For those you had 2pm Ceremony times.....

momo2210 · July 2010

I noticed in a few of the recent threads about time lines a few people had 2pm ceremony times. Just out of curiosity what time did your reception start at?

We are getting married in a Catholic church and our only options were a 2pm mass or a 5:30pm mass to work around the 4pm regular Saturday mass. We had originally booked the 2pm mass but ended up changing it to the 5:30 so we wouldn't have a serious gap between the ceremony and reception.

vtbm · July 2010

We also had the same options for church times. Like you, we booked the early ceremony time in order for there to be daylight for pictures (winter wedding) then decided we'd rather an evening wedding and are ok with forgoing outdoor pictures if we can 't find somewhere well lit. Our mass is at 5:30 in Meford and reception at 7pm in Burlington.

bostonbride214 · July 2010

we had a 2 p.m. ceremony w/ full Catholic mass

our reception started at 4 p.m. (20 mins from church) but we extended an hour (ended at 10 p.m.) and had our after party (last call was 1 a.m.) in a different location from the reception but on the same grounds

I was worried about the gap between both but our guests ended up at the bar at the inn (they also opened the door 30 mins. early for us) or they checked into their hotel rooms -- the BP used the time to take pictures in daylight (winter wedding)

momo2210 · July 2010

It was such a difficult decision for us! Vtbm, Will your 5:30 mass be shorten now because its starting later? Our wedding planner says we'll have to have a shorten mass. I'm not really sure what she means by that though and it was one of the reasons why I didn't want to switch right away, I wanted a full mass.

Karen's MOH · July 2010

Our ceremony is at 2 and the reception starts at 5. We are having a shuttle pick people up beginning at like, 4:20 and they can get to the reception about 15 minutes ealry with no problem, so the gap won't be too bad. Just about everyone is OOT so I figure people will go back to their rooms, rest and clean up a minute, then head out.

vtbm · July 2010

We are having a full mass. Our priest promised we'd be out of there in an hour tops. That still gives people a half hour to get to the reception for cocktail hour that starts at 7pm.

njlfred · July 2010

Our ceremony started at 2:00 and our cocktail hour technically started at 4:00. That being said, we knew our venue would let guests in if they arrived early and they actually ended up opening the bar around 3:40 - 3:45. We had a full mass and did a receiving line outside the church, so we expected things to end around 3:30ish. It happened to be one of the first really nice days in April, so people were hanging out on the church grounds while we finished the receiving line and such - it actually worked out very well.

We didn't debate too much 2:00 vs 5:30 because our parents and some relatives are on the older side and/or have long drives, so we didn't want the reception to end at midnight or later. We extended an hour ahead of time and our cocktail hour and reception lasted from 4-10.

MeaghanandMichael · July 2010

My reception started immediately following the ceremony, at 3:30pm.

My advice is to understand the Catholic Church is not as flexible as reception sites can be and to plan your reception accordingly so as to not force people to linger in no mans land.

sboston06 · July 2010

Our reception starts at 4 PM with a 2 PM Catholic ceremony (no full mass). We are on a Sunday so we get any 5 hours. There is a small gap (1/2 hour), but I hope people will use it to check into their hotel rooms, or hang out in the hotel's bar. Hopefully they won't be too bored!

njlfred · July 2010

I agree with Meaghan on this one - it's best to try to minimize any gap that could occur due to a Catholic ceremony. That may mean having the ceremony at the later time or having the reception start earlier or some other solution. We nixed a lot of reception sites immediately because they would not let us start cocktail hour until 6:00 or 7:00, which would have created a large gap between that and our 2:00 ceremony.

Kim12407 · July 2010

We are having a 5:30 ceremony (not a full mass), with the reception starting at 7, and 25 min travel time inbetween. My worry is that we will be rushed because we don't want to miss our cocktail hour but will also be taking some pictures at the church (most will be out of the way since we are doing a first look though). I went through a period of time where I almost switched it to the 1:30 time slot, but didn't, and am happy with that decision. Our reception venue is all windows and we really want it to be dark out during dinner and dancing, and in August that's not till around 9!

LyssaBella · July 2010

We are also having a 5:30pm Ceremony at a Catholic Church. If you are that concerned about time, maybe change it from a Mass to a Ceremony. If that is ok with you of course. My reception begins at 7pm and we should be out of the church by 6:15 give or take pictures and such. Our ceremony is in Revere and reception in Burlington.

momo2210 · July 2010

Kim, I think we have very similar situations. We are getting married June 25, close to the longest day of the year, so if we started our reception any earlier the majority of it would be through day light. We want the evening reception so we are happy we switched to the later ceremony time and will go right into our reception from there. We would prefer not to see each other before the ceremony so our wedding planner and photographer told us we'll have to haul ass a little after the ceremony but I think its our best option.

october010bride · July 2010

Our ceremony is set to begin at 2:15. It will be a traditional Jewish ceremony and last for approximately 30 minutes. The cocktail hour is set to begin at 3:30.. the venue is about 15 minutes away from the ceremony site.

Arez16 · July 2010

Our ceremony is at 2pm, our reception to start at 4pm. Takes about 30 mins to get to the reception site. We plan on doing a receiving line at the church. I think there will be a 30 minute gap for the people who leave first but I don't think it will be that bad. I believe our reception site said they can open 15 mins earlier.

For those you had 2pm Ceremony times.....

Re: For those you had 2pm Ceremony times.....

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