I say go with the 11am ceremony time.  It is a bit early, but not that bad, and I understand your reasoning for wanting to have your ceremony at a church.

If you can't find  another church, you'll always have the reception location to fall back on.