May bride here a little stressed. My fiance and I found a venue for our reception at the last minute. We signed contract and paid deposit over the weekend. We are getting married on the beach which is (10 miles) 18 minutes away from the venue. This is awesome news for us and the guests. Considering some are flying in and others are driving over a hour to get the beach to attend we are excited to find a place that is extremely close to do the reception.
Here is our biggest dilemma:
5 months ago we booked the only botanical garden in the area to take secondary pictures after our ceremony is over. We originally planned to take photos at the beach with guests and then go off to the botanical garden alone for further pictures. The problem is the garden is a hour away from the beach and and now 45 min from the new venue we just booked. which means we would leave the guests for quite a long time before arriving at the venue. Is it a rule of thumb that the couple do not miss the entire cocktail hour. I am a little frustrated in one sense about this. Also would I be able to word the invitations in such a way that the reception will actually start 2 hours later. Looking for a little feedback here.
P.S. It only 20 guests for my wedding.
