I'm Considering a 10am ceremony, is this too early?

kimberleevogel · June 2010

I want to have the wedding of my dreams but starting my life as a new teacher with student loans makes that difficult. I am think of a mid morning ceremony with an early afternoon finger foods receptions. Does this seem like a crazy idea or do you think it might work?
Oh and don't forget to add in there I live in Arizona and am planning an March April wedding to honor my Dad who passed away last year around that time.

Mrs.B6302007 · June 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_im-considering-10am-ceremony-this-early?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:ec2ae79d-dd6d-491a-a91b-ae4f03b7d76aPost:1f1df8e7-cfe1-4c0d-a1cc-ce674ff9eab9">I'm Considering a 10am ceremony, is this too early?</a>:
[QUOTE]I want to have the wedding of my dreams but starting my life as a new teacher with student loans makes that difficult. I am think of a mid morning ceremony with an early afternoon finger foods receptions. Does this seem like a crazy idea or do you think it might work? Oh and don't forget to add in there I live in Arizona and am planning an March April wedding to honor my Dad who passed away last year around that time.
Posted by kimberleevogel[/QUOTE]

Think of all the early morning prep you would have to do: hair, makeup for yourself times how many girls in your WP. It could make for a very stressful morning. As a guest, I wouldn't necessarily be thrilled with the idea of having to be out the door by 9 something to get to the wedding. Pius, you need to think about the time that your reception would start. A 10 AM ceremony plus pictures would put you at the noon hour for a reception and you would need to serve a lunch at that time, not just finger foods.

Your best bet is to have a ceremony around 1pm with a 3pm finger food and cake reception.

AmoroAgain · June 2010

I think mornings are fine, but perhaps at 11 instead of 10? That hour will make a huge difference to your sanity that morning! Then perhaps do a brunch reception, which will be inexpensive and really fun. Mimosas, champagne, omelettes and some fruit or fun stuff like that.

tenofcups4me · June 2010

It's too early for my taste. I'm also confused how you would end up with an early afternoon reception with a 10 am ceremony. Assuming the ceremony ends somewhere between 10:30 and 11, that's when the reception should start.

quotequeen · June 2010

If your plan is that you have a gap in between the ceremony and reception in which your guests are expected to get lunch on their own and then come back, that's really not a good idea.

unplainjane · June 2010

i think it depends where your guests are coming from. do they have to drive far to get to your wedding? if a lot of guests are far this would be too early. when do you expect the reception to end? if you are planning to have it that early and it goes into lunch time i would expect lunch not just finger foods. if you're not having more of a meal i would have your ceremony start early afternoon so people can eat beforehand and have snacks in the afternoon. so if your guests are pretty closeby and you are serving lunch i think a 10am start is okay.

jenn.daniel · June 2010

I attended a 10 am ceremony once. They had brunch at the reception, which was great. It's definitely mealtime, so you'll need more than fingerfood. If you really want to do a fingerfood reception, push the ceremony back to 1pm.

Are you a morning person? As Mrs. B said, remember you need plenty of time to get dressed, do your hair, etc. If you're a morning person, it wouldn't be a problem, but if you're not used to hopping out of bed at 5 or 6, it doesn't sound like a good plan.

psichick · June 2010

we're having an 11:30 ceremony, and we're starting to get ready at 6. good luck any earlier!!! we're also taking pictures before though. 10am is a little early imo.

tdso008 · June 2010

We're doing a 10:30am ceremony. Our reception will be from 11:30 (appetizer reception while we're finishing photos) and lunch at 12:30pm - reception over by 4pm.

Some of my friends who'd have to drive are staying at the reception venue the night before so that they will not have an am drive.

You'll have to carefully plan your morning and maybe eliminate some of the traditional options... we're not doing the photos before/first look thing...

Go with your plan & enjoy!

JeFlanigan · June 2010

My ceremony should be at 11, and our cocktail hour is at noon and reception is from 1 to 5. The reception will have real food tho, not just finger food. I haven't planned my morning yet So I cant tell you what difference the hour (from 10 to 11) makes.
Also why does March/April have to do with this?

JennandJoel2010 · June 2010

I just went to a 10am wedding this past Saturday. Wasn't my favorite thing ever. I had to get up really early and was stressed about time, and I wasn't even in the wedding. I can only imagine how early the couple and their respective parties had to get up.

It also had a different feel to it. Yes, there was an open bar, but I felt like I couldn't take full advantage of it, if that makes sense. Having a nice buzz at 3pm just didn't feel right to me. There also wasn't a lot of dancing, at all. It was kind of like, we went to the ceremony, ate, said our congrats to the couple and left.

I would just be really weary of having a wedding that early. What if something happens? You somehow misplace your shoes, a box with the place cards goes missing? I feel like you don't have much time to recover from any mishaps that could happen.

I agree with a few others, an hour makes a big difference. Heck, I could have even been happy if I had an extra 30 minutes last Saturday.

MISSCOURTNEY20 · June 2010

We are having an 11am ceremony and will most likely be up and getting ready @ 7am. The ceremony should be over by 11:45 and since everything will be at the same place, the reception will follow immediately. We are haing a very heavy hor'dourves menu. Fruit and veggie display, finger sandwiches, meatballs, chicken wings and chinese rolls. Everything will be passed except for the fruit and veggies. The service is for 2 hours. (12-2pm) If you can find something like this, you should be fine. 10am is pretty early though.

redkisslove87 · June 2010

not at all IMO i wish i could do an early ceremony but im waiting til the afternoon just in case ther may be an early AM funeral.

Goodluck with the wedding!!!

michaelandjulie2 · June 2010

I am doing an 11am ceremony and as we are arranging the day, I wish I had given myself 30 minutes to an hour longer.

Our hairstylist is arriving at 5am. Unless this sounds appealing to you, I suggest you consider either 11:30, 12, or 1pm. It might make all of the difference.

lrowe70 · June 2010

I don't think it's a crazy idea, but if your only reason is to cut costs there are a million other ways to save cash that don't involve your guests having to get all dressed up at 8 am. Maybe check out some budget bride or diy boards.

leighlarkin · July 2010

I am doing a 10am ceremony (short one, not in a church) on 10/10/10 followed by a champagne brunch. It's a Sunday morning on a holiday weekend. Many of our guests are staying the night before and the rest are coming in that morning.

We are both in grad school and paying for a lot of this on our own (and our venue is awesome!) so we got a better deal on a mid-morning event/Sunday if budget is part of your concern. I am up every morning at 5am so this whole getting up and getting ready thing shouldn't be too much of a problem. My advice is to plan whatever you think you could swing timewise...see what time you could get up and ready for the next couple of weekends while checking out venues and you'll have your answer for ceremony times!

Good luck!

I'm Considering a 10am ceremony, is this too early?

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