Day Of Timeline (Help!!)

Amandagk · December 2010

I am really struggling with figuring out the day of timeline. I am getting married 6/18/11 and to order invites, I need to nail down the timeline! Here is what I have so far:

Ceremony: 1:00pm-1:30pm

Recieving line: 1:30pm-2:00pm

Pictures: 2:15pm-4:30pm

Cocktail Hour: 5:00pm-6:00pm

Dinner: 6:30pm-7:30pm

Dancing/Reception: 8:00pm-12:00am

My concerns lie in that between the hours of 2:00pm and 5:00 when the cocktails hour starts, I don't know what my guests are going to do between this time. My thought is that guests who have a hotel room will go back to their hotel and relax. But, I am not sure what guests that do not have a room will do. Do I need to be / should I be concerned with this fact? Should I just let them figure it out? Should I provide them with suggestions on what to do during the break? Ahh! Please, suggestions are needed!

Thanks so much in advance

gundy21 · December 2010

That is a pretty big gap! We were at a wedding last summer that had a gap like that and we struggled to find something to do to fill the time (wedding in a small town, no restaurants or bars open to kill time, hot sunny day with nowhere to go = cranky people) and many of the guests were complaining about the time gap when we arrived at the reception hall for the cocktail hour. Is there any way you can adjust any of the times?

ehathewa · December 2010

Why on earth do you need over 2 hours of pictures?
Can you move the ceremony later or the cocktail hour & dinner earlier? A 3 hour gap is a long time... and I hate it as a guest.

Here was my timeline (Ceremony and Reception were at same location):
Ceremony 4:30 - 5 PM
Cocktail hour (guests) & Pictures (WP) 5 - 6
Toasts 6:15
Dinner 6:20
Cake Cutting and first dance: 7:45
Dance: 8-11:30
Photobooth: 7-10
Cake Station starts: 8:30
Late Night Snacks served: 9:30-11:30

breannalynn · December 2010

I was at a wedding this fall that had a 3 hour gap between the ceremony and the cocktail hour. We had a hotel room and we ended up watching the Badger football game on tv so it was ok. I think it is a little too long and I would try to change it if you can. If you can't, I would definitely recommend suggesting things in the area that people from out of town could do during that time. You don't have to but it is a nice thought. Good luck with your planning!

JessieH11 · December 2010

I have to disagree with the Gap thing. Personally I feel like as a guest I have always just found something to do. I realize that the bride and groom and the wedding party need that time to get stuff done. Here is my timeline. I am in the same situation trying to nail down times so I can print invites

1:30-2:15 Ceremony
2:15-3:00 Receiving Line/getting everyone out of church
3:00-5:30 Pictures at church/pictures at another location
4:30-6:00 Cocktails
6:00-Dinner
6:30-Toasts
7:00-Cake/Slideshow
8:00-12:00-Dance

Does mine look ok?

ehathewa · December 2010

Again - 2+ hours of picutres? Really? Ours were done in about 50 minutes.

The gap is a huge PITA for people who traveled 30 minutes to a few hours to get to your wedding. Unless everyone has a hotel room, or thier own home within a few minutes drive, it is annoying. Even with a hotel room, I don't especially enjoy sitting around on my duff "waiting" for 3 hours.

One irritating time was when we went to Detroit for a wedding (10 hour drive for us) and stayed in a hotel near the ceremony site (40 minutes away from the reception). We went to the ceremony and then drove around and took a tour of the city to kill some time. Then we went to a little zoo we found near the reception site. Then it closed and we had nothing else to do, so we just went to the reception. They "weren't ready for us" so we walked arround in the 90 degree heat and waited for another hour.

Another wedding in Nashville had a 3+ hour gap. We were staying at the hotel and met friends in the lobby bar... 3 hours is a long time to waste at a bar in the afternoon.

It's not the end of the world, but if you can make the gap smaller, I think many people will appreciate it (move ceremony later, or have dinner/cocktails sooner and end the night a little sooner). None of your guests will tell you to your face that the gap is annoying... but they will think it.

LISASUM · December 2010

Your timeline looks fine. Don't forget that it's an estimation; nothing goes accordingly to plan. Anything can last longer such as the ceremony, the reception line (that took me 45 minutes), and/or traffic time to take photos. Plus, you won't feel rushed to take these photos. If you have extra time, this would be a great time for you to take a breather/relax for a moment. The shoes hurt your feet, you want to sit for a bit, and so forth.
As for your guests, they too need to refresh or change their attire. If they are out of town, they would probably go sight seeing. You may want to warn the facilitator that you might have early arrivals in case they are bored at the hotel.
Remember that this day is about you and your new husband. They are celebrating this special occasion with you and shouldn't complain about anything else.

Good Luck!

cc7003 · January 2011

I think the gap is too long. Whether I lived in the city where the wedding was taking place or not, I wouldn't enjoy getting all dressed up and then sitting on my couch or in my hotel room for hours before the reception starts.

A couple of suggestions/questions:
Can you take some pictures before the ceremony to cut down photo time? Is that the amount of time that your photographer suggested (it seems like a REALLY long time). If you haven't checked with them I would ask them how long they think it will take. Can you cut out a photo location if you're having numerous?
Many people use the cocktail hour so that the guests have something to do while you take pics--you don't have to be there.
Could you provide an activity for the guests during the break--someone on my month board is providing trolley rides in SanFran during photos for example.

