Be very mindful of the relationship between your ceremony start time and the type of reception you offer. I know this can get tricky when you are trying to save money or do things on a tight budget. Many people think, “I’ll get married at noon or one o’clock and then have an hor d’oeuvres receptions,” or, “I’ll get married in the evening and have a drinks and desserts reception.” It is totally possible to do that, however not the best, most thoughtful way. If you can only afford an hor d’oeuvres reception, plan your ceremony time at a mid-meal point in the day – such as 2pm or 3pm. This way your guests will have already eaten lunch and your reception will end before the dinner hours are up allowing them to grab dinner on their way home. If a dessert reception is all you want to offer, then again, place your ceremony at a mid-meal time of day or late at night. In the event of an evening wedding with desserts only, try not to have a ceremony earlier than 7pm and make it loud and clear on your invitations that it will be a dessert only reception. If you have an evening ceremony between 5-6pm and do desserts only, consider allowing extra time between the ceremony and reception start time so that guests can grab a quick dinner somewhere on the way.
Typically, wedding receptions should look like this:
- 7am-10am Ceremony Start Time: Brunch Reception
- 11am-1pm Ceremony Start Time: Lunch Reception
- 2pm-3pm Ceremony Start Time: Hors d’oeuvres, Cocktail Reception
- 4pm-7pm Ceremony Start Time: Dinner Reception
- 8pm on Ceremony Start Time: Dinner, Cocktail or Dessert Reception
It’s not always fun to figure these logistics out. If you are dealing with a site location that only has certain time slots available for your ceremony, pick the one that allows you to have the type of reception you can afford. A word to the wise: Everyone is happier when they’ve been fed!
