Is 3:30-4pm Too Early For Dinner?

If you have the hotel until 1am, there is no reason for an 11 hour wedding. Your friends might like to party, but if you start so early, they are going to leave. I would say have your ceremony at 4pm at the very earliest.

Is your ceremony really an hour? Typically I have heard they should take about a half hour.

So maybe start your ceremony at 2:30, 3-4 cocktail hour, 4-4:30 people are seated then intros/first dance, 4:30 dinner is served.

I would personally push it to 3 or 4, remember your timeline for the whole day. How early will you need to start getting ready to have the ceremony at 2? Are you doing a first look?

I would find that very odd. Why start so early? If you move the ceremony to 4 then the timeline makes much more sense, and dinner would be served at a much more appropriate 6:00. Even the "early bird special" for the geriatric set doesn't start until 5.

With your timeline it seems like dinner could start more around 430 or close to 5. Pictures may take longer than expected and you still have your introduction.

It's preliminary, but I envisioned once "doors are opened", according to my hotel, I'd have the option to do intros and first dance, then guest can be served with their plated salad, then dinner...OR...plated salad, intros, dinner, then first dance. I'm just not sure what to do! I know I have to meet with the DJ as the date draws closer, and that will help guide me in some way. I just wanted to get an idea of what time is to early to eat.

If you have it until 1am, trying to maximize the place may not be best. Think about it, that is a LONG day and a LONG wedding. Most people don't stay that late.

If you also have dinner really early, you need to provide late night snacks and since you don't know how many will stay, it may end up costing more money or wasted food.

Also the longer your party, the more drinking. That will cost you. Most venues have open bar for a set number of hours anyways.

I'd say start a bit later.

We are doing 5pm ceremony, 6pm cocktail, 7pm dinner until 10pm and then party until 1am. Many of our guests won't stay until 1am so we won't provide late night snacks but we will have dessert table after dinner.

My end time is also 1 AM. I am planning on starting the ceremony at 6 (or possibly 6:30); it should take about 15 minutes. Then cocktail hour 6:15-7:15. Dinner at 7:30. Even at that I expect many people won't stay until the end, which would be a total of 7 hours. I like to party, too, but there is an upper limit to the amount of time that it makes sense to do so. Plus, if people eat at 4 and they are actively dancing and drinking they are going to be hungry for an evening meal around around 9.

I would prefer dinner to start at 5, but also depends on how long the reception is? You might need snacks later in the evening?

Oh sweet Jesus. You have the venue until 1am?? Then why are you having 2pm ceremony? I have my venue until 12:30am, and my ceremony begins at 7pm.

My wedding was at 2 and we ended up having dinner around 4:30. Turned out fine. Guests are always anxious to get to food. Remember that you need to have time for pictures in-between. You could also cut the cake and do first dance before dinner if you wanted to push it back to 5.

We made a wedding day itinerary planner that I will give you for free: https://www.rehashonline.com/download/13074/

It should help you systematize your planning and give you some hints along the way!

I don't see anything wrong with 4:00! Earlier is fine, it's just the later times you want to avoid. My cousin got married 8 or so years ago and their dinner wasn't until 9:00PM after making us listen to speeches and watch some slideshow. I was so god damn hungry I couldn't give two fucks about anything.

That's what stuck out to me when I think back on their wedding and made sure dinner would be around 6:00 for my wedding.

People will totally stay the whole 11 hours, loads of weddings I've been to are like that - it would be ideal to have some snacks at 9/10pm. But the day will keep changing shape from ceremony to drinks party to food to party party - no one will get bored.

@Imogen, that's not true. Nobody is going to stay 11 hours at a wedding. 5-6 is the max for most people.

I plan on doing the same timeline as you. Our ceremony will start at 2pm and I planned on dinner being at 4. I don't think it'll be too early, although I might have some type of late night snack/ junk food. Pizza maybe?

I think it is too early. I would push it back an hour.

No! Most weddings I feel like dinner is too late. Like 7/8:00.

I can always eat so I wouldn't mind good food any time of day!

Side note maybe Ask your photographer cause for July they might want the lighting of a little later in the afternoon (if that maters to you)

NOTE: My ceremony and reception are at a hotel; a hotel most of my guest (95%) will be staying at my venue. When you speak of my guest "leaving" - not staying for 10-11+ hours, that's literally them going up the elevator to their rooms. My guest list are out-of-state guest. They will be staying at my venue for that reason.

5 or later is ideal for me. but do whatever is best for your crowd.

4 p.m. is way too early for me to eat. I usually eat dinner at 8 or 9. I think 5 would be fine though.