2 PM wedding... am I insane?

elcobb

I used to think 2:00 weddings were the norm, then all of a sudden every single wedding I went to (all 11 of them this past year... phew) were 5 PM weddings. 

We chose 2 PM for several reasons... we have many OOT guests who aren't going to want to book a hotel (live maybe between 1 and 3 hrs away) but we don't want them driving home at a late hour; more importantly, we didn't want the party to just be getting revved up at 8 or 9 PM only to find all our guests have departed.  And of course, selfishly, we didn't want to drive to our hotel super late only to have to get up and catch a flight early the next morning

Am I crazy to be doing this at 2? Is it possible to get everything accomplished that morning? I've already decided we'll do the bridal luncheon the day before-- and our reception venue is allowing us to set up the night before. But as far as hair/makeup/etc... can it be done?

sunnysarahinNC

deep breath- no, you're not crazy!

i went to a lovely wedding at 11am last year. i can't speak personally, because i am a 5pm bride, but from what the bride told me, it was managable and worked out well for them. as a guest, i thought it was a nice to attend a brunch event. the one difference i noticed (although this depends on your crowd!) was that it was more of an elegant event than an all-out party with lots of dancing, etc. again, depends on the crowd though!

it is YOUR day! it sounds like you're thinking about your guests too, which is nice. good luck!!

kelsey+brandon

I agree with Sarah. Different times of day help to set the mood for your wedding and a 2:00 wedding means more laid back guests and you can still have a great time! 

If your friends are anything like mine, if you give them good food, drinks and music, they don't care what time it is. 

elizabethb3511

my sister had hers at noon for the same reason as you (travel time for oot guests)

just have to get the hair appt timed right as it'll be pretty early in the morning.

NcsuPsych

We had a 2pm wedding due to budget reasons and for OOT guests.

We had a small budget so by doing it at 2, most of our guest had already ate lunch. We still had a sandwich / roll buffet type set up with other appetizers, but it was a lot more laid back.

We also only had a 3 hour reception so we ended at 6pm (had to be out of the venue by 7pm). Our guests had an absolute blast!!

I will say that early on, my mom thought I was crazy for having a DJ for a 2pm wedding, but the dance floor was packed the whole time! So as a pp said, as long as the atmosphere is good and you've got dancing tunes, they'll have fun )


As far as morning goes, mine was a wee bit rushed, but thats because I went to our salon to get hair and makeup done and then had to battle traffic on the way to the venue. It can def. be done, just plan a time line and allow for a little wiggle room. Don't stress yourself out over it though because truely in the end, the timeline goes out the window and you just go with the flow. It's really just nice to have prior for reference.

Good Luck!

pirategal03

We had an 11:30am wedding.  So no, I don't think you're crazy.

Our hair appointments started at 7am.  There is time to do everything, just remember to delegate. 

tarheelbabs

My best friend had a 2pm wedding in 2006.  She served heavy hors d'oeuvres and had a dj.  Dance floor was packed and we enjoyed a great conga line.  It was a lot of fun.  One of the things she did for her out of town guests that came in the night before was to invite them to the rehearsal dinner.  She had a pig pickin to make that more practical. I thought that was a wonderful idea and am doing the same thing, although I'm going with the 4pm wedding--also to accommodate out of town folks. I'm concerned some of my family may only want to come to town for one night.

Bottom line is I think it's whatever works best for you, your FI and your families.  That's what it's all about.

lcfghd

I do not think you are crazy! our church has a rule where we can only have weddings at 10am or 12pm, so we are going to try to have a 2pm wedding!  I think that its a perfect time!  <a href="http://www.theknot.com?cm_mmc=community-_-badge-_-winter-_-none"><img src="http://partnerimages.theknot.com/winterbride.gif" border="0" alt="Visit The Knot!" /></a />

BridetobeJenG

We're having a 2pm wedding because we're getting married in a catholic church and the church has confession at 4:30 and mass at 5:30. Our reception starts at 6 with a cocktail hour and dinner at 7:30pm.

sarahbeattie

We will also be having our wedding at 2pm (catholic church) with the reception beginning with an optional lounge space,  with the cocktail hour beginning at 5,followed by the dinner reception. My sister did the same time for her wedding and we had no problem having hair/make-up done in time to do pictures at 12. Everyone did have to be up and "ready to go" between 8-9am. We had a team of hair/make-up people so that also helped to speed things along! Good luck! 

AbbeyS2011

I am also having a 2 pm wedding.  We will be serving heavy apps at the reception, but not sure yet on having a DJ or dancing.  It is more practical for us to have it earlier in the day.  Definitely doable.