Ideas for what guests should do in the Newton/Waltham Area for 2 hours between the Ceremony and Recp

mjl1002

Our guests are going to have about 2 hours between the ceremony and the reception.  We can't afford to do anything organized for the guests, however I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for what to guide my guests to do in the Newton/Waltham area.  The ceremony is in Newton and then we are having our reception in Concord.  Everyone is going to be all dressed up, so something within reason.  I just thought I would reach out to the brides in the area to see if you have any recommendations.  There is no time to go into Boston and I don't want them to eat too much, because cocktail hour starts at 5pm and I want my guests hungry and not too drunk. Any ideas? I thought I should include the ideas on an insert in my invitations.  Thanks ladies!

Calypso1977

what about some of the museums in concord? 

anyway you can do your ceremony later or start your reception earlier?  a gap is not ideal.

noodle_oo

yeah, I can't think of anything I'd want to do to kill 2 hours all dressed up in that area, and I used to live in Waltham.  Gaps do suck for the guests, especially if there is literally no where interesting to go.  They are all going to end up at your reception location early.  I"d really consider if you can move up your reception to reduce the gap.

The only other place I can think of is the DeCordova museum in Lincoln.  But it is pretty far and truthfully, your guests don't want to kill time at a museum.  The want to get on with the celebration.

JS888

I also think you should try to move up the reception or push back the ceremony. A friend of mine had a similar gap and ended up having only a few guests attend the ceremony because they did not want to be waiting around to they just showed up for the reception. This can happen anyways even if there is no gap between the ceemony and reception but I think a couple of hours might be enough to keep people away from the ceremony. I work in Waltham and cannot think of anywhere to go all dressed up for that period of time - especially anywhere that would be free / not an added expense.

If you cannot move things around at this point I would just not sweat it - those who matter most to you will not mind and will figure something out to keep themselves entertained. It is YOUR day and they are all there to support you and your future husband!

dparisi

Really, I know it is your day, but two hours in between-is it really necessary.I don't want to sound mean, but this sounds like a really bad plan. IMO it is inconsiderate of you to expect your guests to wait around for two hours, especially if they are from out of town, or had a long ride to get there.  You are really taking up your guests entire day and that is just unfair.  I can tell you that I would do one or the other, but I would certainly not wait around for two hours. Please reconsider your plan to make it a more pleasant experience for your guest.  I  would imagine you would hate for the only thing your guests would remember was hanging around for two hours doing nothing.