Decision help - ceremony time??

quincygirl77 · July 2011

Suddenly wedding planning has become a lot more stressful when I have to make final decisions on things. Case in point the time for our ceremony to start so we can send the invite to the printer! Just want to see what you guys think.

Wedding is October 8th so according to my quick Google search sunset is at 6:40 pm. We are trying to figure out if the ceremony should start, it will last about 20-30 minutes. Dinner is plated and our caterer thought it would last about 2 hours. The dance music can last until midnight and we need to be out by 1 am. Also our venue is outside and in a barn with limited electric lighting.

Here are the options:

Ceremony: 3:30 pm

Cocktail Hour: 4:00-5:15

Dinner: 5:30

Dance: 7:30

Or we could shift everything a half hour later:

Ceremony: 4 pm

Cocktail Hour: 4:30-5:45

Dinner: 6:00

Dance: 7:00

Is it better to start a little earlier just to give yourself a little more wiggle room on time? I so appreciate any opinions!! TIA

FutureMrsSheeler · July 2011

I personally like 4pm best.. in my head, I think guests will remember that it starts at 4, rather than a 3:30... but that is just me!

LCW2LCO · July 2011

Hey @Quincy!

We are wedding date twins!

I've been a part of lots of weddings in many ways and I will always suggest starting earlier and giving yourself more time. Here is our schedule:

7am-11am - hair/makeup w/ S&C (I have 8 girls getting ready! haha)
11am - meet at chapel to put on dress
11:30 - first look
12:00 - wedding party photos
12:45 - family photos
1:15 - hiding out/guests begin to arrive
2pm - ceremony begins
2:30 - ceremony concludes/receiving line (**Receiving lines ALWAYS take longer than you think! give yourself an hour for ~200 guests)
3:30 - party boards limo to reception hall
3:45 - photos at reception hall
4pm - first shuttle for guests from hotel to reception leaves hotel
4:20 - second shuttle for guests from hotel to reception leaves hotel
4:30 - cocktail hour begins/bridal party to join
5pm - grand march
5:30 - salads
5:45 - speeches
6pm - dinner is served
7pm - first dances
8:30 - bouquet/garter toss
10pm - late night pizzas served
11:30 - first shuttle bringing guests from reception back to hotel arrives
11:50 - second shuttle bringing guests from reception abck to hotel arrives
12am - reception concludes
12:15 - off to the local bar! (toby keiths!!)

granted EVERYTHING will shift a bit day - of, but I think your schedule may depend on when you're doing your photos or a bulk of them. If you're seeing each other beforehand, I'd suggest starting it at 4:00, giving yourself more time to do more photos before the ceremony, otherwise if you're not seeing eachother you'll want more time on the backend of the ceremony so I'd start at 3:30.

Hope this helps! Hope 10-08-11 has great weather again like last year!!!

~LC

quincygirl77 · July 2011

Horray @LCW for being date twins!!

We are seeing each other before the ceremony for photos, so I like your point about making sure we have enough time for those. I'm also considering the lighting for the photos, etc. Do you think lighting will still be OK to get some good shots of the cocktail hour and dinner if we start everything at 4?

LCW2LCO · July 2011

You have a PM!

KateJ10 · July 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_decision-ceremony-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:e4493dfd-a994-49bf-89e4-6b62aaca3043Post:d7808b6b-c141-41b3-81c1-0853ec1f470e">Decision help - ceremony time??</a>:
[QUOTE]Suddenly wedding planning has become a lot more stressful when I have to make final decisions on things. Case in point the time for our ceremony to start so we can send the invite to the printer! Just want to see what you guys think. Wedding is October 8th so according to my quick Google search sunset is at 6:40 pm.
Posted by quincygirl77[/QUOTE]

OMG I hear you. I am trying to make at least one decision a day. It sucks and the timeline is probably my least favorite thing to figure out :(

For advice- I agree that you should look at when you are taking the majority of yours pics and use that to decide when your ceremony should start.

aligross · July 2011

We have an Oct 29th wedding and are doing a 3:30pm start time! That extra 30 minutes will be nice as far as wiggle room in between cocktail hour and the reception so everyone can find their seats etc.

jentaberson · July 2011

I'd say go with 4:00 otherwise you'll end up with too much time between ceremony and reception, also the cocktail hour is plenty of time for you and FI to take a few photos as well as have a few moments to yourself.

quincygirl77 · July 2011

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think in the end we are going to stick with 4 pm, it just makes me feel so much better to get some input before putting it in writing!

Decision help - ceremony time??

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