Gap between ceremony and Reception

I've never been to a wedding with a gap, and personally, I'd probably end up skipping the reception because I'd be really annoyed with that, especially if I travelled in. I also wouldn't want to tell my guests to go hang out at a bar in between, because if they are having a great time and pregaming, they may just stay there. I would.

I'm Catholic. Have gone to weddings with this gap my entire life. Really doesn't bother me at all. You just find something to do if something hasn't already been planned during the break. I guess everyone's different in that some want somewhere to go and others don't care.

If most of your guests are out of towners or traveling any distance (like, 30 mins or more) this is very annoying.

And time really does go by fast. So I wouldn't worry too much.

Stop blaming religion because I've been to plenty of Catholic weddings that did not have a gap. It's poor planning because a couple decides an evening reception is more important to them then hosting their guests properly.

Also, stop with the "They got free food and alcohol" attitude. The reception is a thank you FOR YOUR GUESTS so yeah, they should get free food and drinks. Also, I come from a huge family, I've attended lots of weddings, and I have never once needed to "freshen up" between the ceremony and reception. I mean, FFS, during the ceremony I'm just sitting there watching. It's not like I'm running a half-marathon or anything. Also, the last thing I want to do is a) walk around a park in heels b) walk around a museum in heels c) go hang out a bar and pay for drinks when I know there (should be) free drinks in my near future or d) go hang out at a restaurant and eat when dinner is also on the horizon.

I am zero tolerance about gaps or at least UNHOSTED gaps. I've had family members do the "Catholic gap" bullshit but they at least had people over at their house (or their parents house) to hang out or they booked a conference room at the wedding hotel and had snacks and munchies before the more official cocktail hour. As long as you do SOMETHING to properly host your guests the gap is tolerable but leaving them to fend for themselves is 100000% not okay.

As the host of an event that you've invited people to, you're responsible for them from the start of the event (ceremony) to the end of the reception. This includes the gap. You're going to need to host that gap somehow, or close it.

You mentioned there are bars and cafes around. Can you go to one that's close and open a tab for guests? Have a little off-site hosted cocktail "hour"? I'm guessing you'd need to host for like 1.5 hours after vacating the church, moving locations, etc. How many guests do you have? May necessitate renting a party room.

I am not catholic but have gone to many (7-10) catholic weddings and every single one had a gap. Most were out of town and I did not mind going to a bar for drinks and then going to the reception. When we have a wedding, we know it is an all day affair and are not bothered by the gap. The longest one was ceremony at 2pm and cocktail hour starting at 6pm. And truthfully, we went back to the hotel room, changed dresses got re-ready and went to happy hour and then to the reception. I do not think its a big deal - any adult can find a nearby bar or anything else theyre interested in and wait an hour or so.

Thank you all for the advice!! Especially the actually helpful advice and not just the judgement with no help lol. I am going to look into shortening the gap, but if I can't I'll look into ways to keep my guests taken care of for the gap time. Most of them are traveling from pretty far (Texas to Virginia far), so I definitely want to make sure they're taken care of.

Sounds good to me! At least you are telling your guests you will have one. The worst is when the guests are at a reception waiting around for 2 hours for the bride and the groom to show up when they were told the reception would be right after the wedding

Gaps are rude, regardless of your reason. They suggest that you cared more about your vision than you did about your guests.

Also, if you're hosting a wedding with a gap, then IMO, you must offer a plus one to every guest. The only thing worse than a wedding with a gap is to be stuck at such a gap without anyone you want to spend time with.

We had a 2 hr gap, and after the receiving line, it really wasn't 2 hours at all.

See if you can have a hosted cocktail hour at a bar in between the church and venue.

We have an hour gap (also a Catholic wedding), but with a fifteen minute drive and a receiving line, I don't think the gap will be much at all. The hour long ones don't bother me but there was a 2.5 hour one for a wedding we went to last summer.... we just went back to the hotel with friends and drank. That one was kinda annoying.

Main reason y i chose not to have a catholic wedding they have time restrictions due to mass for the public. 2 hrs is a long time to me but can u move the reception up?

My family is Catholic and Irish. Luckily, there is an Irish pub across the street from out venue. We are including activities for the in between time too.

Most weddings I've been to have a gap 1-2 hours. It never phased me, I just always thought that's just how it was hahhaha

I have the 2 hour Catholic gap. I feel like it's the norm for a wedding around here. No one will die! Lol

I can kill 2 hours easily. Site seeing, driving around finding a place to make out in the car (semi- kidding...) finding a pie snack and drinking iced tea. It would be easy for me and my FH. Not a problem at all!

@Alanna I didn't hear about it until reading these forums! I figure it's a Catholic gap because Catholic weddings are in churches and so receptions are usually in a venue separate from the church, so gap times happen/and it's just a common thing after Catholic weddings. But someone please correct me if I'm wrong--that's just my assumption without ever actually looking into it LOL.

Can you just make your ceremony start later? I know you said you could only get the reception venue at a certain time so can you just start the ceremony an hour later than you were before? How long will the ceremony take? If you can time it to where there's like 30 minutes between the ceremony and reception that would be better.

ETA: grammar