timing question

I am having a helluva time with TIME! So if you wouldn't mind being my personal wedding planners...again...

ceremony at 3:00 in nyc. (not a mass) cocktail hour at oheka (an hour away) at 6:00?, 6:30 or 7:00. Keep in mind some people may choose to stay at the Hilton. 20 minutes from Oheka.

And on shuttle buses. Do people have to say they are going to use it? Or do they just get there in time to take them?

Hey once again guys - thanks for a million miles of help.

My Ceremony is on the Upper East Side and my Cocktail hour starts at 6:30 at the Harrison House in Glen Cove.
I'm hiring a 50 passenger coach to arrive at the church at 4:00-4:30 to pick up all the guests and bring them to Harrison House.

I figure a lot of guests will be staying at HH for the night of the ceremony so the hour time slot from 5:30-6:30 can be used for check in and to freshen up etc.,

Don't know where you're getting your shuttle from.
I think I'm going with Peter Pan bus lines. They charge around $500 for 8 hours, so I can use it to bring guests back into the city at the end of the night.

Jenny - It is DEFINITELY MORE than an hours drive from St Pats to Oheka assuming even light traffic. I am budgeting an hour for travel from my home in Park Slope, Brooklyn to Midtown and I live only 10 miles away. The traffic in the city, belt parkway and the LIE can be unpredictable no matter what day or hour.

Please plan in more time than you think you will need. Better to be early than late.