Start of ceremony timing?!

I would start at 2:00 sharp or even 5-10 minutes after to ensure everyone is seated before you walk down.

It's wishful thinking to hope everyone will be on time and in their seats before the start and you don't want them to disrupt your entrance

View Quoted Comment When you say start you mean bridesmaids walk down at 2 or I’m walking down at 2

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Bridesmaids. The start of your procession could be at 2 or 2:10 if you want to be on the safe side.

Usually the start of the processional is at the listed time, not when the bride walks down.

View Quoted Comment Okay the procession is what I was thinking of, I just didn’t remember what it was called. Lol. I am glad I asked. Thank you. I agree with that.

I wish we started on time, but I think 2:15 would be reasonable to give people time to park, walk inside and settle in a seat. Not everyone calculates that into travel time. We had ceremony and reception in one location, my MIL was almost 45 minutes late! My husband is not close to his mom (unfortunately), and I honestly wish we didn't wait for her to start. At the end of the day that is 45 minutes we paid for wasted and the rest of the night felt incredibly rushed.

The "start" time is the time listed on the invitations, that the processional is scheduled to start. However, it is not uncommon for weddings to run a few minutes late, for a variety of reasons. When I am attending a wedding as a guest, I do my very best to arrive a few minutes before the listed time, so that I don't miss anything. As a bride planning her wedding, I expect everyone to be on time. That's actually just me as a person. Punctuality is important to me. So, if I have any control at all over my day, we will start on time. If you can't be polite enough to make sure you're there at the listed start time, then you'll miss some of it.

But to really simply answer your question, no, the time listed on the invitations is generally when the processional starts.

If you’re running 5 minutes late, it’s not the end of the world, but you shouldn’t purposely plan not to start on time.

We have 5 on our invitation but plan to start the ceremony around 5:15 to ensure people get seated and ready for the ceremony!

I've been to one wedding that was listed to start at 2. And we were all shocked when the groom and groomsmen walked in at 2 on the dot. We didn't expect that to happen.


Our wedding invite time is 3:30. I'm hoping to get started by 3:45 as I just naturally run late.

View Quoted Comment I do too! So you’re saying give it a few minutes for everyone to take a breath and get settled lol

View Quoted Comment Sure! 2-5 minutes minimum!