Private ceremony Am, Cocktail Reception in pm (open activity in between)

I think you would find the timing of all of this extremely stressful. What happens when you hit traffic? What happens when things start running behind? If you want to do something like this, I would do it over two days perhaps. Day 1 - get up, go have your private ceremony on the beach, do photos, have some lunch/brunch with your MOH/BM and parents (your treat, because you're thanking them for coming to your wedding), then have a relaxed afternoon/evening. Day 2 - Have a relaxed early part of the day and have your rooftop reception - you need to have enough food at the reception that people won't be hungry (and to soak up the alcohol) but it doesn't have to be a big "to-do." (You may even be able to do your bigger reception at the aquarium - some of them have this kind of availability.)

As far as your friends/family being cool with it - unfortunately, weddings often bring out the worst in people - so don't be surprised to see some weird personality stuff come out. (There are a lot of threads here about people getting butthurt about not being invited to private ceremonies.)

If you're not concerned about how your guests will react, my only feedback would be that that sounds like a LONG day. It's shocking how physically and emotionally exhausting weddings are! It would be a real shame if by the time you got to your reception, you and your FH or your families were too tired to fully enjoy the festivities.

Being up early enough for everyone to be ready for the ceremony at 10am, plus visiting the aquarium, getting in the car to drive 2 hours and have another reception to attend sounds exhausting. Could you do the rooftop reception another day?

I agree with everyone else that it makes more sense for lots of reasons to split up these two events on two different days.

Thank you all for your comments so far! This was a new little schedule I made that has a lot of gap time built in.

7:30 bfast; 8am getting ready; 9am ceremony; 9:30-10:30 photos; 11-12 lunch (and packing?); 1-3p aquarium; 3-6p travel; 6-9p reception; 9-11p travel?
I then started thinking maybe finding a rooftop venue (dream of mine) closer to our coastal location may be a better option so there is not the travel back home. I still think that the reception guests would be willing to travel at a halfway point like 1 hour to have a party, right? That would be a little less stressful and maybe not quite as looong of a day if there are 3 separate things in the day and they are all within an hour proximity. The reception in the evening would be the longest/main event.
Thanks for your continued thoughts!!

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@ Becky I love this idea of splitting in to two days, for sure! It is on the possibilities list! Thanks for your time

I think many people would have issues with a 2 hr commute in between, and at the end of the night. Can you have your ceremony and reception within 45 min max of each other. Persons may choose to only attend the morning ceremony or the local reception, but can't do both in a 13-15 hr day.

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This schedule is still going to be extremely tight (and stressful). I was stressed that everyone get where they needed to be, and we only needed to be in two places! There are a lot of moving parts here and a lot of people involved, which often means that you end up herding cats (so to speak). Additionally, Stacey's right - what with one thing and another, you're likely to be exhausted at the end of the day - even if you go with something more traditional.

I also think you're likely to end up with lower turnout if people have to drive an hour to the party when they haven't been invited to the wedding - just my thought though.

In the end, you have to plan what you think is going to make you happy when you look back on the day.

I agree with others that it sounds like too long of a day. You've reserved an hour to get ready (8-9) what if that goes long? What if photos also take longer than an hour? Everything hinges on the previous activity going on time.

Is no one planning on drinking? I cannot imagine driving two hours after a wedding. Why wouldn’t you just stay in your hometown?
Also, I think even the most un high maintenance bride would struggle to get ready in an hour—especially if you’re juggling 12 people in one house!
I would scrap the coastal idea and just get married
close to your reception venue, or find a venue in the coastal town and have everyone travel to you. Nothing about the aquarium makes sense.