Ok so you're about to start organising one of the most special days of your life and you just don't know where to begin. You know what they say the early bird catches the most worms. We believe here at the Rectory that this should be as early as you can as what happens early in the day can impact on events later in the day. It's always best to have a little extra time to be relaxed rather than clock watch on the day of your wedding.
The ideal time for a ceremony to begin if it is being held in the area of your reception is for a 1-1.30pm start. If you happend to be travelling a good distance on the day from the ceremony location (e.g. Gougane Barra, Honan UCC, Bandon) we usually advise a 12 noon ceremony time. We are so experienced at this stage with how a wedding day wll work out we offer our most genuine advice.
It's important to go for these times for a few reasons. Typically the average time spent at a church ceremony for example is 1.15hrs to 1.30hrs between the ceremony itself the possible late arrival (factor in 5-10 minutes here), photographs, signing the registry and the typical gathering of guests chatting over the ceremony. Some guests will then make their way to accommodation checkins and depending on where these are this tends to add up. Often you may need to factor in that a big group would checkin to accommodation at one time which can cause delays as staff can be backed up. If you happen to stay in accommodation that requires a lift to the venue you may need to wait on these services.
We can’t stress enough how quickly the day goes and so encourage you not to stop along the way for another location. It is important to keep your guests together so you can spend quality time with them. By stopping off at various locations along the way, be it either a beach or pub etc. you lose out on this special time as the group splits up. You only have this venue for one day only and so we advise to take total advantage of this. While the idea is to get photos done in half an hour the reality is quite different as it tends to be at least double this. It’s usually down to one person being missing to hold up the show and while intentions are not to delay it often can be the result which takes from your mingling time. The earlier you start the day the more time you have to share with others.
Tip: Ask your photographer to finish an hour prior to seating to give you time to mingle with your guests.
In terms of seating time 5-5.30pm is recommended depending on your numbers with earlier seating for larger/max numbers in a party. The dinner bell is usually rung 15 minutes prior to seating to let guests know the seating time is starting and to check for their seating arrangements. Seating time is typically 3 to 3 & ½ hrs which includes announcements, introductions, cutting of the cake, the meal itself, toasts and speeches. On a number of occasions people have told us speeches will only be 5mins. This is rarely the case as they usually take 35-45mins between the introductions, organizing of people etc. If you are particular about band start time please factor this in.
For a 5.30pm seating we would aim to have the meal seating finished by 9pm where we will need to clear the green room for the band to set up. Clearing the room usually only takes us 10-15 minutes. Bands usually take 45mins to 1 hour to set up and this is why we recommend the 5.30pm seating. Having kept to these times you’ll most likely have your music started by 10/10.15pm. Should you go for the latest seating time of 6pm you’ll find the music won’t start until later. Half an hour of a difference of a 10pm music start opposed to 10.30/10.45pm at this time of the night can be a big irritation in the mindset of your guests especially elderly members of your party.
At the end of the day if you are realistic in your expectations for the day things work out perfectly. Every endeavour is made to keep to these times but it can only work with you & your guest’s co-operation. If these timings were not chosen you may find delays in the day mean delays for your band start up and this is why we tend to advise on the day starting earlier then later. Getting the timing right from the beginning will give you a far better peace of mind and thats what the day should be about. Spend it relaxing and enjoying yourself..........
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