Ceremony/reception Gap: Where does Cocktail hour fit in?

I see this post is from a couple of years ago, but how did everything turn out?

Our ceremony will be in a park along the Lakeshore at 4pm and then we have a time gap and venue at 6pm (venue across the road from the ceremony). Not sure what the guest will do or what we should plan for them while we're getting pictures done. Hmmmm.

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Sounds busy Donna! I feel like I need some crazy pills sometimes too lol

Wedding Ceremony starts at 12:30 finished at 1:30 I am thinking by the time we get into the Limo for to go our Photos done it'll be around 2ish, then get photos done. Guests are going to have cocktails and Hor D' oevres if they want back where the Reception is . We should be back there at I am thinking 4 30 depends. We get to decorate the night before but I have 2 places to decorate with the party Ceremony area and Legion oh What fun it's going to be, that Morning I have to get my real flowers no not being rushed at all, then get home for opening the door for everyone that be there that night for decorating. I won't be sleeping I can see that get up for 730 getting the hair dresser to our place, Gotta make sure the Dog and cat are going to be fine with all these people coming and going lol so much still to do,.,. lol

by the time I am finished with all of this Dan's sister still talking about her Bridesmaid dress

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Thanks Kayla!

I also like having time as a guest to rest from mingling. Our venue has a restaurant on site people can go to and have apps and drinks beforehand.

So, from a guests perspective.. I’ve been to plenty of out of town weddings which didn’t even have a cocktail hour. Never once bothered me. At one, went for a walk along the ocean and hung out with family while the venue was being set up for dinner. It was so nice to actually have the time to explore a little. Another one I went to, between ceremony and reception we all headed to a local pub and got appys and some people drank. It was fun too! I’ve never been to a wedding with long cocktail hours and to be honest, mingling eats up tons of time. I say, choose the option that will stress you out the least!

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The problem is we don't have a 3rd space for guests to hang out in so we'd either have to rent the ceremony space longer or have reception hall set up going on at the same time as cocktail hour.

If you start cocktail hour right after the ceremony and have things for your guests to do then it coils keep them distracted while the reception is being set up.
For our wedding we are in the same situation; ceremony on the patio and reception in the grand hall. Our cocktail hour will start once the ceremony finishes and we will have lawn games for guests to play or they can mingle /go to their hotel rooms while we get our photos done. If you start your cocktail hour later it makes for an awkward gap between the ceremony and start of cocktail hour

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I hear you! I'm thinking of starting at either 5 or 5:30 pm, and then having a limited bar (beer, wine, signature drinks) with hor d'oeuvres.

We'd also be able to join in around 5:30 (hopefully if photos are on time) so we can have our grand entrance, and mingle with guests before dinner starts.

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I like your suggestions Holly!

I forgot about checking into the hotel, our hotel starts check-in at 3 pm, which is when my ceremony starts lol. We'll let guests know this and most will probably end up checking in right after, get settled, and then hang out. We don't really have a space that guests could go to between the ceremony and reception spaces to have entertainment but I think check-in will take a chunk of people's time.

Our cocktail hour right now is an open bar set up, but we do have the option to go down to a limited one (beer, wine, signature drinks) if we want.

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Yeah... I'd like to avoid anyone passing out in the hotel's plants because of an insanely long cocktail hour lol.

As a guest, I honestly like having time between the two events to go to the washroom, maybe nap, freshen up, mingle with other guests that I know, etc. I think my mom is thinking more of having something for the guests to do in between, but I think they can take care of themselves lol

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I hadn't thought about 5:00 pm being an option to start too lol!

We are super similar!! We're doing our photos between the ceremony and reception, while the reception space is still being set up. My mom is thinking it'd be nice to have something for the guests to do in between but I think they can take care of themselves.

I like Holly's idea of the beer and wine hour. I think you should start your cocktail hour at 5:30, because your guests will for sure drink more while they are waiting for dinner. Also it will increase your costs for food. I think a longer cocktail hour will make your guests antsy, like when is this thing starting.

We have a similar situation. Our ceremony and reception are the same location but just side by side. Our ceremony is set to start at 3 probably be done by 3:30. Dinner is to be served at 6. We decided to have appetizers, wine and entertainment in between. So it's technically not a cocktail hour more like 2 cocktail hours lol we will have some lawn games set up and have the DJ playing music. This will also be a great time for guests to sign out guestbook and also take advantage of our "photo booth". It's also a super short drive to majority of the hotels so any guests staying the night can go check in. Since our guests are also all coming from out of town we decided to try and keep them as entertained as possible. Long waits suck so we'll hope they make the best of it!!

