Awful Catholic Gap

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/gap-between-ceremony-and-reception

Me! Ceremony is at 2, reception doesn't start until 6. This is pretty common in my family (we're all Catholic) and in the Chicago area. I made a list on our website of places where folks can go in between ceremony and reception, like local bars and coffee shops. I imagine a lot of the guests will go hang out at the hotel in between.

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That's a good idea!

I never wanted that either. In my culture a gap is soooo common but inconvenient UNLESS you need to travel in between to a different location. I'm sure it'll be fine though.

Honestly we were just invited to a wedding like this in Southern California on a Friday (hello rush hour traffic 😑) . We actually didn’t attend the ceremony because of the gap and the inability to go home inbetween. Hopefully it’s a better situation for you but that was personally how we felt.

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Thanks for letting me know your personal thoughts! This helps because I do have a lot of family coming in from out of town. So now I'm prepared that some may be skipping my ceremony due to the gap.

I’ve gone to a few with a gap and every time the couple has hosted a pre cocktail cocktail party at their home.

I am having the same thing. The Catholic church we are getting married at had predetermined ceremony slots so we are also doing a 2 pm ceremony with a gap before the reception. Luckily this means that the 50 minutes drive between the church and the reception venue actually works in our favor to help kill time. Our cocktail hour will likely be starting sometime between 4 and 4:30 so maybe you could consider moving your cocktail hour start time up a little?

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Unfortunately with the venue that I chose, the earliest time I could start cocktail hour is 5:30

That's exactly how mine was! We did a receiving line after to help eat up a little time and kept some folks for photos. I didnt hear any complaints about the gap. And some people went back o the hotel and changed into less formal clothes for the receptionist (few of the guys mostly changed into polos rather than their button downs).

Two of my daughters married in the Catholic Church and had the same issue. The first one was held in the town where they live. All the groom’s family and friends were local. Our family came from out of state or drove an hour so we hosted light refreshments and drinks at their home to fill the gap. For the second daughter there was a 30 minute drive between the church and reception venue. She moved her cocktail hour up to 4:30 and had the bartender run a tab for anyone who arrived early. There were only a few that arrived before 4:30 because so many stayed around after mass to chat and take photos.

I am so thankful we are able to avoid this. Saturday Mass is at 4 and the priest told us we could do a 1pm ceremony or we could wait until 5:30pm after mass. Since our reception venue is just 4 minutes down the road, we decided to opt for the 5:30pm ceremony.

I just attended a wedding where this was the case and we honestly thought about leaving after the ceremony. We drove 2 hours and then had to sit around for another 2 just waiting. I would recommend you find things to suggest for people. We didn’t know the area so we rode around found nothing so we just sat in a parking lot.

My wedding was at 1:00 & we didn't eat until 5:30. We did not do a cocktail hour. There was nothing I could do to avoid the gap. I figured I have waited for weddings before.

Been to weddings w a gap like that. It's perfect for you cuz u get to take pics and not worry about them during reception!!
In one case everyone drove to a hotel to change and pre game (reception was at that same hotel so it was perfect) and in another case I lived 20 min from church and 8 min from venue so I went home lol
As other suggested if a lot of out of towners I'd figure out a way to entertain them or provide them w suggestions of what they can see or do

We're not Catholic, but we have extended family members all over the country who are, so this is pretty standard for the family weddings we attend. If there is a lot of local family, if there is someone who is willing to host an informal "open house" between the ceremony & reception at their house, that's really nice. That's been the best option we've attended, but it's work & expense (and a LOT to ask of either set of parents, so it depends on if there is an aunt & uncle, etc., who's willing...). At one we attended on the East Coast, EVERYONE went back to the hotel and checked-in and hung out for a few hours (my husband actually took a nap... ). Unfortunately, in our Chicago family, it means most of them just skip the wedding (or almost worse, show up in jeans and t-shirts like they stopped by while mowing the lawn) and then attend the reception. But, that just might be this particular group of people; hopefully, your family/friends aren't like that. The idea about providing options on your website is probably a good one.... The good news is that I think people who are Catholic or are familiar understand this is just an unfortunate bi-product of a Catholic service and roll with it in their own ways. Good luck!

We have a gap, but its because we arent doing a first look and are taking pictures at our ceremony venue afterward. Many of our people are local though, so they may go home (we have someone checking in on our fur kids for us), and we are offering fun activities for the kids and a few outdoor activities to fill the time at the reception venue. Since we are rural, there arent many things between the ceremony venue and reception.

We aren’t having a catholic mass, but I feel like this is usual. A lot of ppl don’t actually go to the ceremony in my circle bc of the gap, they just go to the reception.

I've been to one wedding with a catholic gap. I'd say 50% of the guests came to the ceremony, and the rest just came to the reception. I think it's nice to give people options on "things to do" during the gap too.

I have the same issue. Catholic bride here. Alot of our guests are from out of town so we made a whole tab on our wedding page with places people could go and do during the 2 hour gap we have. There is a nice gardens and canopy walk as well as shops and such in our cute little downtown by the river. It is also a smaller town so people can easily get anywhere in about 15mins if they want to just chill at their hotel. If you have the budget, you can pay for like a bus tour of the town or another activity to keep people occupied. Otherwise, i am actualy liking the gap since I am going to use the time to get lots of portraits and pictures so when i get to the reception, i can spend all of it with my guests