How much time....

summerbridetobe Posted: Jan 25, 2009 10:43 PM

How much time....

Do you have between your church and the start of the cocktail hour??? We will probably get out of the church completely around 4:45, the RH is 20-30min away, and the cocktail hour can start at 6:30 or 7:00. So.... we will be taking pictures in between but our guests will have an hour and a half or so to do nothing. This makes me kinda nervous, I dont want to leave them hanging when a lot of them wont be close enough to go home and then back to the RH.

I was thinking about providing something for them to do like open up my parents house with AC and some light food, just so they have a place close to the church to relax for a bit.(change,use bathroom ect.) I also thought we could provide a senic route to the RH which they can drive through Port Jeff and walk around or grab coffee. I dont know... any other ideas??? I will be happy to have a lot of time for pictures but I dont want the guests to be left hanging.

AdriandSteve Posted: Jan 25, 2009 10:48 PM

Re: How much time....

my church is ending at 4 and we will realistically get out of there around.. 4:30/4:35. My reception is also about 25 min away starting at 7/7:30 (still can't decide)

i would ask BM if cocktial could be opened up like 15-30 min before for early arrivers.

Kiki1103 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:05 PM

Re: How much time....

I am having the same problem now. I want to have enough time for photos but I also want to be considerate to my guests, especially the ones that don't live close. I was also thinking to have them stop at my mom's house in between the ceremony and the reception. It is about 30 minutes from the church to the hall. We are deciding on that now.

ETA: I can't type!

summerbridetobe Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:07 PM

Re: How much time....

Posted by AdriandSteve

my church is ending at 4 and we will realistically get out of there around.. 4:30/4:35. My reception is also about 25 min away starting at 7/7:30 (still can't decide)

i would ask BM if cocktial could be opened up like 15-30 min before for early arrivers.

thanks, yeah they said even up to an hour before the guests would be welcomed in and offered drinks and then 15 before the offical start time they would start the food. So that is also a good thing but I dont want to have 100 people there an hour early! are you worried about what your guests will do in between?? some people are saying dont worry about them, they will figure out what to do!

kimmaymb20 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:07 PM

Re: How much time....

I havent figured that out yet but all I know is my mass starts at 330 and wont be over till 430.

summerbridetobe Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:09 PM

Re: How much time....

Posted by Kiki1103

I am having the same problem now. I want to have enough time for photos but I also want to be considerate to my guests, especially the ones that don't live close. I was also thinking to have them stop at my mom's house in between the ceremony and the reception. It is about 30 minutes from the church to the hall. We are deciding on that now.

ETA: I can't type!

Yeah its tough I think using the houses would work... at least if provides them with an option! I think lots of weddings have a big spacing... people are probably used to that... i hope!

Nichole2010 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:10 PM

Re: How much time....

the ceremony starts at 1:00 and will probably end at 2:00 since its catholic....then til 3 to take pictures..and the reception starts at 4:00

emc282rjm Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:27 PM

Re: How much time....

We have a similar situation. We are assuming that a lot of people will be checking into the hotel at that point. You might also want to take traffic into account. We know that we are going from Rockaway to Franklin Square and while it's usually only a 30 minute drive, we know that there will probably be traffic...just a thought!

grrulz Posted: Jan 25, 2009 11:36 PM

Re: How much time....

i haven't figured this out yet!

RedsBride Posted: Jan 26, 2009 05:38 AM

Re: How much time....

im having the same time difference for my wedding day and i figure that people will just go back to the hotel or their houses. thats what i did last year when my friend got married. i actually wore a really simple plain dress to the church and then went home, relaxed for a bit, and got all dressed up. other than that, i guess giving your guests options to sightsee would be nice. i know i put a lot of stuff on my wedding website of stuff to do, especially in the port jeff area where my reception is

stinenandy2010 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 07:46 AM

Re: How much time....

we have a long time in between, my church will end somewhere between 4-4:30, but my CH doesn't start till 7:30....so everyone will go back to my parents house for some light food and drinks and then head over the the reception. at first, i thought this was bad for the guests but its great for us bc we will get all of our pictures out of the way.

