Wedding ceremony start time for 5pm reception and timeline?

Hello! Will the ceremony be at the same venue the reception will be held? If yes I d probably start the ceremony somewhere between 4 & 4:30 (depending on how long the ceremony will be). Happy planning!

First time for me as well, How long is your ceremony and do you have to travel to your reception? Since you have a time frame for your reception space I assume you want to use all the time you can. So if your ceremony is 15 min long and it is on the same property, I say start your ceremony at 4:45 pm and if you have to travel to your reception space time and it takes 20 minutes to get there, I'd start the ceremony at 4:20 pm just to make sure everyone gets there by 5pm.

Make sure that, even if you have a Catholic ceremony, there is no gap beyond driving time to the reception. Your photographer, hair/makeup team, coordinator all make timelines for the couple as part of their job.


Are you doing a first look with pictures taken before the ceremony? Are you dismissing the rows after the ceremony as a faster alternative to table visits? Those will cut down on time spent away from guests.
Those who say that a Catholic ceremony cannot bypass the gap need to branch out into outside the box venues because many do not have set start times. They are available anytime you are ready to start your party. Parks department owned venues are very flexible and elegant but some do require DIY while others have mandatory vendors you must use. Look on venuereport.com and eventective.com for venues that have 8-12 hour blocks (the industry standard reception is 4-5 hours from cocktail hour to dinner to dancing) as those are more flexible with start times. It is very rare for a blank slate venue to not have tables/chairs/kitchen included.

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Hello! I forgot to mention my ceremony and reception will be at the same location! Thank you!

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Hello! Hello! I forgot to mention my ceremony and reception will be at the same location! My fiance and I might have a ceremony for about 30 minutes or an hour. Thank you!

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Hello! I forgot to mention my ceremony and reception will be at the exact location! I may plan for first look photos around noon to save time because I know it may take a few minutes to do family photos before the reception during cocktail hour.

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Next thing you need to figure out is approximately how long the ceremony will be. If you plan on a short-ish ceremony I d say start it between 4:15/4:30 sometimes things don't always start exactly on time so its nice to have a little wiggle room before the reception at 5 (but not too much).

View Quoted Comment Talk to your photographer because timelines are part of their job. Always err on the side needing more time than you expect

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Yes Rosebud it right, allow wiggle room in your timeline and be sure to include you photographers, because they might want to get photos of the reception space before everyone else gets into there.

You need time to take pictures. That usually takes 45min-1hr depending on how big the wedding party is. Adjust your times according to that. Good luck and congratulation!