08/19/2009
The clock is ticking...
The clock is ticking...
   

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How long is too long between the ceremony and the reception?

I don't know how I should schedule my wedding day.

I was thinking about leaving 1 hour or 1h30 between the ceremony and the reception. During that time, guests would enjoy the cocktail... But I'm afraid it won't leave us enough time for the pictures.

I've been to a wedding where we had to wait for about 2h30. I found it very long... and it's a bit of a mood breaker. I don't really want to do that.

What are you ladies doing?? Are you taking all your pictures between the reception and the ceremony? How will you keep your guests waiting?
ceremony, reception, waiting
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more of coccinelle more Ask a Questions
mrsbrett's Pink wedding
mrsbrett
 |  Toledo, OH, USA  |  08/19/2009  | 
Try to get the majority of pictures taken BEFORE the ceremony. This will leave you more time afterwards. I think 1h 30 hour between is enough time--most people will hang around after the ceremony at the church to chit chat and catch up for at least a good half hour, then it will take them some time to drive to the reception.
If you have drinks and a selection of appetizers ready for them at the reception site and the DJ is already playing music-- then the wait won't seem as long.  A well-fed guest is a happy guest.  =)
gratefulbride's Blue wedding
gratefulbride
 |  Charlotte, NC, USA  |  08/19/2009  | 
I don't plan to keep our guests waiting for more than an hour, especially since our reception is only heavy hors doeurves.  Most weddings would have that type of food before the main meal to help kill time, but we are cutting costs in that area.  

Since our wedding party isn't huge, I think we can get in enough pics to our liking within 45 mins to an hour.
ikaufman08's Chocolate wedding
ikaufman08
 |  North ridgeville, OH, USA  |  08/19/2009  | 
our wedding is at 5, but the ceremony doesnt start until 530pm as they say its bad luck to marry clock hand going down... this gives extra 30 min for those late ppl...

my plan is to get as many pics b4 the wedding as possible, so everything except me n the groom and teh bridal part all together, and the fam pics once we are married....

everything else should be ok to take b4.

we r having one hr between ceremony and reception and that is the time that our guest will mingle to the cocktail and get their seats... its all in one location...
melissac8481's Black wedding
melissac8481
 |  Newport, MN, USA  |  08/19/2009  | 
I think an hour and a half between ceremony and reception is perfect.  I agree with mrsbrett, get as many pictures done before the ceremony as possible.  If you don't want your groom to see you, do your pictures seperately before the ceremony and save all of the family and complete bridal party pictures for afterwards.  I've heard that it usually takes 3 hours to do all of the pictures, so if you do half or more before the ceremony you should be just fine for time.  

We are doing all of our pictures before the ceremony and there will only be 1 hour between that and the reception.  I wanted a little less, but we needed to allow for travel time to the reception hall 30 minutes away.
faithsophi's Purple wedding
faithsophi
 |  York, ON, Canada  |  08/19/2009  | 
I think 2 hrs max in between is alright. More than that you really leave your guest having a hard time about not knowing what to do or where to go while they wait, and more if the location is far from their home.
treasurechest46's Red wedding
treasurechest46
 |  Indianapolis, IN, USA  |  08/19/2009  | 
Our wedding is scheduled for 3 (im hoping it starts on time) and our recep starts at 6 (the doors open at 5:30)  We're gonna try to get most of the pics done before the ceremony (parents, grandparents, bridal party) Then do our all together pics after the ceremony
sarahdarling's Black wedding
sarahdarling
 |  Toronto, ON, Canada  |  08/19/2009  | 
to avoid all this, we're doing ALL our pictures before the ceremony. so yes, that means FH and I will see each other before i walk down to aisle. to me, its not that big of a deal so its ok for us to do that.

we're going straight from pictures to ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner and dancing. nice and easy for us!
coccinelle's Orange wedding
coccinelle
 |  Laval, QC, Canada  |  08/19/2009  | 
I never thought about taking pictures before the ceremony. It sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the advice!!!
purplenat1's Purple wedding
purplenat1
 |   |  09/03/2009  | 
We're taking pics before the ceremony too. That whole "bad luck to see the bride" superstition is just silly. I think having an hour to an hour and 1/2 between the ceremony and reception is par for the course, but don't make it any longer, and definitely have food and drink for your guests while they wait. Actually, if you have food and drink, you could probably make them wait 2 hours easily. However, I've had to wait 1-4 hours between ceremony and reception without any planned activity, and it pretty much sucked. I was a little mad that the couples were so inconsiderate.
deneanrae's Blue wedding
deneanrae
 |  Red deer, AB, Canada  |  01/16/2010  | 
this was a concern for us too...but exsp becaise we are having the wedding and reception in the same venue..just diving the hall in half, so we need to move the chairs to the other side after the ceremony..eeek. We decided to take pics before the ceremony and break tradition. That way we will have all the time in the world and our makeup will be fresh. ive seen some increadible reveal photos of the groom seeing the bride for the first time and would love our photographer to do the same
jellybeans88's White wedding
jellybeans88
 |  Edmonton, AB, Canada  |  06/28/2010  | 
allo! i think to save time you can take the formal picture that are only girl and only boy before the ceremony like this you are still a surprise for your fiancé at the ceremony and between the ceremony and the reception you can do the picture of all the bridal party and you and your groom. plus don't worry your wedding is in the old town so after cocktail they can go for a walk and they will get entertain for sure (portrait, musician, historic building,etc).You can also make a list of your favorite place around if you really think you are gonna take too long. But I think after 1-2 coktail an 'une marche de santé" your guests will not see the time going.
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