Gap between ceremony and Reception

I did resolve my situation, and was able to move my reception up to start an hour earlier than originally planned. Thankfully. Which may cause me to hide this thread soon because the emails and then seeing the responses that are obnoxiously self righteous are starting to annoy me more than the original problem did.

Edit: fixed a word

I've never been to a wedding with a gap.

I went to a wedding last year with a 3 hour gap. I went home, got undressed and hung out by my pool. Then redressed to go to the reception (cash bar). Ate dinner and left early. Lost interest when I went home.

I will have a Catholic gap. It was meant to allow time between to let people drive between venues and also check out to their hotel (most guests are staying at the reception site's hotel.) Because we are paying the photographer straight through, we also offered family photo opportunities near the beach.

You're flagged Youngbae.

Funny how 60 different posters will post an opinion, but if one of them agrees with the OP, that's the one they'll use to justify whatever idea they CAME HERE TO ASK ABOUT but clearly had no intent to change.

There are no "brides here"; it's a cross section of brides (and grooms, by the way) that span all budgets, geography and traditions. It's not like some giant block of opinion; it's a lot of individual opinions from every corner of the wedding planning universe.

I"m glad the OP could change her reception start time. The fact that you did means you found some worth in the comments.

Don't hide the thread; other people gain insight too, as you apparently did even while chiding us for bringing up the downside to gaps.

It's fine

@Celia--I definitely did find value in the comments. As I stated above, I found helpful insights from both sides. It's really a way of how the opinions are expressed. When they're stated as fact and on top of that get angry at other posters sharing their opinions, it just annoys me. That's what my longer comment above was about.

I'm not chiding anyone for bringing up the downside of gaps. That's why I posted the question, to hear both sides--obviously. I even listened to your first comment when you said gaps are awful.

Funny how people can use ad hominem arguments in a thread about wedding gaps.

I do thank everyone for their comments, especially those who were helpful.

@Noemi I can't believe your rude af reply to Rachel, who happens to be one of the most insightful, intelligent, and articulate posters on this forum. Also, you were incredibly hypocritical, considering the word count in your own post.

Perhaps you could fill the time in with photo shoots / meet and greets in a park that has a nice landscape near your reception or at the church . Maybe a game of golf if you are at a venue that has a golf course ( like the country club).

@Elizabeth--lol your previous post was one of the other obnoxious ones that just yelled at others. You were even giving advice to other PPs who didn't even ask for your input. Who is rude here? Perhaps all of us. Then again, maybe not.

Golf and stilettos and suits?

I'm sorry, Noemi, are you confused about how a forum works? Are you confused about how the Internet works? You seem to be. I don't wait to be asked before offering input. Once you put it out there, it's fair game to anyone who reads it. Most of us learned this years ago.

@Elizabeth oh, Elizabeth. Okay. Thank you.

A person marries one time in their life. Is it really THAT awful to have to learn how to entertain yourself for 2 hours? My church offers 3 times, 10:00, 1:00, and 7:00. I chose 1:00 because it's the rational time for us since we are doing a nuptial mass. Please, you're an adult, you should know how to entertain yourself for an hour or two. Marriage is sacred in my eyes, I want my traditions and religion to be a part of my marriage. We focus so much on preparing for the wedding but how much time do people prepare for the marriage? That's really what its about. It's a covenant we take, and it should be respected. It's also hard to justify feeding people dinner and getting down on the dance floor to celebrate at 3PM. In my eyes, that's fine for cake and punch, but we really want to have the full celebration with our loved ones. The wedding is about everyone, but first and foremost, it's about the couple. If you can't entertain yourself for two freaking hours, don't come to my wedding! Honestly, I really don't expect casual friends and co-workers to want to attend a full nuptial mass so now you have a reason to miss it. Those that really love us will be there no matter what. My wedding ceremony is personal and invested in tradition; it's not about convenience. Maybe if this were my third marriage, sure, it would be different. This is hopefully my one and only. From the beginning, it seems like this process has been about trying to please everyone else, as well as myself, and its driving me crazy. At the end of the day, it's our wedding, we're paying for it, and I've waited a long freaking time to get married so deal with my 2 hour gap! Rant over!

What great advice!