Time Killer Ideas

AlandEdna · February 2011

I'm getting married on NYE, and my wedding ceremony is set to start at 4:00 pm.
Problem is my reception doesn't start until 8:00 and will run into the new year

Becuase its new years eve, my church has its annual nye celebration so 4:00 was the lastest I could book the church.

I'm wondering what guests could do in between. I know weddings usually last about an hour or so...then we will spend another hour doing pictures. That still leaves us with 2 open hours.
Most of the guests are local, so I guess they could just go home and then come back out to head to the reception hall...but what about out of town guests?

our wedding is in Wilmington.

wicked+faery · February 2011

why not pick a museum to go to? either supply the tickets or everyone has the option of going & pay for their own?

Taybear20 · February 2011

You guys could maybe go back to you or your parents house and have a mini reception. With small treats and kinda make it a sort of shower. Where you open all the gifts and thank everyone. And afterward take pictures as a couple with each guest individually to make them feel like a even bigger part of the wedding.

Ms.BriarRose · February 2011

Honestly, I would either do one of two things.

One, do what Wicked suggested. Give them something to do, something concrete and constructive. Museum, Longwood Gardens, etc. But, if you do this, I strongly encourage you to provide transportation to your guests. I am all for a church ceremony (I was married in a church), which means obviously that your guests will need to drive from the church to the reception, but you don't want to over-drive them- so if you do this, you should do a shuttle from the church to the museum, or have everyone go to the reception and then shuttle them from there.

Two, pay the extra money to extend your reception. By the time you pay for tickets for everyone to go somewhere and a shuttle, you might as well have paid extra time at your venue.

The problem is, you will get people who go back to their hotel room or go out and won't come to your reception, OR, more than likely, they will choose not to attend the ceremony. I am dead serious- you will have a very small attendance at your ceremony because of this. It's just the nature of time management and guests.

I know you want to do a NYE midnight thing, but have you thought about moving it up? I know that may not be an option, but the only reason I suggest that is at all weddings I have been to, but the end of the night (10-10:30), even if your reception lasts longer, most of your guests are either sitting around tired or have left because they are tired. I don't know if you thought about doing an "early" celebration (if you are trying to view fireworks, I know First Night in the city of Wilmington does them at like, 10pm as well as midnight); it's just a suggestion. That way, you could talk with your venue and try and move the time slot up.

The other final thing is, and once again only a suggestion, is looking to book another church. You have quite a while to go, so you should not have any trouble finding a church that is open (unfortunately, church weddings are not the norm much anymore, unless you are Catholic). You might even be able to find a church that lets you bring your pastor with you.

Since I don't know your reception venue, church/denomination, or any details like that, I can't really help you out until I know those details. I would love to help you figure this out, so feel free to add that info here so we can try and come up with something that works!

Ms.BriarRose · February 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_delaware_time-killer-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:77Discussion:03676d9a-5cfc-4b7a-bd02-6460f6801676Post:02fb7c8d-8998-4678-a703-38198cea8250">Time Killer Ideas</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm wondering what guests could do in between. I know weddings usually last about an hour or so...then we will spend another hour doing pictures. That still leaves us with 2 open hours.

Most of the guests are local, so I guess they could just go home and then come back out to head to the reception hall...but what about out of town guests? our wedding is in Wilmington.
Posted by AlandEdna[/QUOTE]

Couple more things:

One, your pictures that you will take won't involve your guests- just you and your wedding party. That is typically what the cocktail hour is for, so your guests have something to do while you are doing pictures and such, though some brides do try to make the cocktail hour.

Two, a ceremony, depending on the denomination, should last no more than an hour- and that is with Communion, etc. Like I said, I am not sure what denomination you are, but the only time I can think of it running long are if you are Greek Orthodox or having a High Latin Mass in the Catholic Church.

Finally, like I stated above, unfortunately, even if they are local, with the big time difference, the majority will skip one or the other- and that usually means the ceremony, since most people don't want to miss a party. Sad, but true.

Oh, and one more thing- I don't know your guest list amount, and for that reason I would not suggest doing the going to someone's house and opening presents, etc. Having 125 people, even 90 people, in one small location just is not a good idea.

Santorini2011 · February 2011

To go off of MBR-
If you move up the time, how about doing an after party with everyone at a bar, hotel, or someone's house to ring in the New Year. It is true that alot of people can't hang until midnight, esp older people.

JayElleJayCee · February 2011

I think the best idea is moving up the reception as well and then having an after party. Older people will not stay the whole time anyway and the younger people that want to party can. Plus it'll give you a chance for a night on the town with your wedding dress!!! You will be the center of attention everywhere!!

jordyn.alexander · March 2011

Although moving the reception up a bit & then go out for an 'after party' to ring in the new year sounds like fun, esp if it's mostly a younger crowd, you prob choose NYE for your wedding date so you could 'ring in the new year' with all of your family & friends at YOUR reception. I would leave the reception alone, unless you want to add hours to the reception (maybe look into adding a half hour to cocktail hour).

If your wedding starts at 4:00 & ends at 5:00, that leaves 3 hours before your guests' 8:00 arrival at the reception. That's not as much time as it seems; it's plenty but not a crazy amount. By the time all of your guests get out of the church, then you have your exit & they get to their cars, it could easily be 5:30. So now you are looking at only 2.5 hours. Your out of town guests can use this time to leisurely check in to their hotel room without feeling rushed. All of your guests can go home (or hotel room) & freshen up & relax for your big night. It would be nice to have a little down time so they can last till the end of the night.

As for the wedding party, it'll mostly just be picture taking time. Maybe your photographer can look into some cool locations for you all to go to. It'll be dark at that point so you can prob get some unique shots at various locations - which will eat up the time quickly, lol. You should have no problem at all getting to cocktail hour & use this time to greet your guests so you can just enjoy your evening with the (necessary) pleasantries out of the way.

So, with all that you have to concern yourself with, I wouldn't stress about it. It'll all fall into place

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