Time between Ceremony and Reception

How long is the trip from church to recpetion venue? If my math is right your current timeline leaves 2 1/2 hours between. As a guest that would stop me from attending the ceremony. Even if the ceremony started at 2:30 that's still 2 hours to twiddle my thumbs.

Its about a 1/2 hour - 40 minute trip between reception and venue. The good thing is I know a lot of my guests are staying at a hotel nearby on saturday night so the time in between would give them time to go check in, freshen up and such and then there is a shuttle that runs between the hotel and recpeiton venue (no driving! yay!) i think I may do the 2:30 time slot for ceremony. thats the latest they will do any service at the church and it will give me about 2 hours in between (figuring the church WONT empty out right away as Im sure people will be hanging around to say hi and such) Another reason I have such a huge gap for pictures is I have a bridal party of 24 and two large families so taking pictures is not going to be a quick and easy thing. My future brother-in-law and his wife had a smiliar size bridal party and it took us about an hour and a half to do pictures ON SITE at their recpetion venue (ceremony and reception in one place) so 2 hours for 3 different locations...

.. doesnt seem that unreasonable to me.

i have time to kind of figure things out still, obviously, just trying to stay as organized and worry free as I can

Can you do any pics before the ceremony? Maybe just you and the girls and then FH and the guys if you don't want to see each other before.

Good Luck.

I would suggest some of the pictures before the ceremony as already mentioned. Then you could have some sort of entertainment at the reception site for the guests to enjoy in between. Cocktail hour with music/dancing or a photo booth would be great entertainment for an hour or so.

We were wondering about the same thing I think we will have the ceremony at 2:30 and the reception at 5:30. We figured the reception should stay around that time for dinner and for the five hours for the DJ and stuff...plus 10:30 or 11 isn't too late for most of the guests still to get home if they aren't going to stay.

I think 3 hours is probably enough time between your ceremony and reception but if you want to make it 3 1/2 I don't see anyone complaining to you. I think everyone will understand there are pictures to take, not to mention a minute for you and your new hubby to just relax for a minute and let it sink in! As long as you aren't making your guests wait too long, take your time and you'll get it all squeezed in there.

And don't forget to make a list of what pictures you want your photographer to take. It's a lot easier to get all the pictures done when you know who to put in and who to take out.

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We've got that issue to... yay Catholics who only have mass at 12:30pm or 2:30pm...

We have Ceremony from 2:30 - 3:30 about... afterwards clean-up and pictures at the church. Travel to the reception, then some time for him and me together in the dressing room suite to just relax for 10 - 15 mins... then more pictures with everyone at the Reception site until we're done. lol. Lot's of pictures.

Anyway, we're starting cocktails at 5:30pm with dinner to follow at 6:30pm. Shuttle service at our reception will start at 5:00pm in case anyone arrives early at the Reception site.

Why don't you have a cocktail hour (or something like it) for an hour before the reception actually starts. That's what we're doing. Ceremony at 3:30, Cocktail hour at 5 and we're showing up at about 5:55... which gives our guests something to do while we're running around taking pictures

Ugh...having the same issue! Ceremony at 2pm and reception at 6! I've got a large majority of out of towners (since 80% of my fam doesn't live here) and have no clue what to do with them. I'm guessing that they may head to the hotel. Hotel, ceremony & reception are all within 10 minutes of each other. Considering using the hospitality room at the hotel for light refreshments in between the ceremony and reception...

This is a typical situation for Catholic weddings. I've attended many weddings where the cereony was at 2 and the reception was not until 5 or 6 - as their guest it was important to me to attend the ceremony and the reception. How I spent the time in between was my business. You do the best you can to make yourselves happy and accomodate your guests - most important is to talk with the photographer so that your on the same page. Best wishes.

We've seen in programs a simple list or inserted card of 'things to do' --in our Center City weddings we've seen guests get on a city bus tour or visit local museums. Share options on what they can do--but don't stress over it and enjoy your time taking photographs.

I'd strongly recommend cutting the time for pictures to no more than an hour. That time is the cocktail hour for guests.

If you have a large wedding party- get as many pictures done before hand as you can- at least ones of you and the girls and ones of him and the boys. Maybe get some with you and your parents and him and his parents.

You can time it so that you don't see each other that day.

I think anything more than an hour gap is way too much. For starters- the ceremony itself is already an hour- which is LONG (mass or not...). Then you want guests to kill time before the reception? I think you'll have alot of guest skip the ceremony- especially your non-Catholic ones.

I'd change the times to 3-4 for the ceremony, 4:45-6:00 for the cocktail hour and have the reception start at 6. You take pictures before and during the cocktail hour.

I had to travel out of state to my niece's wedding which was in the early afternoon. Then we had to kill time until the reception and really had no where to go. So we went to the reception hotel, but they were still setting up the room and wouldn't let us in. We ended up hanging out in the lobby w/o food or drink until the reception room was opened. Not my favorite part of the day!

I went to a wedding once where there was hours between the ceremony and the reception. It was awful. I was all dressed up, then just had to go sit. Do I change into normal clothes for a while then have to change back into my dress? Then I was starving but didn't want to really eat because I was going to be fed at the reception.

I would push the ceremony to 2:30-3:00. It goes by quicker than you think, and pictures really don't take all that long.

Bottom line you can do what you want to get all your pictures and everything, it IS your day. but do it with (as others mentioned) the understanding that it will probably be off-putting for your guests. Personally I wouldn't want my guests to start off entering the reception with feeling inconvenienced or annoyed..it can set the tone for the whole thing really..But I do understand you have a big bridal party and locations are far apart.

I agree that is a lot of time to wait in between. I think @Meghan laid it out perfectly.

Thank you everyone for the input.

I appreciate the suggestions of pushing the ceremony back but I can not. 2:30 is the LATEST the priest will start the mass (Catholic Church) as for finding someplace closer for pics... we are taking pictures near the reception place which is 30 minutes away so really thats not the issue haha. I think I may do as someone suggested and make a list of "things to do" inbetween. My aunt also was saying she will host people at her house if need be for that hour or so... but as someone else pointed out if people want to be there they will and they will find a way to spend the time themselves. The more i think about it the more I realize when I am in a place like that (large gap between ceremony and reception) I usually figure out something and it doesnt bother me so Im sure those who are near and dear to me will be the same way

Ours is

seating at 1:00

ceremony 1:30

Reception 2:00

our pictures are 2-2:30

BP enters reception at 2:30

Dinner/ toasts till 3:00

we are doing the majority of our pictures before the ceremony without seeing each other. Then whats left together after the ceremony.

We have the same problem, but I'm no so worried about the pictures as I am as to what will occupy my guest during the time between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception. Ceremony is at 2:30 but reception doesn't start until 6. Cocktail hour at 6, the earliest the venue would let us start. I plan on using the cocktail hour as our meet and greet so the time for us will go by quickly, when we leave the ceremony, take pictures, travel to venue which is only 15/20 minutes away if that. I really don't know what to do, but I know I can not change the times for either the ceremony or the reception, it is impossible. I'm at a loss too. :-(

Our ceremony begins at 4pm....should be over by 430, off to pics by the Riverwalk. Cocktail hour begins @ 6. I think we will be ok.