Do people usually show up on time?

I think moving it would be a smart idea. Your going to have the people that assume it starts at 5 so show up a little before, but then you always have the people that show up exactly on time. So its smart to put 10-15 minute before the start time on your invite. I actually think if you don'v move it up a little you might have some annoyed guest that have to sit there for so long.

I agree with AW2B. I always plan my time so I arrive before the time on the invitation and that's the time I expect it to start. If you started at 5:15 but told me 5, I would probably be there by 4:40 or 4:45 anyway.

I would assume it would start at 5 as well.

I would get there at 4:45, its kind've rude to make people sit there for 30 minutes waiting for you. If people are late, they miss it. Too bad. do the 5:15 or better yet 5pm. Which is what you had on your invitation.

We added this to the FAQ section on our Website.

1. What time should I arrive? The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6PM, so we suggest being there by 5:45PM, so you can be seated before the ceremony begins.

I agree with everyone above. If an invitation said ceremony at 5, I would expect it to start at 5 and would probably get there at least 15 minutes early. So if you really don't start the ceremony until 5:30, you're going to have guests that have sat around for 45 minutes--maybe more. I think I'd be a little annoyed.

If 5 pm is on the invitations, I would expect a ceremony to start at 5. It's rude to make people wait.

I would put 5:30 if that is your start time. We had no problems with everyone showing up on time & we had instructed our DOC to escort in late arrivals through the back so that didn't walk into the middle of the ceremony. I definitely would not put 30 minutes prior on your invites.

Yeah....I would be really annoyed that I arrived on time for what I thought was a 5:00 ceremony to find out I needed to wait half an hour. As a functioning adult, I would find this offensive.

I went to a wedding last weekend where the bus driver (school bus from hotel to church) either got lost or didn't know where he was going, AND had to go back to get a second round of guests from the hotel. Ceremony started 30 minutes late because of it, and I felt terrible for the couple since this cut into their photo time. I would say anticipate a 5:15 start, but also do everything in your power to make sure everyone gets there on time i.e. print out directions for any bus/limo/shuttle drivers and have your own schedule set to have some wiggle room.

If 5 pm is on the invite, that means the ceremony starts at 5 pm. So, as long as you start at or after 5 pm, you will be safe.

But people always show up late. I put "promptly at 5:30" and people were still muddling in. I probably didn't walk until 5:45, which irritated me.

Everyone showed up on time for us. Let me tell you, if I'm told to be somewhere at 5, I am there by 5. I would be irritated to sit there and wait till 5:30 for something.

I thought people would expect the ceremony to start at 5:00 if that's what we put on the invitation, but our coordinator said we should anticipate late arrivals and plan to start at (or by) 5:30. I personally plan accordingly. FH thinks people will start arriving at 5:00.

@Kathryn I may do that.

We have a 3:30 ceremony time. I'm building in a little bit of a buffer-- I see us starting somewhere around 3:35 or 3:40. But, I think any more than 15 minutes late is rude.

Also, it depends on your ceremony space. Ours is indoors, so there's climate control, and we have more than enough seats for everyone. If people are waiting outside in the cold/heat/sun/rain, I think that's even worse.

Yea I am with others on this. It is rude to put 5 on the invite if you don't plan on starting until 530. The time on the invite is the time the ceremony should start. If anything, I have seen people put "ceremony at 530, music starts at 500" or something along those lines.

we had a few guests (teenagers) that didn't get seated in time for the ceremony. Everyone else was there 5-15 min early.

I think the farthest buffer you could do is 15 min. So, for a 5:30 ceremony, you could say 5:15, but I'd assume anything longer than that was the ceremony running late and I'd get antsy as a guest.

For what it's worth, at every wedding I've been to as an adult, people showed up late. Every. Single. Wedding. On multiple occasions, guests cut off the bride walking down the aisle to find themselves a seat. I've learned not to assume that all adults know how to properly adult.

Nobody was late to our 3pm ceremony. Guests started arriving up to an hour beforehand. I would highly recommend starting when your invitation says you're starting. If someone is late, your coordinator can hold them back until the processional is done, and they can be seated at the back. Do not make your guests sit for 30+ minutes waiting for the ceremony to start.

We had 2 people come late, everyone else was early or arrived right before we were going to start. I think most people assume that the time on the invites is the ceremony start time.

I don't think you need to worry at all! Most people...myself included...expect the ceremony to start at the time on the invite, so people will probably be even earlier than 5:00! You might even have people waiting for the ceremony to start...lol!! I think you'll be fine! =)

Ya, I think people understand that the time on the invitation is the start time. If you are worried about time for photos you can move up your actual start time, but I wouldn't lie to the guests.

Our wedding is scheduled to start at 3. If some guests are walking in right at that moment we'll let them be seated, but we aren't going to wait around for anyone. If they're late that's on them. As a guest I would be annoyed if I had to wait longer than anticipated for the wedding to start. Also, I would not think you built in a buffer. I would assume something was wrong and worry.

Thanks ladies. We were kind of blindly following advice that as well intended as it may have been, wasn't the best. I think we will be moving the time up to the invitation time and sending out a reminder to our notoriously late guests.

Yet another reason why I love WW! Had I not participated in the forums, I would have continued to blindly follow this bad advice and looked like a jerk.

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