Sandradv121 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 07:54 AM

Re: How much time....

My cousin had the same issue. In between, she did a small little lunch thingy. Nothing too nuts. There was some champagne cocktail thingy and small finger foods, like little sandwiches. Most people in between the church and the hall sometimes change. Esp. if your recep. is formal, sometimes people don't want to wear their fancy dresses to the church.

Also keep in mind that if you are having your wedding on a Friday, you need to allot time for travel. Rush hour. I am not sure if you are or not.

Jna2010 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 08:47 AM

Re: How much time....

we're still working on this..... but cocktail hour starts at 5:30 (fairly close to brooklyn around 20 min) so we would ideally like to be dont with church and out the door at 2:00 the latest!!!!

Kimbiz1 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 09:06 AM

Re: How much time....

The beauty of doing the ceremony at the RH is that you don't have to think about this.

lori7570 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 09:12 AM

Re: How much time....

I wouldn't worry too much about this, I think providing them with a scenic drive or things to do around the RH or church is a good idea.

MayBride2010 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 09:54 AM

Re: How much time....

The church starts at 3:30 and will probably end around 4:30 b/c it is a Catholic Mass, the reception doesn't start until 6:30 and is only about 20 minutes away....so I haven't figured out what to do with the guests in between as of yet!

FallBride2010 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 10:08 AM

Re: How much time....

I have a pretty big gap...like 3 hrs! I am assuming many guests will head to the hotel and relax.I'm also going to have some refreshments at my house for those not staying at the hotel. Realistically...I need to accept that my church might be empty...since most people live in nassau and my wedding is pretty far out in suffolk

FutureMrsKuehne Posted: Jan 26, 2009 10:41 AM

Re: How much time....

i should be all done at the church, receiving line and all, by 430, and my CH starts at 730.

the watermill said that they will have a 'lounge' for my guests to go to if they start arriving by 630, with champagne, etc, so they can socialize before CH

but as far as the gap, i think it will be very good, besides the fact tht i need my pictures done! im having no kids at the reception, so all of my younger cousins can come to the church, this will give my family time to get the kids to a babysitter, or wherever, and i also know tht when iwent to a wedding like that, i wore a more casual dress/hair, etc, to the church, and went home and got all dressier before the evening reception...i know some of my family is gonna do that!

it makes my day more of a 'whole DAY' not an evening, which is fine by me!!!

JenBill61210 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 11:15 AM

Re: How much time....

i am getting married at 10:30am and my CH starts at 1pm... our ceremony is early so that we have enough time to take pictures and attend our CH... the RH is about 20 min from the church. I figure we will be done around 11-11:30, our guests can hang at the Fox Hollow bar i guess if they get there really early...

AdriandSteve Posted: Jan 26, 2009 01:38 PM

Re: How much time....

Posted by summerbridetobe

Posted by AdriandSteve

my church is ending at 4 and we will realistically get out of there around.. 4:30/4:35. My reception is also about 25 min away starting at 7/7:30 (still can't decide)

i would ask BM if cocktial could be opened up like 15-30 min before for early arrivers.

thanks, yeah they said even up to an hour before the guests would be welcomed in and offered drinks and then 15 before the offical start time they would start the food. So that is also a good thing but I dont want to have 100 people there an hour early! are you worried about what your guests will do in between?? some people are saying dont worry about them, they will figure out what to do!

i only have a hand few of people coming from out of town. Most people live in RVC which is right in between VS and bethpage so they'll proabably go home and change. My mom will probably have my fam over the house too.

As for FH's fam.. thats his mom's problem lol.

Question:
just popped into my head... how is my mom gonna have people over our house if she is needed for some of the pics??