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Timing a lunch-afternoon reception - HELP?!

colz87colz87
First Comment
in Wedding Reception Forum
I'm having some serious issues trying to figure out the timeline for my early afternoon wedding/reception.

Ceremony is at noon. Wraps around 1. By the time people drive to the reception venue.. 1:30. "Cocktail Hour" til about... 2:15? An then lunch?

If i invited you to my wedding and served lunch at 2:15 would you be super pissed? 

I just don't see how else to do this :( {changing ceremony time/making it dinner reception = not an option.}

Thoughts? Comments?
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Re: Timing a lunch-afternoon reception - HELP?!

  • RebeccaB88RebeccaB88 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Morning ceremony, like 11ish.  Start cocktail hour at noon. Lunch at 1. My sister did this and it worked really well.  

    Or if you wanted, you could do a 1pm ceremony, that wraps around 2, then right into beverages, heavy apps/snacks, and cake. 

    I'm thinking noon is neither here nor there.  People may expect a meal around that time, but by the time the food is actually served, it's kind of too late for lunch.  They may not know they should eat something beforehand, or they will eat before and then not necessarily want another lunch. 
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  • DramaGeekDramaGeek member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    I'd be hungry, not to mention a 2:15 lunch is going to throw my dinner time out of whack too.  I agree with Rebecca that you should move the ceremony up.  I'd also skip the cocktail hour and go straight into the meal.
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  • colz87colz87
    First Comment
    Note: Ceremony & Reception take place at different locations. Half hour drive time in between. 
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  • colz87colz87
    First Comment
    I only have the option of 12:00 for the ceremony. 

    What if we do specify in the invitation, lunch to be served "2 pm" so people anticipate that they should probably have some sort of a snack before the ceremony...

    I know it's a crap way of doing it but, this is our only option. We don't want to 'not' serve lunch (we're already skipping out on dj/dancing, wouldn't want to cut out too much) so this seems like the only feasible way... less scrapping everything :( 
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  • osubuckigrl78osubuckigrl78
    First Comment
    Will you have apps or any type of finger food during the cocktail hour, or is it just going to be drinks????  If so, then I dont think it would be that big of a deal that lunch isnt served until 2:15.... Are you having children at your wedding/reception??? If so, I would maybe let those parents know that they should feed their children before hand and possibly bring them some snacks.... you know how kids get when they are hungry..... Good Luck!
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  • DramaGeekDramaGeek member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    You've got nearly two years until your wedding.  That's plenty of time to find a solution that doesn't have your guests eating lunch at such an odd time.
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  • jessicabessicajessicabessica member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I don't think it's a big deal.  If people see that the ceremony is at noon, they will know that they need to have a little snack beforehand.  While 2:15 isn't an ideal time for lunch, it's not unreasonable.  

    We had our ceremony at 1, cocktail hour around 1:45 with lots of apps/booze, then went into the reception and started lunch (soup, salad, then buffet entree).  It was on a Sunday, and most guests were staying at the inn where we got married, which had a substantial Sunday brunch.  In my family, there's always a meal at events like this, so I think people meal-planned accordingly.  

    ETA: I thought about putting something like "lunch and dancing reception" on our website, but I didn't end up doing it.  If you're still worried, you could see about getting some light snacks (maybe cheese and crackers and lemonade) available at your ceremony location for guests as they arrive.
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  • colz87colz87
    First Comment
    thanks for the responses! our ceremony is at a church, so sadly we can't have any food there. i hope people will just plan accordingly, and we'll be sure to have some  hor d'oeuvres at the ceremony site for as soon as people get there!! 


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  • saric83saric83 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    I wouldn't worry about it!  People should be smart enough to figure out that if the ceremony is at noon that they obviously won't be eating for a bit and will plan accordingly, especially since you can list something about how ceremony is at 12pm and cocktail hour and reception will immediately follow at blah blah location.  

    We recently went to a church wedding like this where it went straight into the cocktail hour and meal (at another location), and we loved it!!  They served typical dinner-type food around 2 or 3pm, and everything wrapped up around 7pm, and it was awesome to have been there for hours partying but to get home at a reasonable time to just relax.  

    Also, this is SO SO much better and more considerate to your guests than having that ridiculously rude long gap in-between, so I wouldn't worry about it at all. : ) 
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  • kmmssgkmmssg mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    You could mention on a reception card what time the cocktail hour is and what time lunch will be served.  If I know you are serving me a meal at 2.15 I can adjust fire pretty easily and enjoy that.
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  • LauraChristinLauraChristin member
    First Comment
    edited January 2012
    It would be NBD to me to eat lunch at 2:15.
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  • KH 2012KH 2012
    First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_timing-lunch-afternoon-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:54cb5732-ae3d-42fe-aa09-2db33f0f9872Post:cf3d2b8f-e004-4f17-a329-f031698b28a8">Re: Timing a lunch-afternoon reception - HELP?!</a>:
    [QUOTE]I<strong> wouldn't worry about it!  People should be smart enough to figure out that if the ceremony is at noon that they obviously won't be eating for a bit and will plan accordingly, especially since you can list something about how ceremony is at 12pm and cocktail hour and reception will immediately follow </strong>at blah blah location.   We recently went to a church wedding like this where it went straight into the cocktail hour and meal (at another location), and we loved it!!  They served typical dinner-type food around 2 or 3pm, and everything wrapped up around 7pm, and it was awesome to have been there for hours partying but to get home at a reasonable time to just relax.   Also, this is SO SO much better and more considerate to your guests than having that ridiculously rude long gap in-between, so I wouldn't worry about it at all. : ) 
    Posted by saric83[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>i agree! our ceremony is at 12pm and the cocktail hour will be following at 1245pm (cermony and reception at the same place)  there will be lots of food at cocktail hours-passed hor dervs, pasta, cheese and veggie platters.  then first dance and parents dance and then food will be served

    </div>
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