You can greet your guests with cocktails before the ceremony as they did here. Photo by Paul Grigonis, pplusgphoto.com.
A couple of recent client weddings have skipped the usual cocktail hour between the ceremony and the reception. There have been various reasons for this choice, but I think one of the most important reasons is the five-hour time slot imposed by so many venues.
If you are venue shopping now, their time restrictions are an important thing to know before you sign a contract. Some venues will give you the whole day until their closing time. At least one I know of divides the day into two slots so they can do four weddings every weekend. Most, however, seem to like to give you any five hours you want, plus set-up and clean-up time.
You can definitely have a wonderful wedding and reception in five hours. If it seems a little short, one of the things you can jettison is the cocktail hour. If you were planning to take photos during the cocktail hour, that means finding another time for them. Doing them before the ceremony might not be an option if you and your fiance are not seeing each other before the ceremony, so if that is the case, your options are more limited. If not, consider doing photos before the ceremony and going straight from the ceremony to the reception.
Talk to your planner or coordinator about how to make the day’s schedule work best for you. She or he should be able to tell you what your best options are.
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