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Discussion Forums » General Discussion
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Wedding Advice?
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20 Jul 2012, 01:29
Mrs DeJournett
Post Count: 32
I'm getting married Sept 15th. And lemme tell ya, I'm about to pull out my hair! Lol.

Anyways, the venue only allows 3 hours for the ceremony and the reception. We will take the pictures beforehand, and the ceremony will begin at 6:00 sharp. It will take about 10 minutes to get everything set up for the reception. (It's in the same area.) I've been trying to figure out how to plan how the reception will go. I've never been to a wedding so I don't know how long stuff normally takes. I asked about getting at least an extra hour, but it will be another $100 an hr (already paid $750) and we just don't have it. So... anyone have an advice for me? I would like to have dancing, a couple toasts, and time for cake. I was also going to do the shoe game, but not sure if we will have time. Also me, my FH, and the bridal party are going out to a bar afterwards as this is in a dry county.
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20 Jul 2012, 16:46
Transit
Post Count: 1096
Hang on, so you're doing your actual wedding ceremony and your reception in three hours? Surely you will have to take photo's after the ceremony otherwise you wont have any photo's once your are married?

When the room is being set up for the reception where will the guests go to relax? Or will group photo's be taken during this time?

A few things.
1. Does the three hours include time to decorate the room for your ceremony, or will the venue do that for you beforehand? Do the three hours also include removing all items from the venue?

2. I would say guests/the groom need to be in the venue at least 15 minutes before the actual service to give time for everyone to be seated, that is fifteen minutes gone, then the actually ceremony, weddings I have been to tend to last 30 minutes.

So with seating guests, the ceremony if its the same time of every service I have been to and getting the room ready for the reception that is almost an hour gone, leaving two hours for your reception.

So, everyone enters the reception where you and your husband greet everyone and your bridal/groom party if you have one, maybe five minutes (its a good idea to have a board with the seating plan on, its easier for the quests). Then its probably best to do speeches first as they are the most important thing so you don't want to run out of time for that and cutting the cake, that could introduce the first dance, after that you could do the flower toss.

Have you thought about asking if a family member/friend would pay for an extra hour instead of buying a wedding present?
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20 Jul 2012, 19:38
Mrs DeJournett
Post Count: 32
Yes, the ceremony and the reception will be done in 3 hours. They will have the ceremony all set up before we get there, and guest will sit down about 5:15 to 5:30, and the ceremony will start at 6. Pictures will be done beforehand. This is a gorgeous venue and guests can walk around for a few minutes while they set everything up for the reception. They said it would take maybe 5-10 minutes before guests can begin sitting down at the reception. It's going to be very simple. We will do a couple toasts but may skip on some traditions. There won't be a seating arrangement or anything, just some cocktail tables and some dinner tables. We won't be serving meals, just finger foods and cake. As far as asking someone to pay for this, money is extremely tight for everyone. We lost our jobs right after we paid for the venue and my dress. My stepdad hasn't been employed for a while. No one has any money...
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21 Jul 2012, 03:56
girlsetsfire
Post Count: 22
The wedding ceremony itself can be basically as long or as short as you want it to be. The important bits are the officiant saying that you're here of your own will and wanting to marry each other. You say yes, sign some papers, it's legal. The drawn out ceremony with readings and poems and flowery vows isn't necessary (unless that's the part that's important to you). The actual ceremony can be done in 10 minutes, or it can take an hour, if you choose. A shorter ceremony would leave you more time for the reception part of things.
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23 Jul 2012, 18:16
Meghans Follie
Post Count: 433
one thing that we did at my wedding that saved us from the traditional long receiving line. Was after we walked out as husband and couple, we came back and and dismissed our guests together. That way you can keep the congrats and hugs to a minimum since they know you are dismissing people row by row.
I think the most important thing though is that you don't feel rushed or pushed to move things along. For us it was the photog that we only had for a certain period of time and he rushed us to cut the cake, throw the flowers, throw the garter, rushed the speeches. I regret we allowed him to do that. The reception is a time for you to relax with family and friends, to breath and enjoy being the center of the festivities. Not to be worrying about how much time is left on the clock and whats left to do before that time runs out
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23 Jul 2012, 22:14
Mrs DeJournett
Post Count: 32
We plan on doing relatively short vows and everything, so it shouldn't take that long. And we are also going to skip on the bouquet throwing and the garter. We are only going to have a couple speeches, and then hoping we would have time for the father-daughter dance and whatnot where people would still have time to dance. We're going to do the photography beforehand, well before people even start to sit down. Thanks for your input, yall! Helps a lot! Does anyone have any possible ideas as far as some kind of schedule? I was going to do the shoe game, and possibly playing a trick on the best man, but not sure if it's a possibility with the time issue.
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24 Jul 2012, 13:57
Winged Centaur
Post Count: 301
You can sign the legal documents before the wedding. That will save you time. Having the photos done beforehand will also save you time. Photography was not allowed during my wedding (as per our officiant), so we staged several photos, such as signing of our Quaker Marriage certificate, and the kiss. All those photos can be staged beforehand, which is actually nice because then you don't have to pause in the middle of the ceremony.

Since you aren't serving a meal, you could do the cake cutting very early in the reception. Then speeches could happen while everyone is eating cake.

I would prioritize what you want to happen at your reception. Do those things first to be sure you have enough time to do them.
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31 Jul 2012, 21:27
fifty shades.
Post Count: 56
3 hours does not seem long enough to have a wedding AND a reception!
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2 Aug 2012, 01:21
Mrs DeJournett
Post Count: 32
Agreed! It's not enough time! But all we cld afford. Thanks everyone for their inputs. Helps a lot!
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