Question:
The actual wedding ceremony?
meowgal83
2007-07-08 14:51:18 UTC
I need help please!! I have only been to two weddings in my life and they were many, many years ago. I do not remember much of the details of what happened during the ceremony. I am getting married in April of 2008. I am trying to figure out exactly what the wedding program is and about how long I should expect the ceremony to take (need to know when to tell the reception hall that we will be there!). Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Ten answers:
CHos3n
2007-07-08 14:59:56 UTC
You aren't expected to know all these things. You have enough to worry about. Ask the minister who is marrying you to help you plan the ceremony and you can decide how long or short the wedding goes. Depends on how much music, speaking, scripture, traditional elements you want included. Talk to a professional, they can help!

Most ceremonies, last about 30 minutes, but then there's the photographs taken after the ceremony before the reception. And everyone wanting to congratulate you and take their own pictures...time will fly!
elewishs
2007-07-11 12:06:43 UTC
This all depends on what type of ceremony you are having and how far away it is from the reception hall. If it is a church wedding, just talk with the priest, pastor, reverand, etc. and ask what you've asked here. If you'll be using a Justice of the Peace, then what is involved and how long is between you, the groom and the J.P. Whoever is going to officiate at your ceremony should be more than happy to talk with you about this. Once you figure out how long the ceremony is, add about an hour, depending on if you're having photos done at the place of the ceremony, time the distance to the hall ON THE SAME DAY OF THE WEEK AS THE WEDDING DAY AND GO FROM THERE.
Mrs.M
2007-07-08 16:32:24 UTC
First of all, congrats on your engagement!!



The details of your ceremony often depend on whether or not you will be incorporating a particular religion or cultural tradition. For example, Catholic wedding ceremonies tend to be very long as they have a lot of traditions and formalities(e.g., 1-2 hours); while many other ceremonies, are traditionally shorter (e.g., 20-30 minutes).



Thus, the first question to figure out is whether you are having a ceremony that incorporates a certain religion or culture, if you are, then you should ask your officiant what the mandatory parts of the ceremony are, and how long they normally take.



The next question, is what are the particular details that you want. If your religion/culture does not mandate certain events (e.g., mass); you can likely choose how long you want your ceremony to be and discuss it with the officiant. If your religion/culture does mandate certain details, then you should think about these extra choices as adding time to the minimum length of the ceremony). Think about:



-how many bridesmaids/groomsmen will be walking down the aisle? how many flower girls? ring bearers? family members?

-will they be walking together or separately? what kind of spacing do you want between them? will you wait for one to reach the alter before sending down the next?

-do you want the officiant to talk a lot about you and your fiancee, or do you want something short and sweet?

-do you want to have a lot of readings (biblical, poems, etc.)?

-do you want someone to sing a song during your ceremony?

-are you adding any special cultural elements that may stretch the time?

-are you planning on waiting for all of your guests to arrive? or are you planning on starting at the exact invitation time?

-does your ceremony site have restrictions on starting the ceremony on time (usually unless you have a wedding planner, or there is a penalty or a time that you have to get kicked out as a major motivation, ceremonies will start late)

-how far is the wedding hall from the ceremony site? are your guests going to be driving around rush hour?



As you can see, a lot of thought can go into this process, and it is not a decision that you should have to make right now. You might want to tell the reception hall that you estimate that the wedding will start around ___pm, but that you still have to talk to your officiant and make decisions about your ceremony, and ask if it would it be a problem if closer to the wedding you change the start time to a couple hours earlier or later...and if you can change it, when would be the latest you could tell them about the change. This would be your best option, because you may not make all the choices for your ceremony until sometime closer to the wedding, and this way you don't have to be forced to rush these decisions now.



By the way, if your wedding hall says that you can't change the time within a range of a couple hours, I would wonder whether they plan to book another wedding back to back with yours, and whether that is something you are ok with.



If your reception hall won't let you change the time closer to the date, but they are flexible with when you arrive (e.g., they are not charging you by the hour), you may be better off telling them a time on the earlier side, just in case.



Also, when you tell them the start time for the reception, make sure to also check what the start time is for decorating, so that your vendors have adequate time to prepare the room. (This by the way is why they should be able to be flexible with your time, the room should be decorated ahead of time so it is ready when you get there--so they can't do anything with the room anyway whether or not you are there--the only real variation is the staff--and I would be shocked if the staff is given the schedule almost a year before the wedding).
weddrev
2007-07-08 15:40:08 UTC
Time depends on the elements of your ceremony. If you would choose a unity ceremony, a memorial & communion, then all that takes time.

And if you have a wedding party of 10 bridesmaids rather than 3, that takes more time as well.

But an average ceremony , with 3 bridesmaids, & flower girl; where the minister speaks a short address (& not a full-blown sermon) you're looking at about 20 minutes.



Pictures, larger wedding party, a long-winded minister....... I'd give it a good hour between wedding & reception time. That way your guests can leave the wedding venue & go straight to the reception & have cocktails/hors d'oeuvers while waiting on the wedding party to arrive.



Another option would be to have the wedding & reception at the same venue.
Marissa Di
2007-07-08 15:05:02 UTC
Figure an hour for the ceremony, including the opening and the walk down the aisle. An additional half hour for the photographs, you can consult with the photographer on what to expect. The travel time to the reception following the wedding photographs. The first guests usually begin arriving about 1 1/2 hours after the wedding begins. Hope this helps.
gileswench
2007-07-08 15:03:08 UTC
If you're getting married in a church or by a clergyperson, ask for the standard order of service for your denomination. Discuss how long it takes and what is commonly done. Ask about anything special you want to add to the service (songs, readings, unity candle, or anything else beyond bare bones) and see how long that's going to add up to.



The ceremony can quite literally take less than a minute for an absolute bare bones civil ceremony. It can also take two hours for a full Catholic wedding mass with all the bells and whistles and communion for a couple hundred guests. Most ceremonies take something in between.



I would say, however, that the average length of ceremony I've seen over some forty years and change of going to weddings, is somewhere in the twenty-minute to half-hour range.
cdfosu
2007-07-08 16:31:42 UTC
Most people these days take all their photos before the ceremony...but most ceremonies last about 30 minutes and you need to figure travel time in there...but it is never a guarantee. If you need time to set up the reception hall then you will probably want to book it early and have friends set it up so noone misses any of the ceremony. Congrats on getting married!!
HappyBaseballWife
2007-07-08 15:06:46 UTC
Most wedding ceremonies average about 20 - 30 minutes. General order is: seating of garndparents/parents, bridal party processional, bride's entrance, giving away of bride, declaration of intent (the "I do's"), exchange of vows, exchange of rings, unity candle/unity sand (optional), kiss and exit. Leave a little room for the officiant to say a few words about marriage. You also have the option of someone singing a solo or reading scripture or poetry as well. The stuff you pack in to your ceremony, the longer it will become.



After the ceremony, you will probably take approx. 30 minutes for family photos at the ceremony site. Your wedding party and couple photos can be taken at your reception site or at the ceremony site. This is where a cocktail and appetizer hour is key. Your guest can mingle and nibble while you're busy taking photos.



Best of luck
LOVE BEING A MOMMY
2007-07-08 17:16:37 UTC
Davidsbridal.com has example programs. Search through the invitation section.
stargazer29us2006
2007-07-08 15:20:37 UTC
I am a wedding consultant. Why don't you email me and I will give you free advice. Consider it a wedding gift.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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