Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?

sunshine9779

I am hoping to have my ceremony start at 11 am. I know this means a tight morning for my maids and me but is it okay to ask guests to arrive by this time? We are getting married in a field at a public park and the reception is lunch at a private barn. We will have a dj and full served meal. The reason for the time preference is there is a cruise on a local lake that we wanted to catch with our guests as a post-reception event. What are your thoughts on the time?

Mrs.B6302007

What's the furthest that your local guests will have to travel?

tenofcups4me

I'm not at all a morning person. But even I would find 11am a reasonable start time for a wedding as a guest.

As a bride, I'd hate it, but since you're the bride, you know best whether you can deal with such an early time to start getting ready or not.

Simply Fated

I don't think it's unreasonable. I'm not a huge morning person at all and I think I could manage that start time.

RaptorSLH

Ditto tenofcups, especially about not being a morning person.  Make sure your out of town guests have access to a local hotel the night before rather than the night after, though.

PinkRoseAcct

I think it's doable, but tight.  How much prep work do you need to do, and can it all be done the night before?

sunshine9779

Thanks for all the quick responses. I am a teacher and am up at 5 every morning, so the early start time is okay with me. The furthest local guests are 45 minutes from the ceremony site. All other guests are in the process of booking hotels and staying with local family (also guests). The cruise leaves at 7 pm so my hope was to wrap up the reception around 5 to give guests a bit of time to unwind before the cruise. Since I live in a touristy part of NH most hotels require a two night minimum therefore many guests would be staying for two nights anyway. Thanks again and keep the comments coming.

becka717

I'm having my ceremony at 10:30 AM.  My reception venue has time slots and the morning one is 11 to 4.  I was originally thinking of having the ceremony at 10, but we moved it to 10:30 to give guests a little extra time but not cut into our time at the reception venue too much.  I blocked hotel rooms for the night before and the night of the wedding.

CassieeK

We're having our ceremony at 10:30.

bmoruzzi

We went to a wedding this summer that was at 10am which in my opinion was ridiculous.  We only live about 20 min away, I am a morning person, and it was a pain.  I think it's all about personal preference.  I was not in the wedding.  I know the girls had their hair/makeup done very early, like 6am.  They were about 40 min late getting to the church.  I think 11am is still pushing it.  Why not do a 12pm ceremony?  Your guests would still have plenty of time for the cruise if they wanted to do it.  

Sharbear722

My wedding ceremony was at 11:15 am. We had to start hair and makeup at 5:45 am since we did a First Look before the ceremony. I thought there'd be plenty of time starting so early, but it was actually very rushed. If I had to do it again, I'd have the wedding later in the day.

Mrs.B6302007

I'm confused.  I know the reception is in between your ceremony and the cruise but that's still a long day.  The reception is a few hours long. What will the guests be doing between the reception and the cruise?   

PinkRoseAcct

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_11am-reasonable-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5ac9bb62-95c0-43fd-a147-32d7bdba137aPost:75f787ab-d13a-48d3-906d-ec2094e39c28">Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm confused.  I know the reception is in between your ceremony and the cruise but that's still a long day.  The reception is a few hours long. What will the guests be doing between the reception and the cruise?   
Posted by Mrs.B6302007[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Mrs. B, if I read one of her posts right, she's in a tourist part of NH, which is Lake Winnipausaukee (sp?), since they have cruises.  If so, that two hours might really be necessary to give guests time to get from the venue to the lake front, and to find parking - I know that parking down there can be extremely tough to find.  </div><div>
</div><div>Still, I'm in the "it's a long day" boat (no pun intended).  Can you move the ceremony to 12 or 12:30?  What time does the cruise get out?

</div>

Calypso1977

we were married at 11am.  worked fine, but i did have to be up early for hair, but it wasnt that bad (5am), but that's only because we wanted to do al of our picutres before hand.  we arrived at the church at 830, and did pics until 1030am.

Mrs.B6302007

So they might have to leave the reception and drive anotherhour or so?  On top of being up super early to get to an 11 AM ceremony?

PinkRoseAcct

An hour stuck in traffic is kinda normal around there.  It sucks.  I hate it, and avoid that area in the summer unless someone else drives.

Mrs.B6302007

Edie caught me during editing  =-)

Mrs.B6302007

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_11am-reasonable-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5ac9bb62-95c0-43fd-a147-32d7bdba137aPost:e135e859-ec53-4f7d-9579-275e13bedf7d">Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?</a>:
[QUOTE]An hour stuck in traffic is kinda normal around there.  It sucks.  I hate it, and avoid that area in the summer unless someone else drives.
Posted by PinkRoseAcct[/QUOTE]


Ugh.  I really think OP needs to rethink her plans as not to inconvenience her guests.

