1 Hour Between Ceremony & Reception Question

The whole point of cocktail hour is to entertain your guests while you take photos.

If you take up the whole hour taking pictures, sorry - you missed cocktail hour.

My suggestion is to try to take as many pictures as you can before the ceremony (with individual BP, individual family), even if you aren't doing a first look - that way you just need photos with FH after the ceremony and everything else will be done

The whole point of cocktail hour is for you to take photos. As much as you might believe it's your day, it's not. When you invite guests, it becomes about them too and you cannot have a gap, even an hour-long one. You need to either do a first look or miss cocktail hour. Those are your choices without being rude. Anything else is rude.

@Daina there's a reason we ask new posters to lurk before posting. Your advice breaks rules of etiquette and is seen as rude by guests.

I think you either need to have a first look or miss cocktail hour. You just have to decide what is a bigger priority to you. There is not reason for the cocktail hour not to start at 5.

If your ceremony ends at 4:30, guests will depart the ceremony site between 4:40-5ish, as many will stand around chatting with other guests, perhaps using the bathroom and heading to their cars.

Then you have a 20 minute drive.

This puts people at the reception venue somewhere between 5 and 5:20.

I would start cocktail hour by 5:30. If you are not there at the beginning, that is fine. You make a grand entrance at 6.

The cocktail hour isnt for you to enjoy,its to entertain your guests while you are off doing your necessary pics

Yeah i agree with @fitz....I thought that was what cocktail hour was for.... to give your guest food and booe while you take pics....

We will be missing cocktail hour and making out grand entrance afterward.....

You cant do both. If you don't want to do a first look, you are going to miss cocktail hour. It is rude to have people wait around because you don't want to miss cocktail hour.

This is exactly why we decided on doing a first look, so we could attend cocktail hour. Like others have said, you cannot have both.

Daina's is NOT right when she says, " you do not have to accommodate people every hour your special day. It's whatever you want to do, because it is your day!" OMG...the entitlement of some average, non-royal, working women in this country.

Daina is flat out wrong. Please, don't invite people to a chopped up, sectioned event and feel good about it because "It is your day." Yes, you have the day, and you can spend it the way you want to. However, you don't get to collect all of the days of your guests just because you're doing one of the most normal things in the world -- getting married. The day you're getting married belongs to your guests, not you. If that's the way you feel about your guests, don't invite them to "your special day".

Here's your answer, OP...and it came from you, "We do NOT want to do a first look, so there is really no way to eliminate this hour because it is when we will be taking pictures. Also, we won't want to make cocktail hour earlier because we don't want to miss it while taking pictures !."

Do you know how many couples miss the cocktail hour because of pictures? Do you know how many couples plan those cocktail hours precisely because they want their guests hosted while the couple is taking photos? Of course there's a way to eliminate the hour. You don't want to make your cocktail hour earlier because you don't want to miss your own cocktail hour. You want to have your photos taken while leaving your guests wandering aimlessly as they keep checking their watches -- all because you want to attend a guest event that is put in place exactly because of this situation.

You can't have your cake and eat it too, or you can...but be prepared for less than thrilled guests -- especially when they see you at the cocktail hour and instantly realize that they were stranded because you needed to be at an event that is typically planned for their comfort while you're having your photos done.

I have been to weddings with a large gap and it's super annoying. Although, many times couples have said that the time the church was available and the venue didn't coincide, which I understand. During the gap I usually hit up a local bar. I wanted to avoid this sort of thing happening at my wedding, so I decided I wanted my ceremony and reception to be at the same venue. The flow is much better and no gaps. If you can, try to move your cocktail hour up. But if not I'm sure your guests will figure out something to do. But don't not move it up just because you want to attend your own cocktail hour. Your are the bride, not the queen of England.

Cocktail hour is to entertain your guests while you get pictures done. You don't need to be there. Don't make your guests stand around for an hour.