Always a Blogsmaid

Snack Shack: More Gaps in Ceremony & Reception

The Q:  How do we go about having a 10am wedding, and a 3pm meal? Can we do it and how do we let everyone know that they will have to 'snack' but not pig out between the wedding and reception. We will have snack trays out when our reception doors open, but we don't know when to actually do that part either. We have soooo many out of town family members coming who will want to visit and catch up, and that's our basis to ending the evening early, around 7ish. What's the proper way to do all of this?

The A: Well, I'm assuming that there are logistical reasons dictated by someone other than you that are creating such a large gap between the ceremony end time and the reception start time..... you CAN do anything, and I'm happy to tell you how I would do it if you were my client, but my FIRST suggestion is to consider either moving the ceremony time up (to 12:30 or 1, depending on its length) OR making your very early dinner into a brunch and making it an 11:30 or noon meal.

But, let's assume that's not possible....

I'm confused about WHERE these snacks will be.  If they are at 3PM at the reception venue, I don't think they are doing much good.  I think that you should see about having snack trays out at your ceremony site AFTER the ceremony so that when you have made your exit, you can have a receiving line, take family photos and your guests can mingle, have a coffee and a light snack.   This would work the lobby or receiving area or outdoors, depending on where your ceremony is.   Then on the invitation, I would indicate in the lower right or left corner "Lite refreshments following ceremony"

Your reception card (you MUST have a reception card) would then indicate the actual start time of the meal.  It should say Please join us for Dining and Dancing at XXXXX XXXXX .
This will let your guests know that they a) have a really big gap between the ceremony and reception and b) that they are going to get a full meal later on .  It's then up to them to gauge their food consumption in between!

Please just note and consider that people will have the ability to get back and forth easily between their homes or hotel, the ceremony site and the reception site, because they will definitely want to go, change and refresh and rest in between the two events!

I hope that was helpful....

The Weather Man

The Q: "We are having our wedding on a rooftop and the reception inside on a lower level in a city venue.  We have the option to tent our rooftop, but obviously, I'd rather not since I like the rooftop because of the views, and the tent will add major $$$ to our budget.  When do I realistically need to make this rain call?"

The A: Wow, great question!!!  Well, the truth of the matter is, you probably need to make the call about 2 or 3 days prior.  The Tent company is going to likely tell you that you need to make it sooner, (like a week or so) but see if you can simply put a deposit on it first, and then make the call when you get a day or two out. 

Ultimately, the most important thing is that the rain plan is set to go.I would say that if it looks 40-45% chance of rain or greater, I would make the rain call, particularly if there is not a back up space to have the reception in.  There isn't anything worse than a rained out wedding filled with wet guests! 

While it wouldn't spare you the cost of the tent for the rain, you should check with the tent company and see just WHEN they would start putting up the tent and what your tent options are.  First off, a clear top tent will feel much more airy than a plain white tent.  The other thing is if they are only setting it up that day or the night prior, you might still need to PAY for the tent (since you would have reserved it) but if it seems like the weather has changed, you might be able to make a last minute call about setting it up. 

Best of luck and I hope that the weather is on your side! Remember, your wedding will be wonderful no matter what!