Wedding time?

Question

Okay. I absolutely cannot figure out what time of day my wedding will fit into. I am having an outdoor ceremony on june 21st (it will be rather hot here), with a reception to follow. The reception site is about 20 minutes away, and we will be taking photos after the ceremony. For the reception I am serving a large assortment of hor d'oevres, alcohol and cake. Foods will be somewhat heavy and will be served as food stations (thinking about doing each station with a different country theme (mexican, itailian, etc.). I am leaning towards evening to avoid the heat a bit, fiance is leaning towards midmorning. Thoughts?

Answer 1

June 21 where I live--It is hot!! I'm a southern girl and by 10 am it is already too hot to be outside. Mid-morning usually means 10 am which means the reception is 11-1, completely in the heat of the day.

So in order to avoid that you'd have to go even earlier. Like 9am which in my opinion is far too early for a wedding, and far too early to drink alcohol.

Heavy foods is much more a dinner thing anyway especially foods like mexican and italian. (BTW I love love love the idea of a different country for each station).

Also think about other important things. Getting a hair appointment. Are you doing your own hair? Or getting it done? If you are having a morning wedding, that doesn't give you much time.

Morning might allow you to save money on your photographer as they could book another wedding that evening. Morning will also allow you to save some money on the caterer as you won't need as much food. Also what kind of wedding do you envision? Whats your dress? Morning is a typically more casual wedding. Evening is a more formal event.

I had a 7pm wedding in June and it was perfect. I got there at 5 and we got dressed and took outdoor pictures. Good lighting and some of the heat had subsided. Then
the wedding started at 7 and everyone had some light to drive to the reception. It was also a very formal event--my dress and my bridesmaids dresses were very upscale. If your bridesmaids dresses are tea length and yours is more informal, you might want to go earlier than 7pm.

But I recommend waiting at least til 5. If you get married at 7, you'll be getting some nice evening light for pictures. Plus the reception goes longer and is a bigger party in evening. In afternoon, people only hang around 1-2 hours. Evening receptions last 4-5. But midmorning for the wedding puts the reception at noon and that better be a cool room with a/c blasting.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Based on your menu, which includes alcohol, you should not have the wedding midmorning. Why not have the wedding at 5:00 so that the reception will start at 6:00. If you are having heavy hors d'oeuvres, that will be sufficient for a meal. This will also allow you to avoid taking pictures in the hot noonday sun.

Think about being a guest at a summer wedding that was in the middle of day. When would you want to sitting, watching a ceremony?

Answer 3

Since you are serving hor d'oevres and alcohol then your reception must be an early evening thing.

It's summer so there's no problem with the sun going away sooner.

It's best to have the ceremony at around 3 or 330 pm and you'll probably done taking pictures at around 6..and start the party right after that.

Answer 4

I say evening. If you have a mid-morning ceremony, then it will be like a brunch. I don't think heavy foods like mexican and italian would be good with brunch time. I think like a 6:30 ceremony would be perfect. If people want to have dinner before, they can... If not you have a large assortment of hors d'oevres that sound yummy and filling! And alcohol is much better for the evening. Plus, everything is more fun at night :) Congrats and have a blast!

Answer 5

O.K. if you are leaning towards evening you should consider the lighting situation will you have enough light for the evening and if you do, that is a good idea because the sun will be going down and you might be able to catch the sun set that will be a nice view.
as for the mid morning what is going to happen when your guess lingers and the sun start to bake them everyone is going to be uncomfortable and you don't want that on your wedding day.
so I vote for the evening
and let you hubby to be know that you are the woman of the day so what ever you say goes lol

Answer 6

People don't like mornings, I would avoid a morning wedding. Although an outdoor wedding right before evening falls invites bugs. Just make sure you have a rain plan, unless you're in Wyoming in which case it's not necessary. I think it would be better to have the wedding later in the day. It will make your life easier, you'll have time to get your hair done and set up anything you need to. good luck.

Answer 7

Check with your photographer. SOme of them like to take pictures while the lighting is a certain way. Consider the later in the day the cooler it will be. Have pictures taken ahead of time with the exception of you and hubby.

Answer 8

Afternoon. 2 pm. A meal will not be expected at that time. If you get too late, people will expect dinner. And if you have the wedding mid-morning, you will be getting close to lunchtime. If you are not serving a meal, go with afternoon.

Answer 9

Late afternoon or evening. No one wants to drink and celebrate in the morning.

Answer 10

ok why not