5:00 Friday Wedding Itinerary

dragonavicious · February 2015

My mom decided that she thought our wedding should be at 5 because then people can make it after work without taking the day off. She ordered the invitations but I was having second thoughts. Now it's too late but I am wondering if this schedule works. She said the wedding would be over by 5:30 - 5:45 and appetizers would start at the reception site at 6:00. The pictures would need to be finished by 6:30-6:45 and dinner could start at 7:00. Then she said the cake could be cut at 7:45 or as soon as we finished dinner (while everyone else is eating) and the dance floor would be open no later then 8:00.

Does that seem too late? Because to me it seems too late. I just don't want the dance floor to be completely empty or people to feel rushed. Anyone have a later wedding? Because no matter what we have to be out of there by 12:00.

wrigleyville · February 2015

5:00 is way too early. Most people work until 5:00, and you need to allow travel time.

It's generally recommended that Friday weddings start at 6:00 or later, depending on your area and how long it takes people to get around. That's assuming they aren't going home to change.

Honestly, I prefer when Friday weddings start at 6:30 or 7:00, with cocktail hour immediately thereafter, and dinner around 8:00.

Also, having the dance floor only open until 8:00 seems odd. If dinner is at 7:00, people will be eating until 7:30 or so, and then they'll be eating cake right after that. The dance floor should be open for at least another hour.

So, I'd do something like this:

6:30 - wedding

7:00 - 8:00 - cocktail hour

8:00 - dinner

8:30 - cake cut

10:00 - reception ends

manateehugger · February 2015

Agreed with PP - five is not at all late, it's very very early for a weekday wedding. I'd have to take part of the afternoon off work to attend.

dragonavicious · February 2015

Yeah but its a moot point anyway because she already ordered the invites. And I don't mean that the dance floor will only be open until 8. I mean it would open at 8 until midnight.

Maggie0829 · February 2015

I'm kind of confused what you mean by "too late."

[Deleted User] · February 2015

My wedding is starting at 5pm. The timeline will go something like this:

5:00-6:15/6:30: Catholic wedding mass.

6:30-7:00: Travel time to reception

7:00-8:00: Cocktail hour

8:00-8:20: Intro, first dance, dances with parents.

8:20-9:00: Salad and Plated dinner served; MOH/BM/Parent speeches.

9:00-10:15: DJ starts playing more upbeat music.

10:15- 10:30ish: Cake cutting and cake/coffee served

10:30-12: More dancing

I would suggest giving some time between eating dinner and serving the cake. People will want to have a break from food (especially if you had cocktail hour before dinner). Let them dance a little bit and then cut the cake.

katiekessler123 · February 2015

My Friday wedding was at 5pm and the majority of people DID attend the ceremony. BTW, we didn't send out save the dates, either. Anyway, our schedule was similar to msbride2015.

5:6:15/6:30- ceremony in a Catholic church

6:30-7:00 travel time- reception starts

7:00-7:45 cocktail hour

7:45- introduction- we cut the cake immediately after coming in

8:00-9:15ish dinner and speeches

9:15-9:30- first dance- pie was put out for desert

9:30-12:00 midnight- party time!

We didn't do any other traditions like garter toss, anniversary dance, or anything else. After the first dance, that was it for our schedule.

A LOT of people stayed until the end, which I was shocked by. I, myself, would've been happy to be done at 11pm..I was exhausted by the end of the night!

katiekessler123 · February 2015

BTW, one thing we felt strongly about was have appetizers during the cocktail hour, since dinner was later. We did have four different passed appetizers at that time to tide people over until dinner.

blabla89 · February 2015

Why is your mother the one deciding this? Did you agree to it before she ordered invitations?

MyNameIsNot · March 2015

I don't see how you figure that 5:00 means people don't have to miss work. Most people's workday ends between 5-6 on Fridays. If you've got to be at a ceremony by 5, you'd have to leave work by 2-4, depending on whether you need to go change, pick up your spouse, distance etc.

Some people can leave at 3 on Friday with no problems, but not everyone can. Frankly, that schedule sends the message to me that you'd prefer that I just come to the reception and skip the ceremony. I would schedule the ceremony to start around 6:30-7, and push everything back a bit. People don't mind a late dinner if there's food during cocktail hour.

MandyMost · March 2015

I had a Saturday wedding, and we could have done it at any time we wanted, and we chose 5:30. I think a wedding starting between 5 and 6pm is ideal. It means dinner is served at a "normal" dinner time usually around 7 or 8pm, and people can drink and dance the night away until 11 or 12 after dinner. Generally you should plan about 6 hours total from start of the ceremony until the end of the last song played.

So, a 5pm wedding on a Friday is perfect in terms of wedding timing, but it's rough since it's on a weekday and nearly all of your guests (at least, anyone with a regular weekday job) will have to get out early in order to attend if they're local, or take the whole day off if they're not.

jacobsmawedding15 · March 2015

Your timeline is pretty much exactly like mine. I think it sounds good. My Friday wedding is also at 5pm. Most of my friends are in college or are teachers and so will have the day off anyway and our family wouldn't miss it. Just be aware that some people may not be able to make it to your ceremony. It's just how it is.

OliveOilsMom · March 2015

My wedding is starting at 5pm. The timeline will go something like this:

5:00-6:15/6:30: Catholic wedding mass.

6:30-7:00: Travel time to reception

7:00-8:00: Cocktail hour

8:00-8:20: Intro, first dance, dances with parents.

8:20-9:00: Salad and Plated dinner served; MOH/BM/Parent speeches.

9:00-10:15: DJ starts playing more upbeat music.

10:15- 10:30ish: Cake cutting and cake/coffee served

10:30-12: More dancing

I would suggest giving some time between eating dinner and serving the cake. People will want to have a break from food (especially if you had cocktail hour before dinner). Let them dance a little bit and then cut the cake.

This was bascially our timeline too. With the exception that the parent dances were not done after the first dance. We waited until dinner was fully served, then had them. That was how our reception venue preferred it, due to how they timed the dinner service. We also cut our cake at 10.

We were fully prepared for people to miss our ceremony due to the early start time. Most people were able to attend it though.

Also, remember that the dance floor is open to all after the first dance. So while we had Sinatra and other classic artists playing during dinner service, people were still getting up to dance to the songs they liked.

southernbelle0915 · March 2015

If the goal is for guests to not need to leave work early, a 5pm start time does not accomplish this goal. Many people aren't even out of work by that time. I would have to leave work early to get to a wedding at 5pm.

If your mom already ordered invitations, then you're stuck with that start time unless you decide to re-order. If you decide to reorder, I would do something like this:

6:00 - ceremony

6:30-7:15 - cocktail "hour" for guests/pics for B&G (take all other photos ahead of time)

7:15 - intros and first dances

7:30 - dinner

8:30 cake cutting

8:15-whenever - dancing/party

If you stick with the 5pm start time, I'd do this:

5:00 - ceremony

5:30-6:30 - cocktail hour for guests/pics for WP and B&G

6:30 - intros and first dances

6:45 - dinner

7:45 - cake cutting

8:00-whenever - dancing/party

5:00 Friday Wedding Itinerary

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