What time should the wedding start? HELP PLEASE

My friend had a wedding at 3 and reception at five it was 20 minutes away!and it just seemed to rushy.maybe some quest would like to chill out for a couple hours.

Most people do "happy hour" for their guests while they are waiting for you to be done with pictures... if that is not an option, I would suggest doing pics before the wedding so that you can go straight to the reception after the receiving line...

Definitely go with your moms advice. The pictures will take longer than you think... guests expect to wait for the arrival of the bride and groom for a while. It's not rude and is perfectly ok. It's your day and you don't want to be rushed. Chances are you'll be late to the rehearsal anyway.

Are you taking any pictures before the wedding? If not, you probably will not have enough time for the receiving line and pictures before the reception. Receiving lines take much more time than brides think they will and you should give your photographer at least 30 minutes after the ceremony. Normally the reception site will have a cocktail hour to give the couple time for photography. If your wedding starts at 6:00 pm, your timeline will look like this:

6:00 wedding

6:30 receiving line

7:00 photography

7:30 leave for reception

That would would have your guests arriving at the reception site at between 7:00 and 7:30. If there is a cocktail hour from 7:00 to 8:00, that will work out perfectly. There isn't much time for photography but it is doable if you take some photos before the wedding such as you alone, you with your bridesmaids, you with your immediate family. Then have your groom do his pictures alone, with his guys, and him with his family.

I hope that helps

Yes... Go with your mom's advice!

It was just my cousin's wedding a couple of weeks ago (I was a bridesmaid) The church and reception were just like 20 mins away also... She had her ceremony at 430 and the reception started at 7. Time went by sooo fast! We didn't leave the church until 645! All the pictures seemed really rushed! and the guest had to wait for like 30-45 mins longer!

Time flys and you don't want grumpy guests!

No we are not taking pictures before the wedding. The guests will have cocktails and hors d'oeuvres until we are announced. I think they are planning to announce us at 8:30.

I think 6:30 is good. That way the guest would have sometime to mangle but not to much were people get board.

I think Janice's timeline looks perfect. How many guests do you have? they told me about 20-25mins per 100 people for the receiving line.

I agree, I like that timeline. But the problem is we don't have the reception venue until 8, so it leaves me back to thinking what will the guests do? We tried to get the reception venue at 7 but someone is having a gala there and has rented out the entire place until 6. So 8 is the earliest we can start the reception.

The post on reception timeline may also help you make a decision. I found it very helpful

It won't really be a whole lot of time for them to have nothing to do though...after the ceremony they might stop off at a store, or for gas or have a smoke...take their time getting to the place. If the ceremony is at 6, they probably won't get out of the church parking lot until 7ish...then a 20 minute drive, and they can get in to the reception at 7:45...perfect. If they know the reception is at 8, they'll figure out what to do, don't worry!

I think you should go with your moms advice... You dont want to feel pressed for time..guest really dont mind waiting cause they are mingling with other guest and before you know it you guys will be there

Definitely space it out more. If you're worried about having too much time in between put on your invitations that the reception starts at 8, so everyone will know what time they have to be there by.

Eh, don't rush it. Take your time!

Thanks everyone I really appreciate the advice

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One thing to add...many guests have a tendancy to hang out while the photographer is taking pictures.

If you're not taking pictures before the wedding, a half hour is going to be rushed. Have you talked about this with your photographer?

I would ask your photographer how long he/she thinks/would like the after ceremony photos will be, I think the norm is about 2 hours, more if you have a lrager bridal party and family and are travelling to various places to get pictures. I would like 3 pm ceremony start time, that way we can allow for delays and still have enough time for photos, travel around mte area for more photos, and get to the reception Supper is at 6 Cocktails start at 5

Yeah we talked with the photographer and we decided to go with the 6 pm start time, especially because we do have a big wedding party

I think your time is fine, because all the wedding party will stay after for pictures and stuff but your guests can go directly onto the reception to start the party you can have appetizers waiting until you all arrive, thats what im doing.