Ok, so this is an idea that my mom originally had. When she told me, I (having very little imagination sometimes) thought it was a terrible idea and immediately said no. But I keep seeing this more on wedding tv shows and now I'm thinking it might solve all my problems...
My reception venue has an amazing, huge ballroom. I fell in love with it. We're inviting 150 and the ballroom holds 320, so we have PLENTY of room. The tables will be set around a dance floor in the center. The cocktail hour will be, practically in the ballroom- the ballroom has a large alcove that opens to a heated deck overlooking the ocean, all of which is used for cocktail hour. I really liked that the cocktail hour space was open to the ballroom because it made it seem more like one big party and less like a wedding. I really, really want that big, open, party feel.
There is a ceremony space that is totally separate. It's not nearly as attractive, but I've come up with some ways of making it prettier with the florist. This, of course, costs $. The venue also has a ceremony fee because they need to set up and take down this separate room.
To the idea:
Have the ceremony on the dance floor in the center of all the tables. People will sit at their assigned table before the ceremony, sit through our very brief ceremony and then go enjoy cocktail hour.
Here's my pros:
Creates that relaxed, big, open party feel
Eliminates ceremony fee
Eliminates the need for all that stuff from the florist just to make the other room look nice
We can have the whole wedding in the space I love
Cons:
People might feel weird, since they never have seen this before
They might not know what to do, although there really isn't anything to "do"
What do you girls think? Sorry about the long post!
May 2013 February Siggy: Invitations