Ceremony Start Time Woes: Black Tie Wedding

I commend your commitment to actually following the rules of black tie. Imo, if you're at a separate venue, the church part can start early and it can still be a black tie reception

Agreed with Shirley. When I think of black tie, I think of the reception specifically, and your reception will be in the evening. For what it's worth, the knot says it's fine

https://www.theknot.com/content/too-early-to-request-black-tie#:~:text=A%3A,reception%2C%20so%20it's%20totally%20fine.

The formality generally only applies to the reception. Unless the ceremony and reception are at the same venue

We attended a black tie wedding in 2018 at which the ceremony (at a church) was in the early afternoon and the reception began at 6:30 or 7 (I don't remember specifically). I think you're good, since you have two separate venues

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Shirley. This is something that was very important to my fiancé and myself! If we are going to be asking our guests to wear black tie, we want it to be done right.


The ceremony is at a different venue, and the dinner wouldn’t begin until after 6pm, but I am glad you think that would be alright. I just didn’t even think about the ceremony not being able to start as late as I wanted.

View Quoted Comment I should’ve googled!! That article explains my situation exactly. Thank you for linking it!

View Quoted Comment Becky, I am glad you’ve experienced this before! With the 4:30 start time, the cocktail hour probably wouldn’t begin until 5:30 and the dinner would start at 6:30.

I think it’s okay. As long as the reception starts after 5:30pm. That’s generally what I use to differentiate it being black tie. And I’m assuming that if you have a cocktail hour your reception will start at 6pm or after.

I would recommend that you change your attire to black tie optional

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Hanna, is that due to the time?

Just designate the dress code on your rsvp or website. We’re getting married in the evening but we still put it out there so no one is tempted to dress casual

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Yes, I might find it a little odd as a guest to receive an invitation to a black tie wedding with a ceremony start time of 4:30. However, if your reception doesn't start until after 6 pm then you'd probably be fine just saying "black tie"