Anyone else having a big gap between ceremony and reception?

Some guest are complaining but we really didnt have a choice...

The guest that are coming In from out of town are going to their hotel rooms after the ceremony and are hanging out there until the shuttle picks them up for our reception

I'm having the same issue. Our wedding cerremony is at 1:00pm, which is the latest that the church will allow. It's a full mass Catholic wedding, so we should be done there by 2:45 after pictures are complete. Our reception does not start until 5:00pm, also the earliest we can do it there. HUGE dilema! I'm dreading invitations, because at the moment I feel like we're asking too much for people if we invite everyone to the ceremony and expect them to just "hang out" and find something to do for a couple of hours before the reception starts, but we might offend people if we only invite them to the reception. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Same here- Tracy. Full catholic mass. Ceremony @ 2 and reception @ 6.

JoAnna - how are you wording your invitations?

For Tracy, you could do some research on local attractions and things to do and have a brochure or something to send with your invites so people have options. I only have a two hour gap with my ceremony @2 and reception @4pm. Our ceremony is @ a renaissance fair which gives the guests something to do before they drive to the venue for the reception which is 30 minutes away.

We have a 3.5 hour gap between the end of our ceremony and the reception. Guests are expecting it and I've put local activities on our website to help them "pass the time".

Thanks ladies, I need to figure out activities. My fear is people will find themselves passing time at a watering hole somewhere and show up tanked at our reception!

Catholic ceremony here as well. 2pm. Reception venue will open at 5:30, dinner at 6 p.m. Since my hometown is super small and there are absolutely zero things to do there, we were thinking of inviting people out to our local winery. We were planning on taking photos there and telling everyone if they would like to come out and have some wine and be a part of our photos (not big into posed shots - like journalistic shots much better). That way they will be entertained and we will have awesome photos of us mingling with out guests!

I would invite everyone to everything, unless you want a small intimate family-only wedding ceremony.

We've attended Catholic weddings with a gap before, although 5 hours is a pretty big one. I think people are generally understanding that most masses have to take place earlier in the day. When we've attended those weddings in the past, we end up having bloody mary's all afternoon with our college buddies until cocktail hour starts. Just know that some guests will show up to the reception tipsy, and a lot of people might skip either the ceremony or the reception b/c of the timeline and the distance. It's just a reality - not everybody can devote an entire day to the wedding, especially if they have kids or something.

Isn't there a church any closer to the venue? There must be something. I think the gap is one thing, but the distance might cause you another set of issues for some guests.

Tracy I was afraid of the same thing happening, so I didn't list the local bars on the activity list. I put things like Starbucks, Ice Cream Shop, Museums, The Arch... you get the picture. I also blocked of a hotel in between the venues. That way if aunt and uncle so-and-so want to take a nap before the evening festivities, they have the opportunity to do so. I just hope they don't oversleep LOL

My wedding ceremony was at 12 noon. My reception started at 5 pm.

It wasn’t a problem i did have some people only come to one or the other but it didn’t bother me they all had good resins (not that i asked)

People hade time to get lunch and go home get changed... most people liked that they could freshen up be for the reception

I was really worried about it after hearing what some people on here had to say but if you don’t mind if some people don’t make it to both then don’t worry about it.

I had lots of time to do photos and got to spend some quality time with just me and DH after the ceremony over all im really happy i decided to have the gap

Thank you Caitlin... that makes me feel so much better!!! I'd actually rather invite them all to everything, and let them make the choice to come to one or both... instead of me making the choice for them and hurting feelings.

We are having a really short gap. We are doing all of our photos before the ceremony. 4:00 ceremony (full mass) and 6:00 reception.

We have to have at least a 45 min gap between ours because of photos... but I am not really sure what to do for the guests during that time... any ideas? It's on the beach.

Our wedding is at 12:30 p.m., only about 20-30 mins ceremony and then our cocktail hour starts at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. It is quite common where I live to have a couple hours in between. I will let people know the local attractions, also we will have older people and people with younger children coming, gives everyone a time for a nap.

I call the gap the curse of the Nuptial Mass. My daughter's Mass is the latest, 2:00. Her reception begins w/ cocktail hr at 5:30. We figured it will be at least an hr for Mass & then family photos at the church. The bridal party is stopping at a local garden for pictures. It is also an hour's ride to the venue. Many guests have to check-in at the hotel. I have to make sure the DOC put my daughter's vision together properly. So, I will actually be crammed for time.

Since this is part of our culture, I have never minded the gap & usually find a bar to hang in between times. Her reception venue is on the grounds of an inn that has a restaurant & bar. We expect guests will hang at the bar. DH will pick up the tab when we are in there. Guests arriving shyte faced is not a worry for us.

I have told non-Catholic guests of mine to skip Mass. Cate doesn't care.