Catholic Weddings

Gappage

Hello ladies! After some venue snafus, I am set with my date for sure. Our original plans included at 10am mass with a 12pm start for the cocktail hour and reception. Now that we've changed things around, we're looking at a 1:30pm mass (confessions start at 3:15 so we have to be out) and a 6pm cocktail hour and reception. So we've got a massive gap to work with. What did you do during your gap if you had one? We can only take so many pictures and I don't want people to be ridiculously bored. We're pretty tight budget wise. Any help would be appreciated! TIA!

Re: Gappage

  • Calypso1977Calypso1977 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    there are many threads on here and on P&E abotu this. its best to avoid the gap.  if that means picking antoher venue, then that's what you need to do. 
  • Riss91Riss91 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    That's quite a large gap. Ideally, you should try to move your cocktail hour up earlier. If you cannot start cocktail hour earlier, I would definitely set up a hospitality suite at a nearby hotel with snacks and beverages and make sure your guests know about it. I was at a wedding with your exact timeframe and that is what they did. Their reception was being held at a hotel, so it was pretty convenient for them to set up a suite for the guests. None of the guests minded that much. Gaps are pretty common in the Northeast...
  • edited December 2011
    If you absolutely must have a gap, IMO you need to provide something for OOT guests in between. Is there no way to start your cocktail hour at 3 or 330?
  • edited December 2011
    Gaps are common in some regions, but unless the church is right in the middle of some really fantastic urban area with plenty of things to do, they tend to be boring for guests.  And this doesn't look like the case for your wedding, based on your bio...That's a really large gap.  I would do everything in my power to minimize it.  Is there any way you can do a 3:30 cocktail hour, and an early dinner (5:00ish)?  If that means choosing a new venue, I'd do it.
  • mbcdefgmbcdefg member
    5 Love Its First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Our ceremony starts at 2 p.m. and the reception starts at 6 p.m. People will probably be out of the church around 3 p.m., the reception hall is about 40 minutes away (not taking into account traffic or getting lost), so our guests will probably have about two hours to kill at most.Our OOT hotel is nearby, so people staying there that night can check in, drop off their stuff, relax and freshen up. There's also a bar in the hotel lounge if they want a drink (there's a shuttle to the hall if they don't want to drive) and we plan to make snack bags for the hotel guests that the front desk will hand out when they check in.I spoke to the reception hall and they said that they can let our guests in as early as 5:15 and will serve them champagne and let them sit down and relax in the lobby. So at least the early birds won't be sitting in the parking lot. My mother said that she'll arrange for a hospitality display in the church's rec room downstairs. So people who won't be getting a hotel room but don't live close enough to go back home a while will have a place to relax and eat if they want. The church already has a catering company that my mom's hiring, but you can easily and cheaply get some refreshments from a supermarket or deli - fruit and vegetable platters, cheese cubes and crackers, sodas and bottled water, etc.
    image
  • haggartchaggartc member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks everyone!    My mom actually went to the venue today to confirm everything and drop off the deposit and worked with them to change the time of the cocktail hour to 5pm, so it's not as bad anymore. The reception site is about a half-hour from the ceremony, and there's decent shopping and touristy stuff in town so I think we will be okay.
  • edited December 2011
    I'm in the NYC area and gaps are common place. Churches perform marriages at certain times and halls have receptions at certain times. Alot of people on here think its very unPC to have gaps but its not always something you can avoid. That said, you really have a BIG gap. Can you direct people to a bar for cocktails and maybe little passed apps or something? My mass is at 2:30 and reception at 5:30. We are having a bus pick guests up after mass at 4:15/4:30 from a local bar.
  • mbcdefgmbcdefg member
    5 Love Its First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Agree with PP, can you host something in the church's basement or at the OOT hotel? I thought about the shopping thing, too, but I know that as a guest I personally wouldn't want to walk around a mall in a cocktail dress and heels. We'd probably find a bar nearby, or sit in the car somewhere if we really had nowhere to go. I'm personally not worried about the people who live nearby, or the people who live far enough that they need a hotel room for the night ... I'm worried about the people who live in between, who can't go home after church but are heading right home after the reception. They have no "home base" nearby and they're the ones I feel bad for. Hence our hospitality hour.
    image
  • edited December 2011
    Avoid the gap if at all possible. We have a 2pm start and will probably be done by 2:45 at the latest.  Depending on whether people can check into the hotel before the ceremony or after, we will either start drinks/apps at 3:30 or 4.  We get the venue for 5 hours, so it's just a matter of setting a time for us.
    Crosswalk
  • Calypso1977Calypso1977 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    every time i see "freshen up" in one of these gap posts it always makes me laugh.  i mean,  how dirty and rumpled do you get sitting through church that you have to "freshen up" before you can move on to the next event?
  • edited December 2011
    If you refuse to change the reception, you need to host something during the break. Even in an urban area, people do not want to go to museums or parks or shopping in their dress clothes. Get a hospitality suite at a hotel or do something in the church basement. You need to give people somewhere to go and something to do.
  • edited December 2011
    I went to a wedding recently in Charlottesville,VA where there was a decent gap between ceremony and reception.  The bride and groom had arranged university tour guides to give historic tours immediately following the reception for anyone interested. They also had a list of good shopping areas, places to grab a drink, and other places of interest. I think snacks coupled with a nice touristy list and you should be fine :)
  • edited December 2011
    every time i see "freshen up" in one of these gap posts it always makes me laugh. i mean, how dirty and rumpled do you get sitting through church that you have to "freshen up" before you can move on to the next event?True--but it is great for the little ones if you have a decent amount of children attending
    Click Here for Bio Image and video hosting by TinyPic Married June 12, 2010!
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