Mrs.B6302007

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_11am-reasonable-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5ac9bb62-95c0-43fd-a147-32d7bdba137aPost:bfaee43c-e225-4245-8ab1-5256e4f0eb2c">Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?</a>:
[QUOTE]Mrs. B, I would requote you but I can't edit my posts at work. Gah.
Posted by edielaura[/QUOTE]No biggie.  =-)

NuggetBrain

Start the ceremony at 1 or 2.  Have a late lunch reception, and then go straight to the boat.  I'll be honest, if there was a gap of 2 hours between the reception and the boat I'd probably just go home or back to the hotel room and end up not wanting to leave again.  Even at noon, assuming the ceremony lasts an hour, that's a 6 hour reception they'd be at in the afternoon.  That's a long reception.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_11am-reasonable-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5ac9bb62-95c0-43fd-a147-32d7bdba137aPost:23d704e5-ce69-402e-8348-22e3c265a59c">Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?</a>:
[QUOTE]Start the ceremony at 1 or 2.  Have a late lunch reception, and then go straight to the boat.  I'll be honest, if there was a gap of 2 hours between the reception and the boat I'd probably just go home or back to the hotel room and end up not wanting to leave again.  Even at noon, assuming the ceremony lasts an hour, that's a 6 hour reception they'd be at in the afternoon.  That's a long reception.
Posted by NuggetBrain[/QUOTE]


I agree with this.  The day, as you have it planned, is far too long.  People may not stick around at a lunch reception  for as long as you think, either.  Especially if it's a typically lunch reception with no or limited booze, etc. 

RamonaFlowers

Just thinking about that schedule is making me tired! A friend of mine had an 11am ceremony a few years ago, and I was in the wedding. We had to be at the hair salon at 6am, and even with everybody being on time for hair, we still cut it really close getting to the ceremony site on time.

They had the reception immediately afterwards (Full meal and dancing), and that went until 5. Immediately after that was an after party in the bridal suite that the WP got pressured into attending, so we went for a few hours, but honestly, if I had the ability to "unwind" between the reception and the after party, chances are, I would have been sound asleep by 6.

What your proposing is a very long day for everybody (Including yourself!) ... while it sounds like a ton of fun on paper, trust me, when you're actually executing this, people are going to get tired, and I'm willing to put money on quite of few of them just calling a night by the time the cruise rolls around. Start everything later in the day.

sunshine9779

The reception starts right after the ceremony and the cruise is optional. I expect the average guest to leave around 5 as the reception winds down. We do have a lot of family coming in from out of state who used to summer here with our great-grandparents and have asked about the possibility of the cruise. I envision only about ten or fifteen couples joining us on the cruise and honestly I'd be fine if it were just FI and me. NO there is not a long drive between sites nor to the cruise. And the tourist traffic is not a problem at that time of day. I understand it would be a long day and am not making it part of the structured festivities but wnt to leave the opportunity for out OOT family who have requested it. Thanks for helping me see it from all angles.

KatePlusNate04

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_11am-reasonable-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5ac9bb62-95c0-43fd-a147-32d7bdba137aPost:6a4f624f-92fe-4639-a27a-3480328f5f89">Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?</a>:
[QUOTE]The reception starts right after the ceremony and the cruise is optional. I expect the average guest to leave around 5 as the reception winds down. We do have a lot of family coming in from out of state who used to summer here with our great-grandparents and have asked about the possibility of the cruise. I envision only about ten or fifteen couples joining us on the cruise and honestly I'd be fine if it were just FI and me. NO there is not a long drive between sites nor to the cruise. And the tourist traffic is not a problem at that time of day. I understand it would be a long day and am not making it part of the structured festivities but wnt to leave the opportunity for out OOT family who have requested it. Thanks for helping me see it from all angles.
Posted by sunshine9779[/QUOTE]

If it's optional, just make sure you let people know they would have to cover the cost of the cruise (if you aren't intending on paying their way). If you make it sound like part of the festivities, people may assume cost is covered. You may be on top of this already, but just a friendly tip.

I think 11 is OK, although I prefer later weddings. If a good friend was getting married at 11, I would go. Just let your BMs know in advance that it will be an early morning for them at the salon if you're all getting hair/make-up done.

Mrs.B6302007

Sunshine- I think its probable that many of your guests are going to leave before 5. You're talking a five hour reception if your ceremony is an hour long.

RebeccaB88

My sister had an 11am ceremony, and everything was perfectly fine.  And there were definitely no 5am hair appointments!  She left it up to us girls on our hair and makeup.  My hair appointment was at 8am, and I got to the church by 9. Did my own makeup at home first. The other girls were there around 9 too, ready to put on our dresses.  We did that and helped my sister dress, had some pictures, and were ready to go and hanging around waiting by 10:30.  We had time to kill.  Ceremony started just after 11, and guests got to the reception for cocktail hour by noon.  Lunch was served around 1, and the whole thing was a done deal by 4.  There was even a receiving line and toasts/speeches in there too. 

It was so nice that we're considering doing that ourselves.

rebarobert2012

We are having a Catholic mass, and our two choices for times were 11 AM and 2 PM.  We chose 2 PM.  11 AM is pretty early, but if that is your only choice for time, I'm sure that people will be understanding.