Ceremony start time

I think 5-10 minutes is fine, but any later I'd be annoyed (unless it was something the bride & groom couldn't control).

10 minutes after invite time is when we started

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Agree with this. Don't intentionally keep your guests waiting.

I agree with PP, a 5 minute buffer isn’t a bad idea but it’s rude to intentionally make your guests wait 15 minutes because you think someone might be late.

I only plan to wait about five minutes. We have a tight schedule for the reception, I don’t want to miss anything because people can’t show up on time.

I have mine at 30 minutes in advance. I thought it was really rude at first but everyone single wedding processional I have talked to says that 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time. Having said that, if I could turn back and redo my invitations, I might have disregarded that and put 15 minutes at the most because I still think it's a bit much.

Our venue recommended 30 minutes which I thought was a little extensive but when I went to my cousin’s in December, problems started happening and me and my family were about 10 minutes late. They ended up started 30 minutes after their start time.
We put 5:00pm on our invites, but only our bridal party and parents will know that we’re starting at 5:30

I would suggest around 10 minutes. Enough time where you arent seen lining up but doesnt keep people waiting

This depends on area you live & your people. Every wedding I’ve been to started after the time listed on invite, anywhere between 10 to 30min later. Guests usually arrive at the time listed on invite & by the time they they check in, get seated, have a pre-ceremony drink or water (if drink is not served), the processional music usually starts 20-30min after. So I would make schedule according to what your guests are used to / is common in your area. I definitely do not want guests arriving after I walked down the aisle, so we are starting after the time listed on our invite.

Our invite time was for the time we intended to start.

I agree with the PP that said a 5-10 min delay is fine, but I wouldn’t intentionally set the time
much earlier. People know invite time means start time, so most people will start arriving much earlier, so intentionally delaying by a half hour will mean you have some people waiting around for a whole hour by the time you get started which is a bit of a drag— and that’s if everything goes smoothly. Delays may come up, so I always find it best to plan for punctual, deal with delay. If you plan for a later start, then have a natural delay, you could end up with double delay (which leads to cranky guests. And in my experience, cranky guests suck the fun out of weddings!)

View Quoted Comment I would dislike that too! 😂 how would they get to their seat from behind you if you're in the middle of your walk. That would be terrible

We said 3:30 and we meant it lol. I think we had said something like "promptly at 3:30" and mentioned the venue doors opening at 2:30. If they were late, they were late. They missed out.

View Quoted Comment Yes it would be terrible & I’ve seen it happen several times. The most awkward being at a ceremony in a church, where when people came late church door made a loud, creaking sound, so everyone turned back to see what’s happening 🤦🏻‍♀️ So yes, we’re starting after our listed time lol 😆

View Quoted Comment Same! Our ceremony is in a very small and old church with a giant creaky door haha.

View Quoted Comment Haha... yes, then if I was you, I would definitely arrive at least 10min after 🙂

No more than 10 mins. Last summer we went to a wedding where the bride and her group were an hour and 45 mins late. All the guests were standing outside in the heat and sun waiting for the ceremony to start. I can't stand people who are late to begin with. I'm super anal about people being on time no matter what.

My guest will be arriving around 4:30-5:00. Ceremony start time is 5:30, and I will be there around 5:00

We'll be at the venue hours before since we're doing photos and a first look there, then hiding away before guests start arriving. I'd personally be incredibly peeved as a guest if things started any more than 15 minutes late, and honestly, I'd still be annoyed even then. Maybe it's a regional thing, but every wedding I've been to has had the listed time being the time the ceremony is expected to start. If you're less than ten minutes early, you're late. The first wedding I went to without my parents I showed up 15 minutes early, and I'd guess 90% of the guests were already seated inside. I think showing up 5 minutes late is fine, and if you're worried about people seeing you, you can always hide out in the car for a little longer.

Our start time is listed as 2:30 pm, but I'll probably end up being five minutes late knowing me

Our invite time was the start time. We did end up waiting 5-10 min on the day of though because a lot of guests were late, and we wanted as many of the guests to be present as possible.