Timing between ceremony and reception

Legallee

FH and I got a lot accomplished this weekend - we booked our venue! We will be having our reception at Cascade in Hamden and we also booked a church, in the same town, where we will be having our reception. The only issue I am struggling with right now is the time in between the ceremony and reception... The latest we can have a ceremony at our church is 2:30, and our reception does not begin until 6:00 p.m.... so that leaves 2 1/2 hours in between each event. Is this going to be problematic for guests? The one good thing is that the church and venue are less than 5 min away from each other, but we will be getting married in January, so it isn't like people can just hang outside or go and do things in the area. 

What are your thoughts? Thanks ladies.

cronin85

I see alot of people doing this lately so I dont see why it would be a problem.  The lastest my church would do the ceremony is 1.... I lucked out and found a place to start the reception at 3 but not alot of places will do that with out charging you an arm and a leg.

toomanychoices17

One thing I've heard a few knotties mention is offering light refreshments at the church hall so that guests have somewhere to mill about if they're not familiar with the area. Nothing huge, just coffee and maybe a small spread of cookies. Many guests will use that time to check in to their hotel and will spend time there.  It's an issue for most Catholics (not sure if you are), but if so your families will likely be familiar with the time gap.

mrsrutkowski

I agree with the PP. My cousin had this problem and her family members all made up some treats and they served coffee and the snacks in the church hall until we were able to leave for the venue.

MoonlightSilver

I love PP's idea of hosting refreshments at the church. If you have a lot of OOT guests, they wont really have anywhere to go between the ceremony and reception, and in January it's too cold to just mill about outside. Offering something for guests at the church is a great idea. You might also ask if your reception venue would open early and allow guests inside, perhaps provide water and let you drop off some store-bought cookies so they have somewhere else to go. 

Overall I don't think the gap is a problem. 

cmac3504

I have to say I think it's better to have a longer gap than a 30-90 gap because at least your guests have plenty of time to go take a nap, freshen up, or even run an errand or two if they forgot something, etc.  So, I don't think you're in a bad position.

Our ceremony was 1:30-2:15 + receiving line with just us 2, which basically got guests out by 2:45.  Cocktail hour was at 5:30 about 30 min away, but we had a shuttle picking up guests at 5 (luckily you don't have to worry about a shuttle!).. While there were a few family members that lived within 30-60 min of the venue-- therefore they weren't staying in a hotel but too far to go home inbetween-- my mom did offer for them to come by the house for coffee...... however, everyone else (the "younger crowd"-- anyone under 60 hah) pretty much checked into their hotel rooms and/or got a drink at the hotel bar or at a local restaurant before heading over to the reception.  While it's a nice gesture, I personally don't think it's necessary to provide food/ drinks, especially if you have apps and open bar at your cocktail hour/ reception.

banana468

I'm really not a huge fan.

Since your guests are your guests from the time the ceremony begins until the time the reception ends you really need to host something during that gap.  Can you have finger foods in the church hall after the ceremony or host something somewhere else?

Ksahlberg

Bad idea. Guests will be pissed. just my $0.02

Legallee

Thanks for the suggestions all!