Time, Time, Time

Having a daytime ceremony with an evening reception?  This presents a bit of a problem, doesn’t it?  You might be surprised how often this happens.  Many churches will not perform late afternoon ceremonies.  Your optons are usually either early afternoon or early evening.  The 1:00 ceremony and 6:00 reception presents you with a time problem and usually cannot be altered. You do not want people to skip the wedding ceremony and only come to the reception, and you don’t want people to skip the reception either. What to do?  If you are facing this dilemma I am here to help!

Photo courtesy of MotoPhoto Hamden

Now you have to remember that you and the wedding party and close family will be busy taking pictures.  The rest of your guests will need to keep busy.  We suggest that if you know someone who lives locally and they are willing to open their house to guests it would be nice to have a mini gathering.  Nothing too crazy or fancy, just veggies and dip and some refreshments.  This will keep them occupied during the down time before the reception.  Another option, depending on your budget, is to rent a room at a nearby hotel or other venue for the same type of gathering.  If neither of these options is a possibility, simply inform your guests of nearby bars or restaurants they can go to in between the ceremony and reception. This would be especially helpful for your out of town guests. A list can easily be printed on a separate sheet of paper that can be inserted in the invitation envelope.

Everyone knows it is your special day and they should be willing to go with the flow.  No one will be complaining about downtime, but it would be nice to offer them some options or ideas.