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I'm one of those bride! Unfortunately, there will be a 4 hour gap between our ceremony and reception, it was unavoidable (vendor conflicts). The only people it will effect are immediate family, and I also need ideas for them to fill the gap! Any advice/suggestions/ideas are appriciated!
Maybe you can put something at the end of your program or attached to your program? For instance - is there a tour they could take part in outside (here in Chicago they have the boat tours almost every hour), etc.? Or, find out before hand how many people will need entertaining and maybe you could buy tickets for people, etc. I would suggest telling people about your favorite appetizers at restaurants, but they may be too full to eat at the cocktail hour if you are having appetizers there.
Love the tour idea!
Just had lunch with my mom and she wondered about maybe doing some BINGO at the reception hall, we don't have enough time for that but maybe someone does. I love the favorite appetizer idea as well. Maybe even give people a list of places that you as a couple frequent. Parks, museums, restaurants, bars, etc. it could give guests a feel for you as a couple along with something to do.
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At every wedding I've ever been to, my college friends and I have used the time in between to grab a drink at a bar and use the time to catch up on each other's lives. It's a tradition so the gap has never bothered me at all!
Will the guests be hanging out at the reception area for long? Will you offer water/sodas for those waiting? I'm just wondering because this past friday we were at at wedding and when we got to the reception place after the ceremony we had to wait a half hour for the bartender and for them to put out cheese and crackers. It was so boring-the bride and groom ended up taking three hours to take pics and then we didn't end up eating dinner until 10:30PM and everyone was just sitting at the tables, no music until after they showed up-it was really weird.
I'm going to have about 2 hours between my ceremony & reception. I plan on suggesting some parks to visit, museaums, or other things around town. My parents are considering hosting a small "open house" as well.
Most weddings I've been to have a gap between the two. As a guest, I've seen it as a time to get a drink at the hotel bar or kind of refresh myself before the reception.
What about having pictures taken before the ceremony? Thats what we're doing...
We have about an hour gap and are expecting people to go to their rooms, grab a drink at the bar or stay out by the ocean and watch us take pictures. We don't really have anything to give them to do and we have trolley's going to the reception, so I assume they will do one of those things.
We have a two-hour gap and provided an exhaustive list on our website of attractions in Oak Park, Illinois (the same Chicago suburb where Miss Stiletto is getting married). The town has lots of Frank Lloyd Wright houses to look at, pretty public parks and a downtown area with shops and cafes, all close to the reception venue, so we're hoping our guests can stay entertained. I think my FI is also going to construct a crossword puzzle that we'll insert in the program...I told him not to make it too hard, but maybe he should just make it on par with an NYT Saturday puzzle and then our guests will really be occupied!
Last year, my friends and I had a three-hour gap and we went bowling. It was so fun and we got some great photos of us in our formalwear + neon bowling shoes. So if there's a bowling alley in your town, I'd recommend that!
This is how common a gap is to me. I don't consider two hours to be that long. Some things depend on the distance between ceremony and reception. How close these places are to the OOT guest's hotels, etc. I think most guests, would take the opportunity to go back to their hotels or homes to freshen up for the reception. When you take travel time and getting ready time out, how much time is left? If it was three or more hours, I would suggest some sort of fun gathering. Like, I know there are some museums that are free, if guests, or you, don't want to spend more money.
But I do like the idea of an open house in someone's home, to bridge the gap for those who would otherwise be bored or not know what to do with themselves.
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We were going to do a cocktail hour in between so guests could mingle and eat but since the wedding is in March (read: Cold) and we are broke- we are doing a cookie and cocoa hour so everyone can have some sugar and warm up. We’ll have a selection of coffee and teas as well but cookies and cocoa is cuter so that is the name that will go on the invites.
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Alright, there's another thread in the Lounge about what you've hated about other people's weddings and the gap in time seems to stand out for many. My question or rather request is for some suggestions as to what to do to ease that gap.
I'm thinking for my own wedding about buying some mini-travel board games for people to play at their tables at the reception, plus our centerpieces are going to tell our story as a couple, so to get the full story people need to go around to other tables. The games are totally a FI and me thing, we love board games. The story was jsut a fun idea we had.
So, any other suggestions on how to fill the gap, or make it more managable, I'm sure more than a few brides would appreciate it!!!