Reception and wedding at different times

Weddings that usually take ALL DAY are not the best for guests but if you can find stuff for them to do (itinerary, places to visit or activities in between) then you are fine.

There are many circumstances where the ceremony HAS to be early and the reception is at night.

Ultimately, if you can afford it and want to have the reception at night, do it. You already want to serve proper food and host properly (hopefully) so you are not required to serve lunch AND dinner.

Have your ceremony early or right after lunch and then have your reception during dinner time and then you can party!

Why is your wedding being held in the morning? Have a late afternoon/early evening wedding with the reception to follow.

I am very confused...the reception is what's after the wedding. We are also kind of young (at least I want to be!) and we are having a traditional church ceremony with a big fun party after. At our church we have to get married at 1 and our reception will start around 5 (we are hosting something during the gap so OOT guests have something to do) and then we will have dinner, open bar, and dancing. Yes dinner is possibly more expensive than lunch but you have plenty of time to shop around and find the best deal and save.

What time exactly is your wedding? It's considered rude to have a gap of time between the ceremony and reception. A lot of people who have early afternoon church weddings just end up having an earlier cocktail hour and dinner in order to avoid the gap. Or, they have a brunch or lunch wedding. You might be best off having a late morning wedding, then a fun brunch reception. Think mimosa bar, omelette station, etc.

ETA: I can say right now from personal experience, I had a 2 pm wedding and just had an earlier cocktail hour and dinner. My brother is getting married later this year with an 11 am wedding and 6 pm reception and people are already complaining about it.

As a guest, I would hate the gap between wedding and reception. It's hours that I have to sit around. I may or may not decide to attend the reception. I'd go ahead and have food right after the wedding. Lunch or brunch will be much less expensive. You can then have an after party for those who want to attend where you can have the party atmosphere you want. I would have snacks/pizza for the after party.

No one likes a long gap between the ceremony and reception. Why don't you have your ceremony around 2 and then have the reception around 4?

Wait- so you're saying you want a big fun party without paying for the food? am I reading that correctly?

I don't understand your logic or timetable. Where I'm from most wedding ceremonies are between 3 and 4pm then cocktails (with food) between 4 and 6pm with the reception and dinner starting at 6 and going until about 2am when alcohol cannot be served anymore. The bride and groom usually depart around midnight when the buffet comes out and the guests keep partying.

Do not have a gap, if you have to have any time between your ceremony and reception, you must host it.

It is possible to have a party/fun wedding earlier in the day too, if you host it properly.

How many guest are coming in from out of town? My cousins wedding was kind of like that we all just went home for a few hours and any out of towners split up and went to local families house.

You can make it like a "Brunch Party" reception.

I went to a 1 or 2 o'clock church and then the reception started at like 6. It was awful. No cocktail hour. We went to a sports bar and got food and drinks in between.

My wedding ceremony is at 3pm and cocktail hour starts at 6pm. How big of a gap do you have? It seems pretty long. Find something in between for your guests.

1). Long time gaps between the ceremony and reception are not beneficial for guests. You will be leaving them with many hours to kill between the ceremony and "fun party".

2). You are not required to serve two meals. Receptions cover one meal (if they take place over a meal time).

3). If you want a "fun party" in the evening, then you need to be prepared to pay for it. Food and alcohol are a BIG part of making these parties fun, along with a good DJ, so don't skimp on these things. If you truly cannot afford a proper dinner and alcohol, then consider a lunch or brunch reception. It may not have exactly the same party atmosphere, but it can still be very enjoyable.

I went to a wedding last year that was at 3:00 and the reception started at 6:00. Not that long by the time the wedding was over at 4:00 and there was an outdoor shopping center right in between the church and reception venue. It was still the worst thing ever. It was awkward to just kind of skulk around, waiting for the reception to start. Don't do it.

My wedding has to be over by 4 because they have mass at 5 so I'm thinking of having the wedding at like 1:30 and then it'll be around 2:30 for it to be over. I was thinking of having the reception at 5 in a different venue because my church is small so I am wanting to have it in a banquet hall. All of the grooms family is from out of town. A majority of them like 10 hours away. I feel like people aren't really going to want to party when it's 3 and super bright outside since it'll be summer and mid day. My fiancé is in the military and I am about to graduate from college so I know at least a lot of his friends will want to drink a lot and mine will probably want to party more and not have a "traditional" reception that's just cake and socializing. Do you think I can do the wedding and reception at the church and then have like an optional after party a few hours later? I doubt that the older guests will want to come to it so it would be more for the younger guests and more of a party

Why not plan for your wedding to be over by 4P. Transportation time to reception venue ~30 minutes, so 4:30. Cocktail hour ~5:30P, move to dinner space ~5:45P. Dinner ~6-7:30p. Then dances, cake cutting then party.

But you will have to provide food and booze during the cocktail hour and dinner - budget accordingly.

Cake and punch after the ceremony with an after party sounds like a great idea. No meal needed at 2:30 in the afternoon. You will need to provide food and alcohol at the after party.

I would recommend starting your ceremony at 2:30 so it's over by 3:30 and then having the reception start at maybe 4:30. You can always have plans for an after party after the reception, but I wouldn't leave a gap there because most people will probably leave. It will be a long day.

So would the first dance and everything be done at the reception or the party? I was thinking about maybe like a dessert and coffee thing at the reception and actual catering at the party but my fiancé is lactose intolerance and HATES chocolate ( which I love) so idk if a dessert bar would be a great idea but I think it would be cute