If you have that long of a gap you should expect that some guests may choose not to attend the ceremony and just come to the reception. Also, I have heard of people getting a little too tipsy before dinner because they spent the time in a bar....

SweetCharade · January 2011

As a guest, a 3 hour gap seems like a lot to me, and I have to agree with a lot of the other posters...2 hours is a really long time for photos. I think we gave ourselves an hour after the ceremony for photos, and I don't even think that they took that long. If you think that many photos are going to need to be taken, have you considered doing some of your photos beforehand? You two don't have to see each other to do pre-ceremony photos.

I went to a wedding once with a 3+ hour gap, and a bunch of us ended up going to the mall in our super fancy clothes because we were too far away to go home and had nothing else to do. It was really inconvenient, and a little irritating.

Amandagk · January 2011

Thanks everyone for your advice! I appreciate it! I suppose I am just trying to cover my bases and I have seen in magazines etc. they advise that you set aside two hours. I am trying to put myself in the shoes of the guest, so it was nice reading the thoughts of people who have attended weddings where there was such a gap. I think I will change my timeline, so then I won't have to worry about the guests while pics are being taken! Thanks again!!

ShanaK101 · January 2011

Why don't you do your pictures from 1-3:00pm and then start your wedding at 3 or 3:30 followed by cocktails and the reception. Expecting your guests to wait around for that long is too much to ask and it also leaves them with no beverage or meal for a really long time! I personally would only go to either the wedding or the reception if someone I knew invited me to a wedding with a timeline like that - especially since I have kids.

moesers · January 2011

I agree -- push the wedding back a couple hours and do as many photos as you can prior to the ceremony. I understand not wanting to see the groom... so you could do just the girls photos togethe and the guys can do theirs. Then all you'd have left are family shots and shots of you and the groom together.
My photographers said they were open to stealing us away from the reception once it all gets going in order to get some more photos just the two of us. That will help you and your timeline a lot!
I have to agree w/ most of the people above that a gap like that is not fun as a guest.

mhills1106 · January 2011

I work at a reception hall, and people usually come here directly after the ceremony even if the invitaions read otherwise. I would recommend talking to your reception site to see if they are available earlier. Sometimes they can be available earlier, and the only cost to you would be possible added beer....but it probably would not be a large amount as not everyone would show us right away.

msteph82 · January 2011

Mhill, you are a vendor, and vendors are not allowed. If you are a bride, please refrain from posting about your job.

AurorasEnvy · January 2011

I personally don't mind a big break in between, but that is only if I have a hotel room to relax in or a house close by. However, I think that most guests would find 3+ hours excessive. I think I am going to have have about 1.5-2 hours in between the end of the receiving line and the start of the reception - built in time in case the receiving line takes longer than I think, time to take pictures, and to travel to our reception site (which isn't very far from our ceremony site), plus if any other issues arise I don't want to be on a very tight schedule. The vast majority of my guests will be from out of town & staying the night, but I am going to include a "things to do/see" card in the invite - our wedding is in Delafield, so there are a lot of cute shops, places to get a snack, etc.

Personally, I don't want to skip the cocktail hour at my own wedding just because I'm worried that the guests can't wait an hour or two between the ceremony & reception. I think you'll be able to compromise the gap between the 2 without having to give up taking pictures or the cocktail hour. Even if there is a small gap, I think including things to do/see is a good idea if you have a lot of out of town guests since they might be enjoy those things right when they get in town or the next day before they leave. Good luck!

katerdpher51 · May 2011

This is a dillema I'm working on as well. In my situation, the ceremony and reception are also in the same location.

We're planning to do bride & bridesmaid photos and groom & groomsmen photos prior to the ceremony to get those out of the way.

Here's our tenative schedule (this will be finalized tonight as we are having our tasting!)
2:30 - 3:00   Wedding Ceremony
3:00 - 3:30   Family Photos
3:30 - 4:30   Wedding Party Photos (as a large group...we're going down by the RiverWalk so as not to waste time driving around the city. I wanted to go to the Art Museum, but budget is not allowing for a limo for that short amount of time)
4:30 - 5:30   Cocktails & Appetizers
5:30 - 6:00   Guest enter the ballroom, wedding party entrance, toasts, and cake cutting.
6:00 - 7:00 or 7:15 Dinner (Buffet with plated salad and plated cake).
7:15 or after First dance, photobooth, and general merriment!

Originally, the "Wedding Party Photo" time was 2 hours to allow for us to go to the Art Museum for photos, but as mentioned above, we don't have the money to spend on just 2 hours for a limo, plus my FSIL/bridesmaid mentioned that it is a really long time for the guests to sit around.

I think that in reality, an hour (to hour and a half) is fair for guests to hang out a bit after the ceremony. There are bars/restaurants downtown if they want to go get a drink, or go exploring down by the River, otherwise I'm sure most people will just hang out and chat with relatives and friends they haven't seen in a while! That's the hope, anyhow!

Good luck!

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