Daytime wedding and reception..advise please!

I think dancing for a daytime lunch wedding is ok ! I went with a DJ because they can also be an mc but a lot of people do playlist and speakers now also and it can be more cost effective.

The schedule is the hardest part of planning, but we luckily had helped from our venue, photographer and hair and makeup stylists. Are you having the girls hair and makeup done? If so, you are going to have to be up really early for hair and makeup. Our wedding was at 4:30 and we had a total of 9 people for hair and 5 for makeup (includes 2 flower girls that didn't have too much done with their hair or makeup). We had 1 hair stylist and 1 makeup artist. We were supposed to have an assistant as well, but she had an emergency come up. We started hair and makeup at 8 A.M. and we were not done until approximately 2 P.M. If you have a lot of bridesmaids and they are having professional services done noon is going to be challenging. My brother's wedding as at 2 P.M. and we had to be up really early and some people went to one place to get their services and others went to another place. As for food, how long are you expecting your service to take? Are you doing all of your photos after the ceremony? There really is a lot that goes into planning.

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I didn't even think about time for hair/makeup.....I have a maid of honor but do not plan on having her or the best man stand up with us (no bridesmaids or groomsmen). We were just going to have me and SO standing. We are only inviting family, about 30-35 people in total.

I feel like it's going to be boring...the church is huge and beautiful and with such a small crowd I can't figure out what everyone is going do..besides sit, drink, and eat lol

Nothing wrong with sitting eating and drinking in my opinion so whatever you do will be lovely! Our after party ended up being just sitting around chatting even though we had planned for it to be more of a dance party. But it was still a BLAST and nice to have time to really catch up with people.

We had a morning ceremony with lunch time reception. We ran it same as we would a Saturday night wedding, just on a much earlier timeline. Don’t feel like you have to let the time of day dictate what you do or don’t do!

We served champagne and mimosas before and after our ceremony bc I was worried people would drink or dance lol. So that got them started on the right foot! We didn’t really change our menu for lunch from what it would have been for dinner. We had a steak, one fish and duck. And passed dessert canapés in addition to our croquembouche wedding cake. Still served beer, wine, one cocktail and a speciality shot that my husband is known for. We did decide to use a DJ and we had a lot of dancing!

For schedule follow the same process you would for any other wedding. Work backwards from your start time, think about what things you want to get done and when (family photos before or after ceremony? First look or no?) Talk to you vendors mainly photographer but also videographer if you have one, hair , make up, venue, MC/DJ etc. They will know how long things take, how much time they need for certain things etc. My venue had a run sheet they used for meal drop timings, I was able to play around with it a little bit, but it helped know how long each course would take.

I found there weren’t a lot of online examples for morning/daytime weddings but read wedding timelines for all times of day to get ideas and you’ll start to work it out!

I think any food options you'd consider for dinner, you can do at lunch. I think the dancing depends on your crowd, I'd still have a DJ to emcee the whole wedding (introduce wedding party, announce first dance & speeches, etc.). There may not be as much dancing, but if your crowd likes to dance there may be some.

We are doing a lunch wedding & we are doing it very similar to an evening wedding - everything just earlier. Ceremony is at 11 am, cocktail hour at noon, reception starts at 1 with dancing, full lunch (fish, chicken, vegan) DJ, emcee, etc.

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Thank you for the tips! I really the idea of champagne and mimosas. I was thinking also maybe sangria? I doubt there will be dancing but you're probably right that it will still be fun either way.

I won't have caterers because family is providing the food. They keep asking me for a menu and I have a couple of ideas but the only experience I have with food planning is bbqs and birthday parties. I really want our wedding to be more on the fancy side but not too fancy. does that make sense?

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Would it be tacky to have my brother with a karaoke mic do the emcee parts? I agree with you that would be best to have someone who can announce our arrival and first dances. Thank you!

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Are you planning on going right from the ceremony to the reception? Ours will be at the same property and someone from another post suggested we don't just walk from the ceremony straight to the reception hall, but take some time to spend alone together. Then when all guests are seated with their champagne, we walk in and get the party started.

Is anyone planning (or have done) entertainment at the reception like games or activities? I don't want to spend money on a photo booth or any like that but also do not want this to feel like a birthday party or a shower.

I really doubt that people will want to dance and am hoping for more than just sitting and eating.

View Quoted Comment Our ceremony & reception are at the same place. After the ceremony there will be an hour cocktail hour which we will enjoy w/ our guests (we are doing photos before), and then the DJ will announce to the guests to find your seats & the entire wedding party will meet on the patio & then the DJ will introduce the wedding party. I don’t know if this is the way it’s supposed to be, but it’s the way that we want it.

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Not if he is okay doing it and good at public speaking, then I think it's fine if you can't afford a DJ. I think a DJ is always a better option just because they are experienced with weddings.

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I feel like my whole reception is going to cocktail party

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He is happy to be the center of attention. I think a DJ is too much for how simple our wedding will be. I doubt he would even need a microphone..its like 25 people (maybe even just 20)