Time in between ceremony and cocktail hour

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That is exactly what I have been thinking. I will shorten the time in between both.

We do have family members in the area that would absolutely open their home to anyone so the OOT guests have somewhere to go.

That's way too long of a gap. An hour or two gap tops if the reception location is farther away. It's really inconvenient-so guests have to be ready by 11, then have so many hours al dresses up for nothing? I would end up taking a nap and never making it to the reception 😂I've dont that before 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes move the ceremony time if possible. This is a long gap...my friend did this a few months ago and a lot of people showed up late later in the day and she was upset that they missed her grand entrance..it’s just not a good idea

You should definitely push back your ceremony time. Cocktail hour is meant to be the time for pictures. I attended a wedding with a one hour break and it was very annoying. In addition, the bride and groom were miserable because everyone showed up to the venue early and got in the way of them taking pictures. If you want to enjoy cocktail hour with your guests, do a first look and take most of your pictures beforehand.

View Quoted Comment A magician! I knew your wedding would be magical!

I think if I was a wedding guest I would either end up skipping the ceremony or reception. I wouldn't want to sit around in my nice clothes in a hotel (or my house if I was from the area) for that many hours before finally going to the reception. Where I'm from an hour gap is about the longest and people don't really mind that because they get busy drinking, socializing, using the Photo Booth , or whatever other activities there are.

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You say the nicest things. I want you to know you made today brighter for me

We are having a 2pm ceremony and starting cocktail hour starting at 5. There's a 25/30 min drive between. Since for 90% of our guests this is a vacation to Breckenridge we are recommending some things to do along the way. I know many hate breaks, but, for us there wasn't a choice and our guests that we have spoken with think it'll be fine and are understanding. Also, they'll have time to check into their rooms and such.

Most people that have been to Church ceremonies in the past are familiar with the longer gap between ceremony and reception. Our gap is about 3 hours as well. We aren’t doing a first look either so I think we will plan separate groomsmen/bridesmaid picture prior to ceremony to save some time in between. People should be able to figure out what to do with themselves for a couple hours! Especially if your providing a shuttle from hotel to venue - that’ll eat some time up.

You’re* (sorry)

Ugh. I really dislike wedding gaps. We think we have dd's wedding planned for a less-than 30 min. gap, and the guests do need to travel 10 mins. to the reception venue.

What I've done during past wedding gaps: 1. Hung out at a shopping mall (not too bad); 2. Sat in our car in a parking lot at the reception site, just waiting, because there was nothing else around. (bad). 3. Hung out with relatives whose house was close to the wedding. (good)

Wedding gap experiences really depend on how long they are, and if there is anything else to do nearby during that time.

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. We'll be moving the time back an hour or hour and a half depending on the church. They have service every Saturday night at 5pm so we will have to work with them since we locked in the time with the reception venue.

Breaks that are too long are boring. I'd move your ceremony time to about 5ish if cocktail hour isn't starting until around 6.

Guests will get restless, and any guest who isn't staying at the hotel won't have anything to do. I went to a wedding where there was a 3 hour gap between the ceremony and reception and it was incredibly boring, even though the rest of the wedding was wonderful and gorgeous.

You can't fully relax either because you're all dressed up and don't want to ruin your hair/makeup/dress/suit, etc.

LOL! I have Catholic family in NJ, and LOOOONG gaps are pretty much a given with them. It's not my preference, but to my NJ family it's totally normal.... However, for the last of their weddings I attended, only about 1/5 of the guests (nearly all family) actually attended the ceremony. Personally, I think that's incredibly rude, but they seem to accept it as a reasonable trade-off with a ceremony at 2 pm and a reception that didn't start until 6. After driving nearly an hour after the ceremony, we went and hung out at the hotel for a couple of hours. It was awkward, and we were starving by the time we got to the reception. Luckily, that particularly wedding was completely over-the-top, with "cocktail food" that was literally three dinners worth of food.... (Followed by a 4 course plated dinner, and no fewer than 4 different desserts.... Our Jersey family likes to EAT!)

Our wedding is the exact same time frame that you were going to do. Ceremony at 2, cocktail hour starts at 6. The drive is about 35 mins but it’s July 3rd and we’re thinking there will be a lot of traffic getting to Newport, RI as it’s a destination spot for many that holiday. As long as there’s things for your guests to do at the hotel/reception location I wouldn’t be worried. When and where is your wedding?

I’ve never heard of a gap wedding before being on here, but if it’s normal in your area I guess it’s fine? Is the cocktail hour the same space as the reception area? Usually they are different so you could still take photos while guests are enjoying cocktail hour.

View Quoted Comment That sounds like all the wedding we have attended in the last 2 years. We will be having a ton of food as well. We are definitely foodies. Haha this post has made FH and I change our minds on the time of the ceremony.

View Quoted Comment They are in two different rooms at the same venue.

View Quoted Comment Our wedding is in NJ. There are things to do in the area. The guests will need to drive everywhere since the reception venue is right off of a highway.