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Bump.
And it doesn't necessarily have to be a Catholic wedding, just a wedding where the ceremony starts mid-afternoon and there is no gap between the ceremony and cocktail hour/reception...
Anyone? *tapping the mic* :-)
I'm not having a Catholic church wedding, but my ceremony starts at 4:00 pm in one ballroom of the hotel, then we move to cocktails on the balcony of the other ballroom from 5:00 to 6:00, then dinner in the grand ballroom at 6:00 and reception lasts til 11:00. No gap was an absolute must for me, because we have a lot of OOT guests and I didn't want them sitting around with nothing to do for hours. I've been at weddings where dinner started at 5:00 and that seems fine also.
@Nicoley1985: Thanks so much! I don't want a gap either, for the same reasons that you stated (and knowing that a huge gap would annoy me whether I was an OOT guest or not). My fear was that 5/5:30 would be too early for dinner, so I'm glad to hear that it wasn't odd for you when you've experienced it.
I attended a Catholic wedding with no gap. I wouldn't think 5:00/5:30 would be too early for dinner.
We are having a small gap. The wedding starts at 2:30 at the church. It will probably go to somewhere between 3:15 and 3:30. After that, the guests will head over to the reception/hotel. It's about a 12 minute drive without traffic, but on a Saturday afternoon and between getting in and out of cars, people probably won't get there until at least 4:00. Cocktails start at 4:30, and the ballroom opens at 5:30. Also, FI wanted the reception to end early in the night, otherwise people get tired but feel obligated to stay.
My friend's wedding in December is a Catholic wedding with no gap. Well, technically there is a 1/2 hour gap, just so everyone can throw birdseed on the newlyweds, talk a little at the church, and then make their way to the reception hall.
They got the priest to do a 6:15pm mass on a Saturday. Reception starts at 7:45, dinner will be at 8:15 and instead of a cocktail hour, the reception hall gave them the choice of a "midnight snack" instead, which is a popular option right now.
We didn't have a gap. Our ceremony started at 4:00 pm, and we didn't have mass, so it was over by about 4:45. Our cocktail hour started at the reception venue (maybe 10-15 minute drive from the church) and dinner started just after 6:00. I don't think 5:00/5:30 is too early to start dinner (honestly, we haven't actually gotten to eat a meal at wedding since having our daughter, since we always have to leave early for her bedtime now, so 5:00 would be awesome for us!). If you're very concerned about it, maybe you could do all of your dances/speeches/etc... at 5:00 and start dinner at 6:00.
@OnTheTwelfth: <--- This sounds a lot like my tentative timeline too
We aren't having a gap (except for travel time) but we also chose the earliest ceremony option, so our ceremony is from 10-1130am and then our reception starts at 12 noon. Maybe a morning ceremony with afternoon/lunch reception would be a good option for you?
Thanks so much, ladies! I'm feeling so much better about this.
@OnTheTwelfth: and @BayStateBride: This is probably closest to what my timeline would look like (based on the ceremony time).
@suckapunch: I love the idea of a morning wedding with a brunch/luncheon reception, but my fiancé wasn't a fan of the idea.
@JuneBride2012: Are you wondering this b/c you simply don't want a gap, or that you are a lucky bride with a Catholic church that doesn't have a Saturday 4:30 mass and have already scheduled your wedding?
I'm not sure if this is what you're asking, but one option is to have either a Sunday wedding, or Friday.
Our Catholic churh gave us the option of getting married before 1:30 or at 5:30. We chose the 5:30 option and I worried dinner was going to be really late but none of our guests seemed to care. We just made sure to serve enough appetizers at cocktail hour. My friend who is Catholic is getting married on a Friday so she doesn't have to worry about the mass schedule.
we got married at 3:00pm so our ceremony was over at 4 (we had a full mass). we still had a gap because our cocktail hour didnt start until 5 but my venue was nice enough to make sure everything was ready in case people showed early. The reception venue was only about 20 minutes from the church but that hour gap gave people plenty of time to hang around the church for a minute then head to the reception, the bar was set up when they got there. We were introduced at 6 did our dances and then dinner was at 6:15
My Catholic wedding has a gap but I think I have it covered. My ceremony is at 4, should go to about 4:45. I assume that after the receiving line out of the church and throwing rice it should be a little after 5. My reception venue is just less than half an hour away, but we're providing party busses for transportation, and the reception venue is the hotel where all the OOT guests are staying. I'm thinking there should only be a 15 minute gap before my cocktail hour starts at 6. Or at least that's what I'm hoping!
i'm trying to remember our exact timing with it. but we had a catholic ceremony and it went right into cocktail hour then into dinner.
2:00-3:30-ceremony
3:30-4:30 cocktails
4:30-5:00-every takes seats
5:00-salads came out
6:00-we were done and started on all the toasts and cake cutting dancing
We had a small gap. The latest time we could have our ceremony was 2pm because confession was at 3:30pm.
2-2:45 ceremony
20 min drive to reception
3:30 cocktail hour
4:45 guests seated, toasts
5 ish buffet dinner starts
You ladies are awesome! The timelines and info are so helpful!
@joy2011: I just don't want a gap. We are definitely working around Saturday evening confession and mass. And, unfortunately, the church will only allow weddings on Saturdays at one of two times (morning option and afternoon option), so a Friday or Sunday wedding isn't an option.
Our church doesn't have Saturday evening mass, so our ceremony was at 4:00. Cocktail hour started at 5:30 (about 20 minute drive away) and the reception "officially" started at 6:30 with our entrance.
