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Devoted May 2018

Ceremony time

Brenda, on January 22, 2018 at 11:14 AM Posted in Wedding Ceremony 0 5

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I’m trying to finish up my invitations but am not sure what to put for the ceremony start time. (All my vendors knew the ceremony time would be sometime between 3-4pm so their schedules are not an issue).
The ceremony is going to be roughly 30 minutes and cocktail hour is going to start at 4:30pm. I’m thinking of starting at 3:45pm so we can end around 4:15pm start a receiving line and then people can start to get food. The bartenders should already be ready if people want drinks.
Do you think that’s giving enough time? I’m afraid if we start at 3:30pm that will be too much of a gap and 4pm would take time from cocktail hour.
What does everyone suggest for this timeline?

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5 Comments

Latest activity by Christy, on August 26, 2019 at 6:04 PM

Expert June 2018
Aly · on January 22, 2018 at 11:22 AM
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3:45 works perfectly. You don't want your guests standing around, twiddling their thumbs while they wait to enter cocktail hour.
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Savvy October 2018
Megan · on January 22, 2018 at 11:23 AM
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Have your guests arrive early either way! You don't want to be in the middle of the ceremony and have people coming in
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Super October 2017
stephanie · on January 22, 2018 at 11:25 AM
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If they are in the same venue, start at 4. The whole purpose of your cocktail hour is so that those guests who get there first have something to do while waiting on everyone else. You wouldn't want the first guests standing around waiting for the doors to open while you're continuing to greet other guests in your receiving line. It's okay that not everyone will be there right at 4:30. That's the point.

If your venue will let people get food/drinks prior to 4:30, you can move the wedding time up.... But this means "cocktail hour" starts prior to 4:30. It starts when they start serving food and drinks to guests, regardless of which time you officially call the cocktail hour. You will also have to work out with the venue how you pay for the "extra" time, if they charge you by the hour.
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Champion June 2018
muriel · on January 22, 2018 at 12:43 PM
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This would be rude. The ceremony start time on the invitations should be the time you start. Remember the guests arrive 15-39 minutes before, so if you were lying to them about your intended start time, you would be wasting even more of their time.
If someone arrives late, they can quietly slip in the back.
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Savvy August 2018
Lisa · on January 27, 2018 at 4:45 PM
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Yes, this is important. I recently attended a wedding where I arrived late because the road was blocked a quarter mile from the venue. The rest of the guests knew their way around the town and were able to navigate easily around the block, but we ended up arriving about 10 minutes late, with the ceremony in full swing. I was surprised they started right on time. I would suggest that guests arrive 10-15 minutes before you actually plan to start.
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