How long of a gap between the ceremony and reception?

If people are going to be driving that far AND waiting while you take pictures, you need a cocktail hour (or 2).

If you aren't hosting a cocktail hour, you need to transition immediately to the reception.

Why wouldn't you have a cocktail hour? You're asking your guests to attend a ceremony, drive an hour, and then have an ADDITIONAL gap that isn't hosted?

The margarita machine without the cocktail hour is giving me a bad feeling...

How long is your ceremony?

Do you plan on serving dinner right away?

When are you taking pictures?

Why just a margarita machine??

Meh, do all pictures BEFORE the ceremony and go to the reception... easy

First, 10 is intimate, 80 is an average size. What kind of shit show is going to happen when 80 people are standing on line to get a self serve maragarita. No. Just no. I agree with @BeachBride2016, you must have a cocktail hour with served drinks and you should have some poured wine or a signature drink ready for them or you will have 80 people hitting the bar all at once and it won't be pretty.

Essentially, people will be driving from 5:30 - 6:30 and will be hungry when they get to the reception. What time does dinner start?

So...people will have sat through a church ceremony, driven an hour, driven how ever long from their homes to the church and gotten ready to attend your wedding since they last time they were able to eat anything (at least 4 hours-probably more).....and then you are going to give them tequila on an empty stomach?? with nothing to snack on? That has sick and drunk before dinner written all over it.

Even if you don't do a full on cocktail hour with passed apps--can you at least do something at a station for people to snack on until photos are done and you guys get there? Think like meat/cheese/fruits/veggies or even a chips/salsa bar to go with margaritas...as far as a gap---I would start serving apps and drinks exactly one hour after your ceremony ends, if that is how long it takes to get from the church to venue...make it so your guests don't have to deal with a "gap" outside of travel time....

Our ceremony will be about 30 minutes. Pictures will be taken at the church and then after we will go to the reception. Dinner will start upon our arrival around 7.

Granted, it wasn't a church wedding, but to help extend the gap between her ceremony and the start of cocktail hour my friend had champagne, water, and sparkling cider at the ceremony venue. This occupied people so they hung around a bit before heading over to the reception.

Otherwise, I'd make the gap about the same as the travel time and have cocktails/appetizers at the reception venue to greet them. Most people will just want to go to the reception venue, it's a pain to figure out where to kill time if it's a longer gap.

Apparently I misunderstood what cocktail hour is. whoops lol. We will be serving appetizers iced tea and lemonade but not alcohol during this time. The margaritas we are substituting for a bar. Sorry.

Knew it!!!! Dry weddings (and dry cocktail hours) suck.

You do know margaritas have alcohol in them right?

You're not serving alcohol during COCKTAIL hour???

No we are not serving alcohol at Cocktail hour because we are not having cocktail hour. We are having a social hour without alcohol!

@OP lol at your "dry social hour". That's not a thing.

How are you not serving COCKTAILS during cocktail hour? I'm not sticking around if I just had to travel and there's no alcohol as a bloody reward.

You can not have one margarita machine for 80 people. Even if half the people want a margarita, that's about 40 minutes at the machine and you have only allotted 30 minutes for your "cocktail hour." You should try and move your ceremony up to 4pm. This way, people can still have lunch at home before your ceremony. Ceremony ends about 4:30. People won't be on the road until 4:45ish and they will be at your venue by 5:45. Approx. 6-7 should be cocktail hour (a full hour) and then reception can start at 7 as planned.

Not everyone drinks margaritas, just saying

Sooooooo no access to margarita machine before the reception? Is it unlimited margaritas? Is it only margaritas at the reception? Please, tell us more about the margs!

Also, make the gap the travel time it takes to get there

.

You could not pay me to have a "social hour" without alcohol when family is involved...

Plus, who wants a frozen margarita in November?