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Wedding Etiquette Forum
sunshine9779
member
Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?
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?
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Re: Is 11am a reasonable ceremony time?
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
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.
This box shipped toys? No this box is toy!
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
[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>
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
[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.
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
[QUOTE]Mrs. B, I would requote you but I can't edit my posts at work. Gah.
Posted by edielaura[/QUOTE]No biggie. =-)
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
[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.
Everything the light touches is my kingdom.
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.
[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.
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
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.