Gap between Ceremony and Reception

Drive is wayyyyy better than the gap! Hope it works out!

That gap is much too long and I wouldn't consider participating in a scavenger hunt while all dressed up

Driving 30 minutes from ceremony to reception is not that big of a deal but waiting that long between ceremony and reception is ridiculous

You can't expect people to spend the entire day devoted to your wedding

I would probably just skip the ceremony. That's too long of a gap.

I'm not a huge fan of a long gap. I just attended a wedding that started at 12 and the reception wasn't until 5:30pm. It was nice to go get some lunch and relax in the hotel a bit, but at the same time, it made the day extra long.

Please don't do this. I have been a wedding like this and it sucked waiting around for hours fir the cocktail hour to start

This is a bad plan. I would go home and wouldn't be back for the reception.

Don't do this please. Most guests are annoyed by gaps so no matter what ideas we give you, it still won't cover their annoyance. A brunch reception is a great idea and you may save a bit of money as well. If you have your heart set on evening, I would suggest the 2pm ceremony at your church. Don't want to have your guests talking for all the wrong reasons!

I'd rather drive 30 minutes then have a long gap. 30 minutes is not that bad of a drive.

Nope... Just nope

I would do an afternoon/brunch reception and then have an after party at the hotel. Or find a new venue. But that's just me.

I wouldn't go to your ceremony. Just your reception if I had to wait 4 hours. Sorry I could do other stuff

This is called being a rude hostess. Don't do it. Either have a lunch reception or give up the 11 a.m. church.

Go for the drive, unless you're OK with many guests skipping either the ceremony or reception.

This pretty much is exactly what is going on with a wedding FH and I are attending in a couple weeks. And it sucks. Having a huge gap is a real inconvenience especially to those who traveled. The ceremony is at 1, cocktails at 5 and dinner at 6. They are lifelong friends literally so it's not really an option to ditch the ceremony nor would I want to. However there will be a lot of traveling that day and everything is a 20-30 minute drive. We'll most likely grab a late lunch in between those hours but it is going to be shitty driving back and forth multiple times that day.

I would rather do the drive.. If not I would do the reception not the ceremony. I can't do big gaps.

We're having the same problem. Our ceremony is at 11am b/c the church has 2 other weddings that day. Our reception is at 3pm but it's 20 minutes away. We want to take photos downtown and a few other places so it's nice to have the gap.

Every wedding I've been to has done this. So it's not a big deal. Honestly, you are better off with the gap because a few weddings I went to with no gap the bride/ceremony started late and they ended up having to pay the reception site extra money.

If you get married in a downtown area you can see if there is a tour you can charter for people to take in between. But I'm a proponent of getting married at your home parish. That is what I'm doing but it just so happens to be the Catholic Cathedral. And our reception is out of downtown b/c everything downtown was booked or out of our budget.

I say do what you want. People might complain but it probably won't be to you.

I would,absolutely do the 30 minute drive. I was in a wedding two weeks ago with a long enough gap that even the bridal party had time to kill after photos. It was awful. I end up sitting in my hotel room in my underwear with my husband for an hour so I wouldn't wrinkle my dress or mess my hair and makeup. Gaps are awful.

I went to a wedding where we had to drive 40 minutes from the ceremony to the reception and then wait 3 hours. It was awful. Everyone was unhappy. For your guests sake please pick another option!

Every wedding I have been to has had a large gap and to be honest it doesn't bother me. I would say try to minimize it if you can but when having the ceremony at a church it is hard to avoid.

Bstar, just because every wedding you've been to has done it doesn't mean that it's okay. Starting a wedding extremely late is likely due poor planning on the bride and groom's part or a late vendor and is not something your guests should have to pay for. And you know that people might complain but you don't care as long as you don't hear about it? That's an interesting attitude to have towards your loved ones.