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Destanee
Beginner May 2022

Too much of a time gap between ceremony and reception?

Destanee, on January 5, 2022 at 4:35 PM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 7
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Hi everyone!


My fiancé and I are super excited for our May 20, 2022 wedding. But I am very stressed about my timeline. My wedding ceremony is in a Catholic Church about 30 minutes away from my Reception Site. We are doing a first look prior to our ceremony but afterwards we have about an hour and a half gap between my wedding ceremony ending (around 430 since it will be a Catholic Mass) and the reception beginning (6 pm). Do you think this is too much time in between? The reception is a rooftop bar on top of a hotel so some of our guests are staying at the hotel our reception is at. I am just worried this gap will make my guests disgruntled but worried I won't have enough time for photos after the church and/or get to my reception on time if I shorten that gap. When I spoke with my venue coordinator she said this time gap is okay and having like a 30 minute "cocktail hour" will be perfect as well. It's stressing me out honestly. Help!

7 Comments

Latest activity by Meghan, on January 6, 2022 at 10:24 AM
  • H
    Master July 2019
    Hannah ·
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    I would do an hour cocktail hour, which would give guests time to get to the reception venue and have some snacks, cocktails, and a chance to mingle while you finish pictures.
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  • M
    Legend June 2019
    Melle ·
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    That sounds ok to me since you said it takes 30 minutes to get to the reception then if you did have a cocktail hour after that would suffice.

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  • Cece
    Rockstar October 2023
    Cece ·
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    I agree with Hannah, I would extend the cocktail hour to a full hour. Cocktail hours at weddings were basically created to entertain guests while giving couples an hour (hence the name cocktail HOUR) to capture photos after their ceremony. If it’s a 30 min drive to the reception location, that means guests will arrive at 5:00 PM, and cocktail hour would be from 5-6pm. Extending it also ensures that guests are not standing around waiting even longer in case your photos take a little longer than expected. One of the number one complaints of wedding guests is long lags between events, so you want to make sure to be properly hosting them even when you aren’t in the room (ie, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music).
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  • A
    Savvy March 2022
    Ashley ·
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    I could be wrong on this, but I think the Catholic gap that you often hear about might be more like 3-4 hours. So 1.5 hours doesn’t really seem that bad.

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  • Elizabeth
    Dedicated November 2021
    Elizabeth ·
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    This isn’t bad at all. Agree with the suggestions to make the cocktail hour a full hour if possible. Then people drive for 30 min and snack/sip for the remaining hour and there’s really no gap at all. The only gap I remember hating was one where the gap was a few hours and we hadn’t had time for lunch before the ceremony, so we stopped for fast food and then sat aimlessly in the car for a while before we could even get into the reception venue. If your guests are able to access the venue and refreshments are available when they get there, I’d say it doesn’t even count as a “gap,” just Part 2 of the 3-part event you’re hosting!
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  • Michelle
    Champion December 2022
    Michelle ·
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    How long is the drive to the reception site including traffic and parking? Can they move the start time earlier and extend the cocktail hour to 60 minutes?
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  • Meghan
    Master October 2019
    Meghan ·
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    If the drive from the ceremony to the reception venue is 30 minutes, then that leaves 1 hour for a cocktail hour, which is perfect. As long as you have a cocktail hour with drinks and food for guests while they wait for the reception, you should be fine. However, I would not leave anytime where guests have nothing to do.

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