Ceremony start time

A short ceremony is usually somewhere around 30 minutes long. If you start your ceremony at 6:00pm, start cocktail hour at 6:30pm, and start dinner around 7:30pm then that is slightly late but still acceptable, at least as far as I know. I would suggest serving appetizers with your cocktail hour if you are worried about guests being hungry.


Just for reference, 6:00pm-8:00pm was peak dinner time when I worked as a hostess at a fancy restaurant.

We're starting our ceremony at 430

Your start time would most likely depend on what time of year you're getting married. For example, we're getting married in September and starting our ceremony at 4:30 - the sun won't be super direct overhead, but it won't be golden hour yet. We don't plan for our ceremony to take more than 15 min, if even that, and immediately go into cocktail hour. We will be hosting a longer cocktail hour with lots of food, so that will go on for about 2 hours - that will get us closer to golden hour and in the last half of cocktails, my FH and I will head out for some portrait photos with that good lighting. Then the reception will start around 7 - we haven't decided if we will start with a little bit of dancing then go into dinner, or just go straight into dinner and save all the dancing for after yet.

With a Friday wedding, most people are going to have to take the day off, or at least take a half day to make it to your wedding anyway, so I would just pick a ceremony start time that suits you best. I recommend finding out what time sunset is at your location and work backwards from there.

Have you decided on whether or not you’re doing a first look? That will greatly impact the length of the cocktail hour, which can be up to two hours or more if you need that time for photos. We’re doing a first look so informal getting ready photos start at 2:30, the first look at 3:30, bridal party and family photos at 4, then the ceremony at 5, cocktail hour at 5:30, and then the reception starts at 6:30 and dinner is served at 6:45 after our first dance and speeches.


Talk to your vendors about timing, my photographer basically made this timeline for us and we added in other things as they got planned.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much! I am having appetizers during cocktail hour so that will help!
I appreciate you!

View Quoted Comment I will absolutely reach out to my photographer!
I do want to do a first look with my dad and then my fiancé before the ceremony
I’d like to knock out as many pictures as I can prior too so I am able to present during cocktail hour as well!

View Quoted Comment The wedding is august 12th, I was thinking ceremony at 430 and go from there
We are doing snacks in our cocktail hour That I know
When you explain the cocktail hour it makes it easier for that time frame-Thank youb