@singasong: and @Mrs.Oat: I would love it if the church had an evening option.
I have no choice but to have a gap :/ sighhhh
Our church ceremony is at 2, and reception doesnt start till 6. Those are the times for each venue and cant be changed, unfortuantely.
I have been to a couple weddings with a gap, and I didnt mind, considering the church and reception werent too far from one another.
We had a 10am full mass wedding; our reception venue was 20 mins away or so (probably less, actually). We didn't have a gap. When people arrived at the reception venue at 11:30 or so, the bar was open and we opened the buffet at noon.
Having a morning wedding meant we wouldn't have a gap, and we had no issues people worry about with morning weddings (people still drank & danced, etc.). Plus our venue was cheaper for the morning reception too. You mentioned having a morning option; I'd highly recommend it.
I'm dreading our gap. The latest ceremony our church will do is 2pm. Then...cocktails at FIVE? you know what? Reading this makes me Want to call my caterer tomorrow and change times!! Lol! Thanks for the thread!
@Angelz_love: I hear you! latest for the ceremony is 2 and reception is at 6 :/
I'm having a Catholic Church wedding without a big gap. The ceremony will begin at 4:00 and it will be a full mass lasting about an hour. The reception will start at 5:30 giving guests time to get to the reception venue from the church.
I will say that I had to search a bit for a Catholic Church in my area that had a time I was happy with. Many of them had ceremony times of either 11:30 am or 2 pm (both of which are too early for me because I've always wanted an evening reception) or 7 pm (which was too late for me) I'm glad I found my happy medium at 4!
@Hollymarieee: and @Angelz_love: I definitely understand that restrictions sometimes make it impossible not to have a gap.
@red_seattle: I would love to have a morning wedding with a brunch reception, but my fiancé vetoed that idea. :-(
@BrideChristina: 4 PM is a great start time IMO.
@JuneBride2012: yes definitely. In our case we have no other choice, unfortunately. BUT I have been to a wedding with a gap, and we just hung out until reception time. It wasnt a big deal so I'm sure our family and friends wont mind...hopefully.
This is probably one of my fave threads on WB! I'm also having a 2pm Catholic mass (that was the latest we could do). I'm wondering when to start our reception...I see a few of you bees did 5 or 6 pm.
My problem is that we have an amazing lighting scheme (that I won for free), so I want it to be dark at our reception. Problem is...our wedding is in June on the West Coast so it doesn't get dark until late.
We have about a 20-30 minute drive to our reception venue. The OOT hotel is a 2 minute walk from the reception venue, so hopefully most of our guests can meet up at the hotel bar and visit before the reception. All of our invitees know each other, as it is just family and close friends.
What do you bees recommend, given our situation, as a start time for the reception (I may open up another thread for this)???
Oh and more timelines would be fantastic!!! I love seeing them, gap or no gap.
We got married at 11 am and had a lunch reception immediately following. Using the parish hall for the reception really made it easy to have no gap!
We had no gap. Our ceremony was at 2pm, and the ceremony started at 3:30 or so. We served an early meal, which was fine, right about when the reception started. We got there a little after the guests (we took a few pictures), and light hors d'oeuvres were put out. Our reception lasted untl 7pm. No cocktail hour. The timing wa actually just fine, people weren't upset about eating early, and we had plenty of time to spend with friends after the reception was over, and still have just-us time at a reasonable hour when we weren't exhausted.
No gap here.
Ceremony at 4
Cocktail Hour 5:00 or 5:30 (our venue doesn't start the clock til the majority of guests arrive)
6:30 Dinner and so on.....
We lucked out though. The church (our church) is one of the only Catholic churches in the area that has ceremonies at 4. Most of the other churches don't have ceremonies later than 2.
@TheLionQueen: My brothers wedding was this past summer at 2. It went until 3. Cocktail hour 3:30ish to 4:30. Then the bride and groom were introduced...first dance.... that took up some time. We were served dinner around 5:30. It worked out. No one complained about it being early.
We are not having a gap at all - Full Nuptial mass at 2:30 then the guests can go straight to the reception (about a 20min drive) but by the time the mass finishes we do group photos etc the earliest they will be there will be after 4pm.
The caterer will be ready with nibbles and pre-dinner drinks to tie everyone over while we get some photos.
We have been to weddings with huge gaps and didn't know what to do in between and don't want to do that to our guests.
@BayStateBride: Mine too! We want (and need) to be out of the church in time for their 5:30pm Saturday mass, and we don't want a late night reception. Wedding at 2:30 (one hour mass), 1/2hr drive to reception venue; 4-5 for drinks and nibbles for guests, then dinner can start around 5:30. We expect to be gone by 8:30-9:00 at the latest.
@TheLionQueen: I'm on the same boat, but our ceremony starts at 4. Expecting for it to be over by 4:45, and then allow time for photos at the church which I would expect to be another 20 minutes. Because our reception venue is in the high rise room full of windows, it looks best at night. Our wedding is also in June, and it doesn't get dark until 8ish. We're probably going to have cocktails start at 6:30, seated at 7, dinner start shortly after and then we enter. While guests are waiting, the bridal party will have time to take photos.
Is anyone allowing time for photos after the ceremony? We have opted out for the first look, so we can't take photos until after the ceremony.
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Has anyone had (or is anyone planning) a Catholic wedding with no gap between the ceremony and the cocktail hour/reception? Are there any suggestions for what the timeline should be like (so that dinner won't be served at an odd time, etc.)?