Thoughts on an afternoon/daytime wedding and reception?

We were actually really heavily considering a brunch wedding! There are so many great pins and articles about brunch weddings. You'll want to consider how that will impact your getting ready timeline, but we loved the idea!

I attended a 12:30-5pm wedding. The couple went all out. It was at the park savoy in NJ and had a 15 piece live band performing party and dance hits. It was hard for me to get into the mood to dance since it was daylight out!


If you did decide to have a brunch/afternoon wedding I would perhaps anticipate people wanting to be a bit more subdued rather than partying hard, at least in my own experience 😁

My daughter's outdoor garden wedding and tent reception was from 11-4:00. She had a gourmet coffee/tea bar before the ceremony and during cocktail hour along with a mimosa bar (and beer/wine). Then a buffet brunch with dancing and lawn games. Surprisingly, there was a good crowd dancing. It was half the cost of an evening ceremony and when it was over by 4:30 the bridal party and others rented a party bus and had a night out in the city.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for sharing! That was also kind of my concern….that people wouldn’t be in the mood to dance or drink and stuff

View Quoted Comment Oh there’s an idea! The venue we’re considering is also close to the city, so maybe we will do that. Thank you!

View Quoted Comment I've had a similar experience at two afternoon weddings I've attended (minus the 15 piece band). It was a lot of fun but not the same vibe as an evening wedding.

If you have the ceremony and reception at the same venue, I think your guests should be able to make it. You would have to wake up even earlier to get ready, say if you had a 9am church ceremony.