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In between the ceremony and reception

Knottie36048790Knottie36048790 member
First Comment
in Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions
HELP!!!!!!!!!!

My fiance and I are having our ceremony and reception at the same venue in downtown St. Louis. The venue needs about an hour and a half to set up for the reception after the ceremony. Us and our wedding party are going to utilize this time to take pictures. Where would you suggest we have our guests occupy the time in between? We have around 160 guests and our wedding is in early October.
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Re: In between the ceremony and reception

  • beetherybeethery member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    Oh boy. There's not another room or bar area or SOMETHING that could be set up and ready right after the shower? If they have another room or something that you could use for a cocktail hour and passed apps you'd be in better shape.
    --

    I'm the fuck     out.

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  • NYCMercedesNYCMercedes member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited August 2014
    Knottie36048790 said:
    HELP!!!!!!!!!!

    My fiance and I are having our ceremony and reception at the same venue in downtown St. Louis. The venue needs about an hour and a half to set up for the reception after the ceremony. Us and our wedding party are going to utilize this time to take pictures. Where would you suggest we have our guests occupy the time in between? We have around 160 guests and our wedding is in early October.

    Ask your venue. They certainly have done this before. You have to host them somewhere. Don't they have a separate room for the cocktail hour? If not, then have your guests seated at their tables for your ceremony so the room is setup when your guests arrive.
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  • Knottie36048790Knottie36048790 member
    First Comment
    Unfortunately, they do not have any extra rooms for our guests. It is a new venue, so they have only had a few weddings there so far. I will definitely ask! Our wedding is not until next year, so they will be more familiar with all of the details the closer it gets. My soon to be mother-in-law and I were discussing possibly doing a cocktail hour somewhere close to our venue, but I'm having a difficult time researching places that offer that option for that many guests. 
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  • LondonLisaLondonLisa member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I would look at another venue for the ceremony. Do you have a park, church, or other area that you could hire for that time? This is rarely expensive and would be cheaper than a cocktail hour. This way the venue can set up during your ceremony and you are able to go directly from the ceremony to the reception. If they don't have room for a cocktail hour, do a first look for photos and skip it. I really would not like to have to leave the venue for cocktail hour only to come back for the reception. Are people supposed to drive? Find new parking spaces?
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  • ElcaBElcaB member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Is there a bar nearby where you could do a hosted cocktail hour? Or, does your venue have outdoor space where you could set up tents if need be and have an outdoor cocktail hour? 
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  • RebeccaFlowerRebeccaFlower member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    I'm glad you know that you absolutely need to host something. Is it cold then? Could you have a tent with tables & chairs and a food truck for appetizers? I would be in heaven. 
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  • climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Honestly, I'd find a new venue. Or at the very least, find a different location to host the ceremony. 1.5 hours is a long time for them to set up for the reception. 
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Do they have space outdoors? If so, you could do the ceremony outside (with a tent in case of inclement weather) and then have people move indoors for the reception.

    If that's not an option, I would use this as your reception venue and get married somewhere else. If you're religious, look into nearby churches. If not, look into city parks and rec. We did that and ended up finding that we could rent a pedestrian bridge that spanned a river flowing through downtown. It was pretty cheap and really cool. 
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  • emmyg65emmyg65 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    An hour and a half?? That seems kind of ridiculous. If you can't find another venue nearby for the ceremony, or change venues altogether, I'd probably just have them stage the venue for the reception before guests arrive and seat them at their dinner tables for the ceremony.
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    emmyg65 said:
    An hour and a half?? That seems kind of ridiculous. If you can't find another venue nearby for the ceremony, or change venues altogether, I'd probably just have them stage the venue for the reception before guests arrive and seat them at their dinner tables for the ceremony.
    This.  You may just need to have the reception space already set up and people sitting at their tables for your ceremony.

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  • manateehuggermanateehugger member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I'm from STL. What's your venue? I also think needing 1.5 hours is ridiculous. There's no other space to let people mill and sip on a drink?

    I'd push back on the venue or find another ceremony site.
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  • Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    You can't leave your guests hanging for 1.5 hours in who knows where while the venue sets up for a cocktail hour.  The cocktail hour is supposed to be going on while you take your photos, but it needs to be ready to begin as soon as the ceremony ends.  Either you need to find a new venue for your ceremony or make clear to the venue staff that 1.5 hours between the ceremony and cocktail hour is not doable.
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  • holyguacamole79holyguacamole79 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    One more vote for find another venue.  My brother got married in a venue that had the ceremony & reception in the same space.  The guests were escorted outside to a bar for cocktail hour while the bridal party took pictures.  The whole thing took 30 minutes ... 45 tops.




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  • Knottie36048790Knottie36048790 member
    First Comment
    manateehugger, the venue is Barnett on Washington.
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  • PineapplePopsiclesPineapplePopsicles member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Knottie36048790 said:
    manateehugger, the venue is Barnett on Washington.
    That is a gorgeous space.  Why oh why do they need so long to flip the space?
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    It looks like there are a bunch of different spaces and options there. Could you have cocktail tables set up in that gorgeous foyer? Or in the cigar lounge/bar? Or out on the patio?
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  • manateehuggermanateehugger member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Yeah, beautiful space. I've never been to a wedding there, but it seems like they have all sorts of space that you could use as a cocktail hour space. Or could you have guests seated at dining tables for the ceremony?

    Express to them that it is simply not practical that they expect your guests to leave and come back. That makes you look like a poor host and your venue lazy or incompetent. Is this their normal policy? Our reception was in The Magic House - they managed to clean up little kid messes, vacuum, and set up our tables and decorations in about 45 minutes. And The Magic House is definitely not an event space. I would find this unacceptable.

    STL guests are no strangers to gaps, and I personally don't mind them when the couple is trying to get around a church restriction (though they are still a faux pas), but I would be SO annoyed if you booted me out there and told me to come back in 1.5 hours. Push back until they compromise or consider having your ceremony somewhere else downtown.
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  • Liatris2010Liatris2010 mod
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    I googled your venue and it looks beautiful and very upscale. I am sure it is not cheap. I don't know what you're paying, but I am sure it is enough that the venue can make sure your guests are hosted appropriately. It looks like there are plenty of spaces for a separate cocktail. From your original post I was imagining a small one-room clubhouse run by one person who needed an hour to move 100 chairs because she is all by herself and can't afford to hire help. That big venue has staff, plenty of chairs, plenty of space, and there is no reason they need everyone to leave for 1.5 hours and then come back.

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  • Knottie36048790Knottie36048790 member
    First Comment
    Thanks guys!!! We love the Spanish missionary look with the double staircase. We immediately fell in love with this venue.

     Unfortunately, the cigar lounge (holds approx 10 people) and the patio area (maybe 20 people) are VERY small. They are basically attached to the Urban Chestnut, but their patio area only seats about 60 people and they do not reserve tables.

    I definitely feel the same way, manateehugger. I would feel incredibly rude asking my guests to leave for 1.5 hours. I'm having some major anxiety over this! I really need to talk to the event coordinator.
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