What time to start a Friday wedding?

I think you should start as late as possible. 4 is too early. I would start at 6, if possible. That gives time for people who can't get off work to get there, at least for the reception. At any Friday wedding I have been to, there are a lot of those. Also, since the following day is Sat, how late you end is less of a concern. I also think 5 is too early for dinner...

Normally you want to make it in the evening for people who can't take off to come or you will have very few people coming.

4 is too early, your guests won't make it to the ceremony. Friday weddings work great, and I'm a big fan of them because you can save so much money. Your guests will go out of their way to celebrate with you, just like you would for them. 6pm is ideal… then you would have a nice 6-11 event. Will your venue let you go that late?

Kimberly - I have no idea. We haven't officially booked them, but we're going to set up a meeting here in the near future to make sure we get all of our questions answered and such.

I suppose we could do a 6pm ceremony, then cocktails after the ceremony until about 7 and eat then. While we normally eat that late anyways, I don't know how others would feel about it. My mom will be taking our kids home with her and driving nearly 3 hours, so they'd probably have to leave earlier, but that wouldn't be too big of a deal and the kids will probably just sleep in the car.

6pm ceremony

6:30-7:30 cocktails

7:45 dinner

8:30 first dance

9:00 cake cutting

9:15 - 11pm - PARTY

Are there any hotels in the area that your mom could take the kids to? Driving 3 hours after the wedding just seems crazy to me.

Another option, if you are concerned about going too late would be to consider a day time wedding. See if your venue offers an 11-4 slot on Saturday. They're usually even cheaper than the Friday night. Or a Sunday afternoon… just a thought.

Oh but your 11-11-11… never mind. keep your date

6, or 6:30. We went to a wedding on Friday just this past May, and it worked out fine. We took a 1/2 day at work, and then headed over to the location.

Agreed....you should book a hotel for mom. She shouldn't have to leave her daughter's wedding early!

Analy - My bigger concern is actually my kids being out too late. They normally go to bed around 9/9:30. We're not having an open bar specifically because we don't want people getting trashed, so I'm not really worried about them being around drunk people. Believe me, I'll be more than happy to escort someone out of my reception if I feel like they're a nuisance. I went to a wedding a few years ago where a guy was completely wasted, accidentally cut himself on some broken glass and proceeded to write on the bathroom walls with his blood. Ever since then, I've been freaked out about something like that happening at my own wedding! Anyways, I just don't want whiny, grumpy kids ruining peoples' night. The girls will be 22 months and 3 1/2 years at the time of the wedding.

Also, I don't think my mom will want to stay in a hotel with my kids who probably won't go to sleep with people in the same room as them. LOL

Well I'm actually having a Friday Evening wedding. I chose Friday because I am having a Saturday brunch with my OOT guests. My wedding will start at 6:30 and the reception will begin at 7 and end at midnight. A lot of us are staying the night in a nearby hotel so that we can enjoy ourselves. If you really want that venue, I suggest you book it soon. Your date is going to fill up quckly.

In my experience, kiddos are the LAST ones tuckered out at the wedding! At mine, we litterally had to drag them off the dance floor! You will find that wedding cake plus dance floor exquals endless energy! haha But, I see your concern. I'd be worried about mom driving that far after a long day.

Uh, that dude sounds horrible!

Agree with Edwina too, that date is probably booking up big time!

I'm having mine on a friday night and the ceremony starts @ 6 (Seating @ 5:45)- We figure with that time- people can still work at least a half day and still have time to get ready and get to the ceremony. Then the reception is at the same place immediately following. Hope that helps!

Well I started ceremony at 3 PM but it wasn't started until 3 30 and we had pictures after that reception didn't start until 5 pm. My wedding was on Friday. It does depend the size of your wedding since mine was small. Yes book it ASAP because I met so many brides who has same date as you.

I agree with the other ladies. the later the better. instead of your mom leaving early to take your kids home, cant she just watch them at the wedding? she wont have to leave her own daughters wedding that way.

Well we are starting ours at 4 mostly because we have to be out of our venue by 10 its in a residential area so they don't like to have music too late.. but so far there have been no complaints or issues.. our wedding is small mostly family and a few every close friends so they are just taking the day off work. Long weekends are nice!

The venue we're hoping to get isn't a typical wedding venue, so I'm hopeful that it'll still be available. I did just check on irs.gov and my tax refund should be deposited tomorrow. If I didn't have so much work this weekend, I'd try to get there and see if we could get it booked. I'm actually going to go email them now to see if we can setup a time to get out there. I just wish it wasn't an hour+ drive.