Gap from ceremony to reception

snwbunnie2001 · March 2010

I am stressing out about the time the ceremony ends because they are in two different places. So was going to do 2:30-3 for ceremony then a few mins for recieving line. My problem is the reception hall doesnt open until 5:30. We will arrive at 6:30 due to pictures. I dont want to see the groom before the ceremony. My question is what shoudl I do? I want some pics in the church after ppl leave but the limo is coming at 330. Help!

snwbunnie2001 · March 2010

Thanks for the input. The gap is due to pictures. And since im not doing pictures before with my groom we need to do them after. There are plenty of bars right by where we the hall is.

tracy_k · March 2010

Unless I'm just completely reading you wrong, it doesn't sound like the gap is actually due to pictures.

You said your ceremony ends at 3 (3:30 if you start late and/or have a VERY long receiving line) and your reception hall doesn't open until 5:30.

That's at least a two-hour gap, which is a long time for guests to wander around with nowhere to be. Can you move your ceremony later in the day, so it ends at 5ish, then your guests can go right to the reception hall at 5:30? You can take pictures at the church and then go to the reception at about 6-6:15.

That's PLENTY of time for pictures, which shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes even if you don't do any before the ceremony (and you can still do plenty of them beforehand without seeing your fiance before the wedding).

MyNameIsNot · March 2010

You only need an hour between to do pictures. If your cocktail hour is 5:30-6:30, that's plenty. You can do all the pics that don't involve both you and your FI before the ceremony.

You either need to move the ceremony or move the reception. Gaps are rude.

FriskyMonkey · March 2010

It depends on the length of gap between the ceremony and the reception. I went to a wedding where the ceremony was at 2pm, the cocktail hour started at 6:30 and we didn't get anything to eat until 9pm. They did all the speeches before I got a bit of food.
My ceremony is at 4pm and the meal starts at 7pm. The cermony and the reception take place at the same location. To keep guests occupied we are going to have servers bring around food and drinks. The location has a park for the kids to play at and a lake for guests to sit down and relax by. I plan on having all the pictures that don't include me and my FI done before the ceremony. Then between the ceremony and the reception we will get those pictures taken.

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

If your pictures take more than an hour, either your photographer sucks or you're a total narcissist. Any competent photographer can get the usual round of pictures done in an hour or less.

abbycobb812 · March 2010

Please, please, please do NOT a) Make your guests wait around for 3 hours while you take pictures, and b) Make your wedding party sit through 3 hours of pictures. Nobody will be smiling by the end of them.

trix1223 · March 2010

I was thinking Catholic Gap. But this is a Photo Gap? Bad, bad, bad idea.

My nephew and his bride did this. They had their ceremony and it was even in the same place as the reception. Then they left for somewhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours to do photos. They didn't open the bar, they didn't serve food. There was no music.

We all stood around waiting for them to get back from their "photo shoot". As I'm sure you can appreciate, their guests (including me) were really p!ssed by the time they waltzed back in smiling and laughing.

Don't do this. It's AW-ish to the extreme. You get your 1 hour of photos while your guests are enjoying the cocktail hour. Adjust your times accordingly.

banana468 · March 2010

Ditto PPs. You're creating a gap - and please don't.

I also don't understand why you'd have this long gap and then you still wouldn't show up for an hour at the reception.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · March 2010

I really doubt you need 3 hours to do photos. And if you do, just do photos with you family and BMs before the ceremony, and have him do photos with his family and GMs. Then do pics together after the ceremony. Don't make your guests pay for your poor planning.

limocat · March 2010

Wow, I think people are being a little harsh about this. I really don't see a gap as a huge deal. Sure, it's not ideal, but I've been to tons of weddings with a gap and you just go to a coffee shop, or a bar, or back to your hotel room. I was just invited to a wedding that starts at 1:30 with the reception at 6. They put on the invitation that check in at the hotels isn't until 3 and therefore suggested that because of the gap, people use that time to check in. That works out great for us since we'll be traveling to the wedding and this way can go straight to the church.

You said your ceremony and reception are in 2 different places, so there obviously has to be some sort of gap-I presume there is some travel time in between. Maybe you can get your limo to come a little later so you can have a little more time at the church to take some pictures. I would probably not move your ceremony time.

You should expect that some people won't show at the ceremony, but those that really love you will and that's really all that matters, at least in my opinion.

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_gap-ceremony-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:3b3f3622-5b8f-43ee-88c4-aea808fcc61aPost:cefd5063-73b5-4877-9a57-5294e3ac577a">Re: Gap from ceremony to reception</a>:
[QUOTE]You should expect that some people won't show at the ceremony, but those that really love you will and that's really all that matters, at least in my opinion.
Posted by limocat[/QUOTE]
I hate this reasoning. Just because someone loves you doesn't mean they're willing to just smile and excuse rude behavior. Yes, I love the couple enough to want to see them get married, but I would hope that the couple would love me enough to avoid making their wedding a huge pain in the ass for everyone involved. Relationships work both ways, and somehow engaged couples always forget that they have as much obligation to their guests as their guests do to them, if not more since they're the hosts.

People will smile and assure the bride and groom that it's fine and absolutely no problem. Then they'll turn around and talk behind their backs. One of my BMs was complaining to me at length about her BIL's wedding where the couple did exactly what the OP is suggesting, and everyone in the WP hated it.

Melissasm77 · March 2010

I am just in the very beginning stages of planning, but I'm already thinking about what to do during the gap between the ceremony and reception. We are having a catholic mass which will have to take place no later than 2:30 (per the rules at that church) and the venues for the reception I have been looking at usually open between 5 and 6. I am from a very catholic area and both of us are from catholic families, so this won't be entirely unexpected for many of the guests, but I still hate the idea. I'm looking for ways to fill the gap with something fun or refreshing, i.e., food and drink. Any ideas?

BrideofBigSur · March 2010

Thanks to financial constraints we have to have a huge gap. But ours is a small desintation wedding and the destination is a beautiful national park where the guests will have time to explore between the ceremony and reception; this was partly planned and partly due to budget. 10:30 AM ceremony, 5 PM reception. Based on these replies you would think we (the bride & groom) will get crucified over it. "Gaps are rude" is a bit of a blanket statement. Nothing is that black & white. All of my friends and family have expressed nothing but excitement, and yes, I have VERY outspoken friends, so I would know if they felt differently.

Gap from ceremony to reception

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