Break Between Ceremony and Reception
Hi! I'm getting married at The Watermill this May and my biggest worry right now is the gap between my ceremony and reception.
My reception will be at The Watermill on a Friday night starting at 8PM.
When we found our church, they recommended a 4:00 ceremony. They told me this when I first met with them, and then again months later when I contacted them again.
I told the woman from the church that I didn't want my guests to wait too long before the reception at 8PM. She explained that 4PM would be perfect because although a ceremony would take about 45 minutes, it really takes about 60 mins to 90 mins considering lateness, the receiving line, etc.
Okay fine, so say by that logic my ceremony was 90 minutes long and ended at 5:30. That still leaves a two and a half hour gap until 8:00.
I actually called The Watermill to get their recommendation, and they also said 4:00 would be fine. They told me that my guests could even arrive at 7PM and they would be served champagne in the lobby. Then the cocktail hour would open at 7:45. I was very pleased to hear this, but that still means there will be a gap between 5:30 and 7:00.
I even called the photographer to ask them what they recommend. The girl on the phone was very helpful and told me that my times were perfect. She said if we move the ceremony to a later time we will not have as much time for pictures (or daylight).
So this is my problem. Everyone in the wedding industry says that my times are fine, but I fear that my guests won't be too pleased. Anytime I google anything about wedding breaks, I'm faced with comments on how rude that is to do to your guests.
Somethings to note are:
-Many guests live locally, so if they really wanted to run home they could.
-Out of town guests include his sister, who will be with us the whole time for photos anyway. Other guests include my family from Florida, but they will be staying in a hotel nearby the reception site. I figure they can run back to their rooms if they wanted.
-My fiance and I are new homeowners and he's hoping we could have an uncle open up our house if anyone wanted to wait. If it's a nice day we could set up chairs in the backyard and have refreshments inside. At least it will give people a place to stay. I know this will likely add stress to our day though. And to be fair, people will still be waiting.
Finally, I think that if someone really has a problem with the gap, they'll choose to just go to the reception and skip the ceremony. I'm totally fine with this. As much as I enjoy the idea of everyone being there, I also enjoy the idea of only our closest family and friends attending our ceremony. Sigh! I don't know what to do!
Thank you to anyone who read this! I'd love some advice on this topic. Like I said, the vendors and venue say my times are great. I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable on our wedding day.
Advice? Experiences? Anything? Thanks a lot!
Oh, and by the way, our wedding is in May so hopefully it will be a nice day and the church is in Ronkonkoma by the lake, so maybe guests can just enjoy the weather and the sights while waiting.)
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
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My reception will be at The Watermill on a Friday night starting at 8PM.
When we found our church, they recommended a 4:00 ceremony. They told me this when I first met with them, and then again months later when I contacted them again.
I told the woman from the church that I didn't want my guests to wait too long before the reception at 8PM. She explained that 4PM would be perfect because although a ceremony would take about 45 minutes, it really takes about 60 mins to 90 mins considering lateness, the receiving line, etc.
Okay fine, so say by that logic my ceremony was 90 minutes long and ended at 5:30. That still leaves a two and a half hour gap until 8:00.
I actually called The Watermill to get their recommendation, and they also said 4:00 would be fine. They told me that my guests could even arrive at 7PM and they would be served champagne in the lobby. Then the cocktail hour would open at 7:45. I was very pleased to hear this, but that still means there will be a gap between 5:30 and 7:00.
I even called the photographer to ask them what they recommend. The girl on the phone was very helpful and told me that my times were perfect. She said if we move the ceremony to a later time we will not have as much time for pictures (or daylight).
So this is my problem. Everyone in the wedding industry says that my times are fine, but I fear that my guests won't be too pleased. Anytime I google anything about wedding breaks, I'm faced with comments on how rude that is to do to your guests.
Somethings to note are:
-Many guests live locally, so if they really wanted to run home they could.
-Out of town guests include his sister, who will be with us the whole time for photos anyway. Other guests include my family from Florida, but they will be staying in a hotel nearby the reception site. I figure they can run back to their rooms if they wanted.
-My fiance and I are new homeowners and he's hoping we could have an uncle open up our house if anyone wanted to wait. If it's a nice day we could set up chairs in the backyard and have refreshments inside. At least it will give people a place to stay. I know this will likely add stress to our day though. And to be fair, people will still be waiting.
Finally, I think that if someone really has a problem with the gap, they'll choose to just go to the reception and skip the ceremony. I'm totally fine with this. As much as I enjoy the idea of everyone being there, I also enjoy the idea of only our closest family and friends attending our ceremony. Sigh! I don't know what to do!
Thank you to anyone who read this! I'd love some advice on this topic. Like I said, the vendors and venue say my times are great. I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable on our wedding day.
Advice? Experiences? Anything? Thanks a lot!
Oh, and by the way, our wedding is in May so hopefully it will be a nice day and the church is in Ronkonkoma by the lake, so maybe guests can just enjoy the weather and the sights while waiting.)
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
