Start time/end time

My ceremony and reception are at the same place, with no down time in between.

4pm ceremony

4:30-6 is cocktail hour

6 is dinner

Reception ends at 10pm.

I wanted it to end later but I also didn't want to feed my guests dinner much later than 6 or 7. That was my reasoning.

Our ceremony and reception are being held in the same building, so we're starting at 4:30 and ending at 9:30.

I would say start your ceremony around 4:30-4:45 that way by the time you make it to the banquet hall people aren't waiting hours for dinner.

The 6 - 11 sounds very nice, I think that's definitely a good idea.

As far as your ceremony, do you know long it will be? or at least a time frame? Once you know that you can work backwards.

For example: your reception starts at 6

factor about 20 min. to get there, 6:00 - :20 = 5:30 (ish). So maybe that's when it should end so your guests make it to the reception hall by 6.

However long your ceremony will be, subtract from 5:30. if its half an hour, start at 5:00.

Something like that. My ceremony starts at 6 and is only half an hour and my reception is from 6:30 to midnight.

ETA: My reception and ceremony are in the same venue hall. They literally walk downstairs.

I think your times sound great!

Our ceremony starts at 5, cocktail hour 5:30-6:30 and reception till 1230

Thanks ladies! I don't feel so bad now. I wasn't sure if 11:00 was to early to end. What do you think about starting the ceremony at 4 (duration approximately 45 mins) reception at 6 with dinner served at 6:30? Would skipping cocktail hour be an option here? Or maybe I could serve light hors'd oeuvres at the ceremony venue. What do you think?

Those times sound good! My ceremony and reception are at the same venue so we are doing:

3:30 ceremony

4:00-5:30 cocktail hour

5:30-6:30 dinner/speeches etc...

6:30-9:30 dancing and fun!

We can't have loud music after 9:30 at my venue but anyone who is still there can come to the gorgeous campfire area til 11

My ceremony starts at 8

We are having a mini cocktail hour at 730

8-830 is our ceremony

830-930 cocktail hour

930-130 reception it's a Friday night in NY and my venue has there own hotel next door win win situation

Our ceremony and wedding reception will both be taking place at the same venue. The ceremony will begin promptly at 5PM and the reception will end at about 10PM. My only concern involves this weekend's time change. Since our wedding ceremony will be taking place outside, I hope the sun doesn't set too quickly and we can take pictures in the ceremony space.

I'm a little worried about my timeline too. My ceremony starts at 3 (that's the latest they will do) Reception starts at 6, dinner at 7, will probably go till 12, or slightly later since its NYE. It seems like a long reception, so we will see how many people stay the whole time. Your timing seems good.

I'm in Fort Lauderdale. Hi Fellow Florida Bride! :-)

I've got about the same time frame in between ceremony and reception, about 20 minutes from one venue to the next. BUT, factor in possible traffic, give yourself a good 35 minutes to be safe (I'm sure you know how these drivers are down here).

Decent time frame doesn't really exist. But as a Florida Bride, I'd definitely consider what the weather will be like (especially if you're having an outside ceremony/reception).

For what it's worth, my ceremony starts at 3, should end about 3:45, reception hall opens at 4:45 (reception festivities hall officially start at 5pm) and run until 10.

I feel a lot better with everyone's input! I think I'll stick with ceremony at 4, the reception from 6-11 dinner at 7 dancing and activities from 8-11. I'm not sure if ill include a cocktail hour or not at this point but thanks!!!

I'm having a later start but my wedding is on a Saturday so works out.

Ceremony @ 7PM

Cocktail Hour 7:30-8:30

Reception 8:30-12:30

We're majority New Yorkers so we tend to start events later on in the day since we can also party all night

4PM ceremony

5PM reception start

9PM reception over

9PM on- after party

My ceremony and reception are at the same place as well, but here's the break down

Ceremony Start 5:30

Cocktails start 6:00

Reception Starts 7:00

Reception Ends 11:00

Our ceremony and reception was at the same place:

11:00am ceremony

4:00pm reception end time

It went by so fast, I couldn’t believe it. A lot to cram in 5 hours.

Don't forget to allow time for photos with family (I'm guessing that would be your cocktail hour)

Mine are all at the same place.

Ceremony: 5:30

Cocktail hour: 6-7

Reception: 7-11

Mine are at the same place. We are doing a first look.

Ceremony at 5, last about half hour.

Cocktail Hour- 530 to 630

630 to 11 is our reception

dinner at 7

Dear goodness....my ceremony is at 330 cocktail hour is 430-530, 530 seating for dinner. 545-6 introduction and first dance, 620 first course, speeches between courses, 7pm dance floor opens up til 1am

We are doing a 6:30 ceremony, cocktail then reception immediately after so 7-12 total. It's all at the same place and it should be a short ceremony. It's a Friday night so I wanted to do as late as possible. We're planning on doing a lot of the photos before.