Between ceremony & reception ideas for guests

Have cocktail hour start immediately after the ceremony, then they'll be entertained.

Yep eliminate any gap and entertain with a cocktail hour before the reception.

So you're planning for about an hour between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of cocktail hour?

Yes, CMC, the guests will have an hour because our reception hall does not open until 5 for guests!

Can you have a longer cocktail hour? Maybe start at 4:30 and end a 6? That way you don't have a gap and cocktail hour isn't so long your guests get drunk or bored.

Gaps are incredibly rude

This is absolutely an UO on here, but I understand the short gap between the Catholic Mass and the reception. We had a full Mass too. However, I don't think it's right for you to leave your guests with nothing to do in between, since it sounds like there is basically no travel time needed. Can you push back your ceremony start time?

We are new to wedding planning, obviously... so we are just interested in hearing options to give our guests if we are unable to move up the cocktail hour... not in hearing the opinion that we are poor planners.

we picked the latest ceremony option available so that we wouldnt have our guests waiting around for hours. We are hoping that with the receiving line, it would take us to 4:30 after the ceremony so that they would just have that half hour if we couldnt move up the cocktail time at the reception.

We went to 2 weddings last summer with gaps. For one, we got a drink at a local bar. For the other, we checked into our hotel after the ceremony and then headed over to the reception.

Thank you CMC for the input! We were thinking about adding to our website the couple of nice bars down in our area that everythings going on, so they could take advantage of that for a half an hour!

They will entertain themselves. If they are out of towners they can use the time to check into their hotel rooms.

When I've gone to weddings with breaks, I appreciate when there is a shuttle between the hotel and the reception. After the ceremony, go to the hotel, check in, take a shuttle to the reception and then I don't have to worry about driving buzzed at the end of the night and my car is at the hotel when I wake up in the morning.

I've done a couple of weddings in Central Park, in the afternoon, where the couple booked a local bar for an hour in between the ceremony and the reception. It worked out fine.

Again, this is an UO, but going to a bar for a drink or 2 in between really doesn't bother me at all. If you can coordinate so that there is no gap, that would be ideal, but if you can't, not the end of the world in my opinion.

This is so rude. Just because you don't want a first look doesn't mean you get to be rude to your guests.

Every wedding I've been to has a gap (all Catholic masses with later receptions). We usually go to a bar/local person's house and hang out/change until cocktail hour. I think it's great to provide your guests with a list of bars or hotels where they can spend their time.

I know it's considered "rude" but for me/my family/friends it's all pretty "normal." So I get it.

OP, you're welcome! I don't see too many brides on here with full Masses so I thought that my opinion/experience would helpful. I'll also add that you should keep the gap as short as possible if there is one

I agree with CMC. If it is not possible for you to reserve a bar or location for cocktail hour I would try to provide a list of things for people to do on their own! Maybe even print it up and hand it out after mass.

Emily, you don't really get to dictate the replies you get to your threads. We're a blunt group and we don't sugar-coat.

Laura and others seeing nothing wrong with it for guests to entertain themselves: so the next time I have out-of-town guests visiting me, I'm okay to kick them out for 2 hours, but inviting them back after that? Sorry, no. Anytime there's a gap, you're being rude to your guests.

At least do what Celia suggested and open a tab at a local bar. You should be hosting these people from the start of the ceremony until the end of the reception. If that includes a gap, then you host the gap whether you're there with them or not.

Yeah that shouldn't be too difficult in downtown Milwaukee...knowing most of our guests, they would love to go see the local things in our city. Thank you!!