Late Wedding-6pm

My wedding is at 6 pm, its the only time my church gave and it will take about 45 minutes and the reception hall is 20 minutes away since its all suburb back roads. I understand why you think its late but you need to have dinner. Some of your guests may leave their house at 5 to get to your wedding and that's too early for them to eat dinner beforehand. I do feel rushed to get dinner out but FH has ulcerative colitis so if we eat before anything he will be in the bathroom for the rest of the night. We sre coming in and going straight to dances. I'm hoping dinner will be around 8.

Most Weddings begin around 6pm and 6:30/6:45 reception start time is definitely a meal time for most people. My FH and I both don't get done work/get home until 6pm and so usually don't eat until 7/7:30 or later on a weeknight, so I know if I was a guest I would be starving at your wedding.

You also have to consider the travel and getting ready time involved not just for you but for your guests as well. If the ceremony starts at 6pm people will begin to arrive around 5:30 and getting ready even earlier than that. So right in the middle of the hours people consider dinner your guests will be traveling to and getting ready for your wedding. It's only good etiquette to feed them afterwards

You need to serve more than light appetizers - unless you're only planning to have a very short reception to follow with no dancing but even then you need to serve plenty of heavy apps as people will definitely be hungry

My wedding starts at 6:30pm that is not late, you would need full meal. Remember people need to get ready previous to wedding so they wont be able to eat a full meal. My timeline to see if it gives an idea

6:30 - 7:00 ceremony

7:10 - 7:40 cocktail

7:40 - 8:00 people get seated / BP entrance

8:15 open bar starts

9:00 dinner

Then the rest is just the usual toast and stuff, but still, serve food.

I feel frustrated and amused by your question. What about reading the other posts?

Why are people opposed to serving dinner? No one is asking for beef wellington, just a hot fulling meal. You have more than two years to figure out how to budget real food in. Stop buying decor items and feed people!

This is absolutely during meal time... due to personal issues I could not eat before your wedding for various reasons. So I would be starving by the time the reception started...

Please feed guests.

6pm is not late. You can do a cocktail style, but it can be as if not more costly than a sit down dinner. But 6p is meal time so enough food to satisfy is needed.

I had a 6pm ceremony last weekend. It's summer in New York. It wasn't remotely late. We had appetizers at 7 and dinner at maybe 8:30. You need to serve a full meal.

Our ceremony was at 5:30 and dinner started at 7pm.

My wedding is at 6pm and the reception (same venue) is Cocktail Style.

There will be light appetizers (antipasto, fruit skewers, cheese-meat-cracker display) during the cocktail hour (645-730) the buffet will open @ 815 the menu will include.a garden salad, bacon wrapped prawns, wings, chicken & beef satay, ravioli, mashed potato bar in addition to our Nigerian station of jallof rice, pounded yam, grilled Chicken & Fish, greens

@Makela Your buffet sounds amazing. I love jallof rice and yam

That is not late. I'd expect dinner and would leave early to eat. "Heavy" apps are never enough to replace a meal IMO. You have more than enough time to rearrange your budget to make it work.

@keisha- thank you. Luckily I know the manager at our venue and they have allowed us to bring food in.

My ceremony is at 4:30 and dinner will start at 6, cocktail hour and apps in between. If ceremony starts at 6, I would do cocktail hour until 7:30 or 7:45 and then dinner is served. You need to have dinner at that hour, sorry. It's dinner time. Your guests will expect it and be hungry...

I totally understand how some people feel this isn't meal time. In my home (and growing up) we always at at 5:30/6, no later. I've never been a late night eater (although it probably could help me gain some weight right now lol). But ANY time in the evening is considered dinner- no matter HOW late. You need to serve a full meal or at lest heavy appetizers with LOTS of options basically everyone loves food, so it's always poor hosting to not have enough food.

Our timeline includes:

Ceremony: 5:30

Cocktail hour: 6-7

Dinner/toast things:7-815

Reception dancing:8-ish-11

6pm is not late! My ceremony was at 7 and on a Thursday. Still had cocktail hour and sit down dinner.

Seriously?? This is a very normal wedding time, you 100% need to serve dinner. If not, expect the party to end EARLY

Celia can you elaborate what are four stations and passed things?

My ceremony doesn't start until 630!! Ceremony is from 630-7! And then 7-8 is cocktail hour. Reception 8-12.