Wedding invite time vs actual ceremony start time

No one suggested this to us. The time printed on a wedding invitation should be the actual start time for the ceremony. It's actually typical for wedding guests to start showing up within the 30 minutes before the ceremony, to ensure they are there in time to find a seat and be seated by the list sted start time in their invitation. If you printed a time on your invitation that was 15 minutes earlier than your intended start time, that could mean your guests will start showing up 45 minutes before the ceremony actually begins, and will be wondering why they needed to wait so long and why things aren't getting started on time.

I agree with previous poster. You put the wedding start time and the come before that.

It was suggested to us by one vendor. We opted not to give extra time after the time listed on the invitation. The people invited to our wedding are adults and if they can't show up on time then we start without them.

Honestly, we based all of our contracts on starting the ceremony promptly at 5 PM - the exact time listed on our invitations. It would never occur to me to have a "false start" of sorts had I not read about it here, and I find it a little irritating that any guest would expect it to start later than the listed time. I agree with you that IF something comes up, that's fine and it can't really be helped, nor do I expect that everything will go exactly according to schedule. It doesn't mean I feel the need to baby our guests and give them a 15 minute "grace period" to show up whenever they feel like it. It's just rude to show up late to a wedding, imo.

Soooo to answer your question, we plan on starting at the listed start time. We have no plans for a 15 minute window, and unless a true VIP like my dad is not there on time, I don't plan on veering from that 5 PM start time.

I came across this - in fact my venue (an all inclusive with its own DOC) told me that although the invitation says 4, we would start at 4:15. They open the chapel doors at 4 and it allows time for people to sit down. I was and still am bothered by this. If the invite says 4, I planned to start at 4 but was overruled by everyone I asked about it. I finally just gave in, but I told people that the doors opened at 4;00 so they wouldn't feel
like they got there early to wait around. We also had welcome drinks and our photo booth set up red carpet style so photos could be taken as people came in.

Thanks, everyone! I also told our vendors that 4pm sharp would be the start time. If people are running late, they can watch from the back or just catch up at cocktail hour. Thanks for confirming that 1) other vendors also suggested the same thing, and 2) agreeing to stick to the invite time!

We started at our invite time. In fact this has been discussed many times in the forums with the same conclusion that you start at the invite time. We didn’t have anyone suggest starting later.

We went to a wedding that had a half hour of buffer time and then they ran late. Guests were stuck standing in the lobby for over an hour and a half, especially those that arrive a half hour early.

I put 5 pm on the invitations and I will not be starting a minute late.

Just because you are punctual or a stickler for time (I am too) doesn't mean everyone is. Even those who generally are on time, can run into unforeseen issues: traffic accidents, weather, parking, etc. 15 minute leeway is not so much to ask and frankly, I don't think I've ever been to a wedding where the ceremony started exactly when the invitation said it would, even if that was the intention. I never gave a thought about a wedding starting late (as long as it was within 30 minutes) as I was busy talking with people, looking around, etc. If a wedding is in the winter, people may need a few minutes to take their coats off/check them and get seated and settled. The only time being late was an issue was one wedding where it started over an hour late. Also, the larger the guest list, the more time it takes to get everyone settled and seated.

You can also talk to your venue about how they handle "late comers" I had talked to the venue and they have a strategy for those who just couldn't make it on time, and how they block off the normal entrance, and have a side entrance that isn't so distracting. But I mean it's a wedding, and if people by now don't understand that they time on the invitation is the start time, then they have been living under a rock.

I say you start when you tell people it will start. End of story. If people need time to settle in, they should arrive early to give themselves time to settle in. Being on time isn't a hard concept. If I were late, be it by my own fault or something unforeseen like weather or traffic, then oh well. I'll be late and sit in the back. The whole ceremony should not be delayed just because a few people can't plan ahead and leave in a timely manner.

All of our contracts are based on our ceremony start time of 3:00 PM. We plan to start on time.

Never heard of this... i wrote 11:30am on the invites for a reason, lol.

i think it would be weird. i went to a wedding recently where the BP was a bit late starting, but their intention was to start at 330 not 345, and i get stuff happens.... but that's weird

I put 1:45 the wedding don’t start until 2:30

We put 11, and started at 11. If anyone was late, we didn’t notice. Unless your venue is offering a hospitality hour beforehand, I’d be miffed as a guest if I got there a half hour early only to find I’m actually an hour early.

I am most likely going to start at 6:15 for a 6:00 ceremony, especially because my wedding is on a friday, during rush hour. i would rather wait a few extra minutes then start and be disrupted by latecomers

I put the actual time on my invite and we started on time. The chapel we got married at has been directing weddings for decades so we had no issues. Only one guest was late.

Honestly most weddings I go to if they run late it's rarely more than 10 minutes.

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So the folks who arrive on time or early will have to wait for at least 45 minutes? Starting late reinforces that tardiness is ok and means that those who are on time actually face a consequence.

I think it's rude to make people wait. By starting after the invite time you're actually punishing the prompt people for being on time by making them wait.

Unfortunately @Celia isn't here too say this, but it is very normal for the invite time be for the start for hospitality. My invite says 3, they will open doors from lobby at 2:50. Champagne, wine and hot cider will be served with light hors d'oeuvres. I want ceremony to start by 3:15, venue says 3:30. We'll see how many are there and play it by ear.