Ceremony Too Short?

That’s fine. A standard ceremony honestly isn’t long

20 minutes is pretty normal and honestly the perfect amount for your guests

20 minutes should be totally fine.

Seems like plenty of time... but dont be afraid to alot like give an extra 5 minutes for wiggle room in case you run over?

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Great, thanks!

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Ok perfect! They'll be outside too so if it's hot, they won't have to sit for too long!

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Great, thank you!

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Smart idea! I plan on starting cocktail hour 5 min after the ceremony ends so hopefully that will allow for a little extra time!

It depends on vows exchange i would alot 30 mins just to be sure

View Quoted Comment Good idea!

Your officiant should be able to estimate the length of your ceremony pretty well. Have you tried asking them? But 20 minutes seems normal for a secular ceremony. They just get long if you’re adding in something like a full mass.

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Good to know. Our officiant is a family friend so he wouldn't know, but it's good to hear that 20 minutes is ok! I just didn't know if when people say "20 minute ceremony" they're including processional and recessional, but it sounds like a yes

View Quoted Comment That makes sense, personally I’ve always preferred short ceremonies. It keeps your guests from getting bored.

That's fine. Our ceremony was very short. From walking down, the ceremony and walking back up, I'd say our ceremony took maybe 15 minutes total. We wanted something quick and easy.

Seems fine, honestly between everything going on I don't even know how long our ceremony actually was but planned on it being about 30 minutes from beginning to end. Just be prepared for the possibility of a late start or something if you're keeping to a time schedule, make sure you have an eye on the clock, from when hair and make up started at 11am until 530 when we realized i wasn't even in my dress yet, it gets crazy.

We had someone sing , Let it be Me ( like Roberta Flack), and many other people have either a 3 minute musical piece, or a reading. And still it was just under 20 minutes. It felt too rushed without it, to us. And gave us a couple of minutes just looking at each other. That was a late decision, but I am glad we had that quiet moment. We had done a practice walk through at the venue, and it came out to 12 minutes, which felt too rushed. Short vows. The extra song was a good addition .

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Exactly! Especially since we'll be outside and we don't want people to get too hot. Thanks for your help!

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That's super helpful to hear, thank you!

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I can imagine!! I will definitely try to add in a cushion in case things get off schedule. Thanks!

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That's a great idea! Our vows are at about 1.5 min each so hopefully it won't feel too rushed. I think it would come out to about 15 minutes at the altar, and then plus about 5 for processional and recessional.