Ceremony to reception transition....HELP!!

You could still do a cocktail hour if you wanted. Put out a cheese platter, crackers, and fruit, start serving drinks, and guests can mingle. The transition will be when you guys join/are introduced and start passing around/put out the heavy apps. You could also have some lawn games and things out in the yard like ladder ball, cornhole, bocce for guests to play.

Can you do pictures before the ceremony? If not, maybe lawn games outside of the tent during the break?

We are doing a back yard wedding as well. I plan to use hay bales for ceremony seating so we don't have to worry about chairs. Our photos are being done beforehand and our ceremony will be directly before supper.

That's what someone else mentioned to me, to put out the cheese and crackers and fruit. That's what I may do. I like the idea of lawn games like corn hole maybe.

I would rather not do pictures before the ceremony because I don't want FH to see me in my dress until I'm walking down the aisle.

Jocelyn, how much did the hay bales hurt your pocketbook? I want them SO badly at my wedding, but really hate the added cost. I was thinking of asking my venue to buy them...they could continue to reuse them for concerts and stuff...and are dreading moving the ceremony chair indoors, but have to because they did not change their contract until after we signed.

OP...I think cocktails without food is fine, too...or just put out big bowls of nuts, popcorn, and chex mix!

You could do some pictures before the wedding. I did mine, mine with by bridal party, with my own family, then went back inside our suite, and husband did his, with his party, with his fam. Then we did our pics together after the ceremony, so he didn't see me until I walked down the aisle. Just an option!

You should put out some kind of food if you're serving alcohol or you may have guests passed out before dinner!

Take pictures after the ceremony

What time of the day is your wedding? When does the ceremony start, and when do you plan to start serving the apps?

The ceremony starts at 6:30pm. Now I am planning on putting some light things out at 7pm for a sort of "cocktail hour" while we take pics. Then grand entrance at around 730 and have the rest of the food brought out around 740-745. I planned on doing pictures with my party and family before the ceremony so we could have some daylight. So after the ceremony we will be doing pictures with each other.