For you I'd recommend maybe doing something similar, having some sort of entertainment then start the cocktail hour at 5:30. To avoid having guests getting too boozy maybe have it like a beer and wine hour instead, this way they can save the liquor for the reception! That's our plan lol

I'd honestly go with the venue's recommended time. Your guests will probably appreciate the time to go back to their hotel, relax, have a small bite, then be ready for the reception later. I've been to weddings that have had insanely long cocktail "hours" that felt endless and ended up with my now FH drunk in a bush.

I would start at 5:00 if Dinner is at 6:30. This is what I am doing, and I also have a 3:00 ceremony AND my reception and ceremony are at the same location. So we have very similar situations. We will be doing photos while our reception is being set up, so our guests are encouraged to leave for the 1.5-2 hours and come back for cocktail hour.

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Yeah, we have to start our ceremony at 3 and be out of that space by 3:30. My photographer is telling us 2 hours for photos so we'd be done at 5:30 in time for a 5:30 start cocktail hour to mingle with guests then.

I'll definitely ask my venue coordinator about only having booze for part of cocktail hour, see if it's a thing. I guess 5 pm could also work and have a hour and a half cocktail time!

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Yeah, I don't want to rush the set-up staff in the reception hall with on-coming guests for sure!

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My thoughts exactly! While I don't think we'd be able to pull of snack/water, the hotel is in an area with lots to do around (there's a mall 5 minutes away lol).

I know some guests who would be blitzed after a 2-3 hour cocktail hour, definitely something I don't want to worry about. I would have the reception (cocktail hour) stated on the invite so hopefully guests will know how much time they have. I also want vendors to be able to do their thing without navigating guests!

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True! It is a open bar, but then more money for us to spend!

This is very similar to my situation as well! Our ceremony and reception are at the same location. We are supposed to start our dinner service at 6 pm and the venue recommends doing the ceremony between 3 and 4.

I’ve decided to do the ceremony at 3:30 (finished by 4) and then we will probably mingle around for about half an hour. Then I want to go to bride and groom photos for about 1-1/2 hours. I figure if we start at 4:30, that’s when the cocktail hour will start. They pass hors d’oeuvres and cocktails to keep guests happy. By the time we are finished with our photos, the dinner reception will start.

I don’t think a couple of hours is very long for guests. You could maybe limit guests drinks during cocktail hour? Maybe only have them serve alcohol for one hour and that’s it? I’m not really sure how that would work but it’s an option.

Give yourself enough time! I agree with the 5:30pm start. Especially because we all know that some weddings can fall behind, this way if your ceremony starts a little later, runs later etc. At least people are not rushing to cocktail hour!

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Plus, as a guest - if it's not an open/host bar then they want drinks for cheaper

As a bride/groom - if it IS an open/host bar then you encourage having a couple drinks prior to it being on your dime!

I'd totally go with the 5:30 start time for the cocktail hour If it's possible and in your budget, you could arrange to have a light snack + refreshments (water (still/sparkling), juice, pop) ready in your guests' rooms right after the ceremony.

I agree with you here, that having the cocktail hour right after the ceremony might be an overkill and result in some guests getting a tad too drunk before dinner, which would drive me crazy!

The biggest piece here, to me anyways, is that as long as it's communicated to your guests, either on the invitation or website, then they can plan whatever they'd like ahead of time (going back to the room, going out for a walk, mingle, etc.). I know I'd probably go for a quick power nap hahahaha

Also, this would free up the space for the vendors to move rooms and setup without anyone in the way!

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That's totally what I see happening too! Guests will be able to room hop and visit with others.

At the initial venue meeting, my parents were there with me and my mom is under the impression that they started cocktail hour right after the ceremony. Meanwhile, I remember being told most brides start it at 5:30 pm.

As a guest, I've never expected to have a cocktail hour provided for the whole gap duration. My FH has MOWED THE LAWN AND SHOWERED between ceremony and reception for one wedding we went too lol

I would go with starting at 5:30.

I say this because when I went to my FH's cousins wedding last year it was the same thing. As family we just went room hopping and spent time with family drinking our own booze that we brought