Ask Liz: A Four Hour Wedding?

Photo: Studio EMP

Dear Liz,

We’re getting married next Spring. We found your venue, and we really love it, but the rules are a problem. With our contract, the earliest we can have our ceremony is 5:00pm, but the venue is in a residential area, so we have to shut the music off by 9:30pm. That only gives us four and a half hours for the party! So short, it’ll be over practically as it’s getting started. What can we do?

Signed,

Out Of Time

Dear Out,

Yeah, it’s harsh, but it happens. You can still have a great night in that time, but I understand it’s not ideal.  If you want to feel better about having a little more control, do two things right now. 1. Ask your venue if you can hold your ceremony an hour earlier, and if so, what it would cost and when you have to let them know that what you want to do.  2. Think about throwing an after party, even if it’s only hanging out at the bar in the hotel you’re staying at that night. Check with the hotel first, though! Definitely find out what your options are.

If neither of those work out, a possible timeline would look something like this:

5:00-5:30- Ceremony
5:30-6:30 – Cocktail hour, wedding party pictures, reception set-up
6:30 – Dinner is served
6:45-7:00 – Family intros and toasts once salads are served – make sure you know who is giving toasts, and ask them to keep it short. If your caterer can pre-set salads, even better, because then you can start dinner off with toasts right away.
7:00-7:30 – Finishing dinner – check with your caterer to see how long this will take them, and adjust your timeline accordingly.
7:30-7:40 – Cake cutting, served immediately afterwards
7:40-7:50 – First dance and parents dances – shorter if the parents’ dances are to one song
7:50 – 8:00 – Bouquet and garter toss
8:00 – 9:30 – Wow, look at all the time your guests have to eat cake and dance! And for you to make up for anything that took longer than expected!
9:20 – 9:30 – Alternate time for bouquet and garter toss. Use the last 10 minutes of dancing time to do it, and then end the party with a last dance.
DONE

You’ve got time before your wedding date to decide what’s best to do, so breathe. There is plenty of time to ask the questions, and get answers until you feel that you’re creating the wedding you want.

See you at the end of the aisle,

Liz

What questions do you have about your wedding day? Contact me and let’s talk about it.