Order of Events & Picture Advice

I’m confused about why your pictures are scheduled between 3:45 and 4:45, then cocktail hour is at 5. Cocktail hour is your photo time. What do you expect guests to do for an hour and 15 minutes between the ceremony and cocktail hour? As a guest, I would be annoyed if I had to wait over two hours between the ceremony and reception.

As far as dances, the first dance should come first. I would also do the anniversary dance later on to open up the dance floor. I would find it odd for you to have all of the (married) guests up and doing something interactive on the dance floor for 5-10 minutes, then make them all sit back down again to eat.

Hey we have the same ceremony and reception times! The only difference with my timeline is that my ceremony is only going to be 30 minutes because i'm not doing a full mass.

So, here what I was told because I wanted to skip the receiving line at the church as well...apparently you end up being pulled away in the back of the church anyways because people automatically want to congratulate you. It's not necessarily a receiving line per say, but you end up spending about 10-15 minutes hugging people. So I would account for that. Have your photographer come and pull you away to take pictures that way people let you go.

Are you doing introductions/announcements? I'm going to stick that in there as well just in case.

3pm ceremony

3:45pm accounted time for people trying to hug you in the back

4pm Formal pictures

5pm Cocktail hour (i'm assuming you'll be participating in the Cocktail hour with your guests or traveling from your formal pictures)

6pm receiving line

6:15pm introductions that flows right into all of the dances

6:30pm dinner

6:45pm Toasts/speeches (don't forget you and your wedding party will be served first so you'll be able to do the toasts while everyone is still eating)

7pm cake cutting

7:15pm open dance floor

9:30ish tell your DJ or entertainment to announce that you'll be leaving soon. It might get more people on the dance floor towards the end.

Be careful with the idea of having the photographer take pictures with extended family after dinner. I gave my photographer a few tables where the very important people will be sitting and I told her to make sure you get pictures of those people before she leaves. I also told her that any of the older guests should get their pictures taken. (my FH's grandmother will be there and she's 92 yrs old) The idea of getting pictures of every guest may not be realistic.

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That's a great point about the dances - thanks! As far as the hour 15 minute lag between ceremony and reception, our plan is to take a few large group pictures at the church (because it's the alma mater for 40+ guests), then it will take everyone 20 plus minutes to get to the reception site (it's a hotel so many guests have rooms there and can kill some time). We are also hoping to get through pictures as efficiently as possible so we can join everyone at cocktail hour.

View Quoted Comment Assuming the group photos won’t take more than 15 minutes and then the guests have a 20 minute drive, I would bump the cocktail hour start time up by about 40 minutes. There’s no reason that your guests should need to find a way to entertain themselves at your wedding. If you’re worried about having enough time for photos, try to take some before the ceremony. It’s great if you can join cocktail hour, but if it’s not realistic, it’s not realistic. Don’t inconvenience your guests to try to build in more time.

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Great points, Teresa. Thanks! Our ceremony doesn't include Mass either - the priest said it should take 30 minutes, 45 minutes max. Yes, we will be doing introductions at the beginning of dinner. Glad we are on the same page. Curious, what are you telling guests to do between the ceremony and reception? Our thought is to get a few extended family portraits in just to kill some time. FH and I plan on taking pictures during cocktail hour but we want to mix and mingle with guests then too.

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I'm having the priest make an announcement that the guests are welcomed to stick around and see us off outside as we make our way to the limo. That way people will know that they can hang around for 10-20 minutes and chat. It's also a good way to get in some pictures with everyone lined up on either side of you and your new husband.

Outside of that, i'm not really providing any actual event for people to do in between ceremony and cocktail hour. I will ask my reception venue if they can open their doors early in case people would rather sit for a bit before cocktail hour starts. I don't personally think you need to plan an activity for your guests in between. They're adults and i'm sure they can find something to do. I know that's not the norm for the internet wedding community but oh well. LOL

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Right?! I feel like we are on our own island with ceremony and reception at different locations. Not the norm these days which is fine. Fortunately, our reception is at a hotel (where we have room blocks) so people and sit and relax in their rooms or in the hotel gardens.

I would suggest talking to your photographer and dj and get their input. i'm sure they have done several weddings and can come up with a timeline for you and break down the event to make it perfect