Time between ceremony and reception

I don't think so, I think that gives ur guests plenty of time to do what they have to do in between. U could include entertainment places/things to do for them in between on ur wedding website.

My ceremony is at 2 and my reception is at 630. My ceremony is about 45 min too. So mines a pretty big gap, I think urs is fine.

Meh, I've had worse. From the weddings I've been to, that's pretty average. My parents went to one with a 7 hour lag time and 40 miles in between the ceremony and reception - THROUGH NYC TRAFFIC!

If you really want this church, then it is what it is. Will there be a lot of oot guests?

I was just wondering if your venue could bump things up just one hour.

I'm surprised your church is having more than one wedding on one day. Did you know this before you booked?

IMO, that is a lot of time between ceremony and reception. If there's nothing you can change, perhaps you can provide some form of entertainment at the reception venue. A photo booth, live music, etc. That could possibly distract people from the time waiting issue.

About 1/4 of the guests will be from out of town, but i believe most will be staying at the hotel connected to the reception site. The church typically only does one wedding a day, however they do have two sanctuaries so would do two in the same day. I'm not opposed to holding the ceremony somewhere else, but there aren't a lot of options in Eau Claire. Most are outdoor venues and most of the outdoor gardens require that the reception is held at their venue also and i would be hesitant to have an outdoor wedding without a rain back up. I do like the idea of including ideas of things to do in the area for the downtime in between.

Is there anyway to do most of the photos before the ceremony? Then you could bump your start time back a little and only have a few pics to get (large formal bridal party, couples shots, etc.) afterwards. That could cut down on the wait time between ceremony and reception.

We have to have our wedding at 2 at my church and cocktail hour at at 5.

It is what it is... grown ups can entertain themselves for a few hours!

Sometimes a relative or friend will offer to keep their house open for a place to hang out on the day. Have simple snacks and let them relax. Works well for those that have nowhere to go.

Personally, I think the gap is too big. IF anything I would see if I could push everything up or find away to serve people something sooner.

I totally sympathize with you Nicole V. My ceremony is at 12 noon on our resort and our reception time is at 6! I was worried about it just like you. But my friends and planner calmed me down by suggesting activities the guests could do to get to know each other before dinner; I mean they all flew down here for the same reason -- to see someone get married, lol. I'm hoping our guests will participate with what we are planning or at least go back to their room to take a nap and prepare to dance the night away! Good Luck!

Mine has some lag time in it too. I had hoped to have the wedding at 4:00 and the reception at 6:00 but the church has something else going on so we have to have the ceremony at 3:00. It's a 40 minute drive to the reception so I'm thinking about moving the reception to 5:30.

I'm feeling better about the time delay... If the wedding is at 1:00 - 1:45, we do a receiving line 1:45 - 2:00. I timed the drive last night between the church and reception venue, it will be between 25 - 30 minutes. Cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres 3:30 - 5:00 and Dinner at 5:00. That only leaves 1 hour of a time delay. That will give out of town guests time to check into the hotel and in towners time to relax. I will include an area points of interest note on the last page of our program perhaps.