Time between ceremony & reception

Our wedding is 5-6 and cocktail hour (at another location) is 7-8. It's a Friday evening so we were thinking people who were coming to the wedding/ reception from work would have time to go home and change. Also we tried to account for traffic as well. We figured while people are traveling and at the cocktail hour we'll be able to take pics and greet people without feeling rushed and still get to the reception before the start time.

My wedding starts at 12:30 pm and should be done by 1:30. My cocktail hour starts at 3. The locations are about 15 minutes apart. I figured by the time people talk, refresh themselves and get in the car to head over they'll be just in time. It also leaves room just in case the wedding starts late (I hope it doesn't lol)

Ceremony at 6, Cocktail Hour at 6:30 (same location).

Our ceremony at church was at 4pm and lasted almost an hour. Cocktail hour (another venue, but still local) was officially at 6pm, but the venue had a huge spread for early guests starting at 5:30. Some people will say a gap is rude, but it's very common and even expected here. Everything worked out fine!

Personally, mine won't be long at all. I feel like it's aggravating to the guest to wait so long. Mine will be 30 minutes tops! I am getting as many pictures done before the ceremony as I can.

We are having ceremony at 630-650 with a cocktail hour immediately following and reception right after

Out ceremony starts at 5:30 on the invite, and the processional will start at 5:45. Our cocktail hour starts at 7. The reception is located right down the street from our ceremony venue. I am hoping that I timed this correctly, and that people won't have an awkward wait between both.

Originally our ceremony was going to be held in a room adjacent to the reception so the time would have been about 30 seconds lol.

Typically an hour to an hour and a half tops.

Ours is one hour and we hope to join our guests for a little while.

15 Minutes to get from ceremony site to restaurant. There should be no gap. Host a cocktail hour if you want to do pictures or do a first look.

Ceremony 530 reception starts at 6 with no cocktail hour.

No gap. Ceremony and reception are at the same location.

6pm hospitality hour

7pm ceremony

7:30pm cocktail hour

8:30pm reception

Similar as KristenBeez, we are doing the first look and majority of pictures prior to ceremony. Ceremony 5-6, cocktail hours follows inside 6-7 then reception.

As a guest to weddings gaps are frustrating, especially if they are not from the area. Streamlining keeps your guests engaged.

Our ceremony starts at 2 and should be done around 3. Reception is about 15 minutes away and cocktail hour starts at 530. Fortunately for us the hotel is 10 minutes away and there is also a casino right down the street to keep guests busy.

Only the time required to drive the 11 mins from the church to reception space. Ceremony starts at 5:30. I am expecting the reception to start at 6:30. But the servers are instructed to serve guests as soon as they arrive, to avoid long lines. We should arrive around 6:45 (after about 30 mins of pictures and the 11 min drive). I should add out "cocktail hour" will occur an hour and a half before the ceremony directly across the street from the church (it'll be champagne and light apps, we'll have a full bar at the reception).

Ceremony at 5:30, cocktail hour at 6. the shuttle will pick up guests immediately following the ceremony to take them back to the reception space about a 2 minute drive away.

I understand the Catholic Church and their ceremony schedules. I come from a large Catholic family. In previous decades, the church set the ceremony time. If the wedding started at 1:00 PM on a Saturday, everyone was there at 1:00 PM. After the ceremony, everyone got into their cars and drove over to the reception site. There was no gap.

Now, things are different. Couples want their evening receptions, but the church still has scheduling that they won't change. I've been to Friday evening weddings (Catholic ceremony followed by a cocktail hour/reception with no gap). That's one way to avoid the gap and still have your church ceremony and evening reception. A few years back, we were invited to a Catholic wedding that started at 1:00 PM on a Saturday. The cocktail hour began at 5:00 PM (and it was an hour and a half --- which, although fully hosted with full open bar and plenty of apps -- was too long). At 6:30, the reception started.

We didn't attend the ceremony (and my cousin was absolutely fine with that). Those who did attend the ceremony and attempted to fill the gap with activities looked tired by the time the reception started. If there's a large gap between the wedding and the cocktail hour or reception, I don't think it's an etiquette fail for a guest to attend the reception only. I know some will disagree, but I cannot invest twelve hours (from beginning to end) in someone's wedding for any reason (but I'm certainly not going to feel guilty because they insisted on having an evening reception). We all make choices, and we have to deal with the consequences of those choices.

As long as it takes 88 people to take an elevator to the top floor is my gap.

Our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception are all taking place at the same venue, so there won't be any gaps. The ceremony will start at 6pm, cocktail hour will start at 6:30 (or as soon as the ceremony is over), and then dinner and dancing will start at 7:30.