Sorry, another timeline of events post

monkeysip

Hello ladies,

There's been a lot of posts related to the timing of events/dinner/etc. and it has me a little freaked out about our overall timeline.  There's not much that can be done at this point, but I could *possibly* extend the reception, and I just want an overall feeling of whether any of this would bother you.

Cocktail hour has to start at 4:00pm because of how early our ceremony has to be.  The big problem is that dinner can't be served until 6:00pm (venue policy).

We were planning on having open bar and 4-5 Hors d'oeuvres passed around for cocktail hour, 4-5pm.  We will come in around 5:00 and do our entrance and first dance.  Then we'll do a couple spotlight dances and toasts. 

It still seems like it would only be around 5:30 at this point, right?  Should we just open the dance floor for a while?  Should we make some kind of announcement about dinner at 6?

Then dinner 6 until, 6:45?  7:00?  We're already paying another $600 fee to keep the venue open until 9:00pm (plus drinks people consume... it's a consumption bar).

Is 6:45 or 7:00 to 9:00 enough time for the rest of the reception?  Is that too short?  And when should we cut the cake?

It would be another $600 fee to keep it open until 10:00pm.  We really don't have the budget for that, but we're worried about it being too short.

Any advice/opinions are appreciated!

jennyd412

Because you have the extra time between dinner and cocktail hou, open the dance floor until dinner is served. You can also cut the cake before dinner. That way, after dinner its just dancing/partying. I'm personally skipping the garter toss/cake cutting and multiple "spotlight" things. We are just doing our first dance and my dance with my Dad. I like to dance all night at weddings, so depends on what you feel is most important to include.

daria24

I've been to a few weddings where there was an hour of dancing before dinner was served. In most cases, there was so much food at cocktail hour I was glad to have some time since I couldn't possibly have eaten my dinner anyway. I think it will be fine.

mlg78

I agree about getting dancing started if you need to as well as the cake cutting.

lyndausvi

Is the bar open fro 5-6, I would think it would be odd if it's not.

As far as the time goes, I think opening up the dance floor is a good idea (we did also).  You can also do the cake cutting and toasts to kill time.

monkeysip

@ Stage

That's a good idea about saving the spotlight dances.  I'm just doing two (me/dad, FI/FMIL), but it might be nice to put them later.  Then people can dance for almost a whole hour, like you said.

Is it not weird to cut the cake before dinner?  We just cut it... but don't serve people until later?

@ Lynda

Yes, I'm sorry, that was unclear.  The bar will be open the whole time.  I just meant that 4-5 is the "official" cocktail hour with appetizers and such, but people can get a drink anytime.

Overall you made me feel better about this.  So do you think 2 hours after dinner will be enough time for general dancing/socializing? 

daria24

I think it's pretty common to cut the cake before dinner. I've seen a few couples go straight from their introduction to the cake cutting, so that the kitchen has time to cut the cake and plate it. 

The only thing I don't like about doing it that quickly is I like to go look at the cake/take a photo before it's massacred by the b + g. 

monkeysip

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_sorry-another-timeline-of-events-post?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:466704c0-a994-4ce3-a51f-f99d4c86a038Post:757fc104-116e-48e1-a9fa-9056e2e6ba83">Re: Sorry, another timeline of events post</a>:
[QUOTE]I think it's pretty common to cut the cake before dinner. I've seen a few couples go straight from their introduction to the cake cutting, so that the kitchen has time to cut the cake and plate it.  The only thing I don't like about doing it that quickly is I like to go look at the cake/take a photo before it's massacred by the b + g. 
Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but I guess people will still have the whole cocktail hour to do that.  It's in the same room, and it's a small room, so I doubt people won't see it (only 80 guests).

monkeysip

Ok, so entrance, first dance (we wanted to go right into first dance with entrance), then cut the cake.

Do people do toasts at this point, right before dinner, or during dinner?

Kate61487

we did entrance, right into cake cutting then toasts.  Our final 'toast' was actually a prayer that lead into finner.  our first dance was after dinner. I think I've only ever seen toasts before dinner.  during would be awkward; either people won't be paying attention and there will be background noise of cutlery on plates or everyone pauses eating and lets their food get cold to listen.  After would be okay I suppose, I just don't think I've seen it.

My only problem with the new schedule you're thinking is that I find it awkward to ask everyone to sit down for the entrance and then try to get them back up on the dance floor.  How would you feel about just joining the party naturally when you get back from photos and then go out to do the entrances 15-30 min before dinner?  In that scenario I guess you wouldn't be opening the dance floor with your first dance, but if you're okay with that I think it's the way to go.