2 hour gap in between ceremony and reception...

I'm confused. Will the cocktail hour start directly after the ceremony? Or will there be a two hour gap, followed by a two hour cocktail hour followed by dinner at 6? No matter how you slice it, doing a 2+ hour cocktail hour means that a number of your guests could be trashed by dinner time. Especially if all they have to eat is candy. I'm not a big fan of large gaps between ceremony and reception, but extending the cocktail hour might not be the best answer. My guess is that in a scenario with a loooong cocktail hour, guests will begin to pack up a go not long after dinner. That could be fine if you aren't looking forward to dancing the night away. I went to a riverside wedding last summer where post ceremony, the bride and groom flew off in a pontoon plane. The idea was that they would circle and come back during the cocktail hour. It took way longer than an hour and it was a super hot day with nothing to do but drink and nothing to eat but a few handfuls of mixed nuts per guest. By the time we got through dinner and toasts, we were exhausted from all that drinking in the sun. We stayed long enough to be polite, went home and passed out.

Curious???? Why would your photographer need over 3 hours for photos causing you to make it 4 hours between ceremony and reception ? And if you did move the reception to 6, are you really only going to serve your guests who are waiting around all that time only candy and beverages ? I am in NO way trying to sound mean, but if i were invited to a wedding with a timeline like that i probably wouldn't attend the ceremony and wait around for that long so i would just come for the reception. Two hours might be alittle easier to accept if you were offering some type of food other than candy. So, in my opinion you might want to re-consider your timeline for your guests sake. Good luck and Best wishes !

Why don't you do some pictures beforehand? Maybe all the wedding party pictures and then just pics of you and your FH after. Expecting guests to have candy for 3 hours is not a good idea. I would suggest a full cocktail party with appetizers if you must have that long, but that is a long day and asking for people to leave and come back at dinner, or just arrive for dinner and skip the ceremony

So just to clarify, your current plan is to have your ceremony, a 2hr break followed by a 2hr cocktail 'hour' before the reception begins? Would you expect the guests to hang around the whole time, or would they go back to a hotel room/somewhere else during the break?

So sorry! I meant to say 5 o'clock instead of 6. Ill edit that. So sorry ladies

The 2 hour gap between ceremony and reception will also be the cocktail hour. We are planning on having a receiving line right after the ceremony, all the guests go to the cocktail hour which will be when we leave for pictures and then come back at about 4:30 and then a sit down dinner at 5.

I would recommend some food besides candy, even if just cheese and crackers and veggies.

I'm with the others! Too long of a gap to have little food! I would suggest doing lots of pics before? We didn't want a gap and the ceremony and reception are at the same place. We are doing bp pics prior then some family and ones with FH and I after that way we can enjoy the coctail hr too.

If you can swing some snacks other than candy it might be nice, but I don't think 5pm is too late for dinner.

Candy alone is not going to cut it. Do a cocktail hour with real drinks, some food (cheese, veggies, dips) and move it back. Do some of your photos ahead and during and get your photographer under control. Two and a half hours right after the ceremony is far to long for everyone, including you.

I've seen the 'long gap with lemonade and lawn games' thing. People left, searching for alcohol. Life is not pinterest... it's all doable without 2.5 hours of corn hole ;-)

I struggled with this decision before, hated the idea of a gap but pretty much every single wedding I've been to had a gap so I was convinced by everyone to be ok with it. We will have a 2.5 hour gap, but luckily our venue is in a downtown metropolitan city, so guests will have plenty to do. Plus the majority of our guests are OOT so many will have hotel rooms.

Celia is completely correct. You will need to serve more than candy regardless of the length and 2 hours is really pushing it. Do photos before and have an hour long cocktail hour .

Even if you don't want to see each other before you can do a lot of pictures before. Take ones with just your family, or just you and your bridesmaids to try to cut down on the break.

We are having our ceremony at 4 pm and cocktail hour starting at 6 pm. We are doing this because of pictures as well, we really don't want to see each other prior. Plus with our wedding being a Friday we figure not many people will come to the ceremony.

^but if they do come they are most likely leaving work early only to be poorly hosted for 2 hours...this is rude.

@Melissa your cocktail is starting at 6, or your reception is starting at 6? How long are you allocating for couple pictures? Where are your pictures being taken?

If I were a guest I would hate a 2 hour gap. Its just too long. Cocktail hour should be just that..an hour. Then if you provide a lot of food people will be too full for dinner. Like one of the other ladies suggested are you able to do pictures before the ceremony?

Personally, i think your schedule needs to go a little something likes this:

11-12 - bride pictures w/ wedding party & family

12:15-1:15 - groom pictures with wedding party & family

1:15-1:45 - freshen up/finishing touches etc etc

2:00-2:30 - ceremony

2:30 - 2:45 (idk how long this will actually take) - receiving line

3 - 4 - bride and groom pictures with family and bridal party

4:00-4:15 - take time to your selves

4:15 show up at reception. first dance, cake cut etc whatever it is you want to do at first

5:00 - dinner

personally, i think two hours is too long for a cocktaill hour. and i really think you should get some pictures out of the way earlier in the day for the sake of the schedule and for fresh makeup.

I agree with Kristen's timeline, 3-4 pm cocktail hour and have guests starting to get settled at 4.

Gaps are normal where I'm from. People always find things to do. Usually they leave and go somewhere for a few drinks then come back later. My wedding is at 2 and reception at 6!