Anyone Getting Married in the Morning?

[Coreysgirl]

I started a thread last week regarding having the wedding on July 3rd and doing a cash bar. I got some really nice responses and some that weren''t. So I scratched the whole idea and decided to go with the venue we originally picked because I''m so in love with it. We had planned to go in and book July 11, 2008 for our wedding; however, the venue isn''t available that day. They only had July 12th available for the morning. My fiancee'' doesn''t want to do a Sunday so that is out of the question and he was leaning more towards a Saturday. So July 12 (Saturday) is available from 11-4:30pm. I wanted a night wedding originally because it''s so much prettier at night and we could party until 12pm and go straight to the hotel. So now since we''re having a morning wedding I don''t quite know what to do when it''s over at 4:30. So here goes my question:

For those of you getting married in the morning can you tell me your plans after the wedding. Are you leaving for your honeymoon the same day? Are you planning something at a different location afterwards? Please give me some ideas.

 

[anchor31]

We''re getting married at 11AM. We''re having a cocktail hour at 12:15PM, then lunch starts at 1:30PM, and then some dancing until 8PM. Basically it''s the same thing as a wedding starting at 4 PM with dancing until midnight, just earlier. We booked a minimoon at a local spa, so we''ll be driving there immediately after.

Good luck!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

We got married in the morning (10:30) and we loved it and can''t imagine having done it another way! My thought on it was this: I''m so excited to marry this man I love and adore, why not start the day off as his bride, rather than wait til the afternoon or evening and then have SO much more time to worry and stress over the details, when really all that matters is that I marry my bestest friend ever. So, that''s what we did.

Also a plus is that it becomes cheaper all around because you''re not actually serving a meal at the reception, but rather fun little snacks and things like that. We had a ton, so no one went hungry at all. Also, we were out of there by 1:30 or 2pm (I think it was close to there, anyway) and off to the honeymoon. We went to the Florida Keys, and drove, so we got there at like 9pm, rather than at midnight. That was nice, too.

The wedding ended up being a lot more fun because people with kids were able to come without worrying about bedtimes and things like that.

Having a wedding at a "non-traditional" time really frees a couple up from a lot of the *ideals* of what a wedding should be and allows for more of the couple deciding what they want (at least this is what we experienced. The older, more bossy people in our families just kind of threw their hands up about what we should do about this and that when they found out we were getting married so early. Like it was a lost cause on their parts or something. Hilarious!).

Good luck with all the planning and focus in on what you want and make it a great day that starts off a wonderful lifetime!!

 

[Haven]

re: getting some nice responses and some that weren''t on your last thread, I don''t quite understand what you mean. I read your other thread, and from what I understood, you ASKED FOR ADVICE about whether you should have a cash bar, and people gave advice about it. There have been a few posters on here lately who ask for advice and then get upset when people tell them something that they don''t want to hear. Certainly, if someone said "You''re ridiculous and tacky to even ask that question" that would be out of line, but I didn''t read anything like that in that thread, so don''t sweat it, honey! The brides on here are really trying to help, and I have to say that if we didn''t tell you that a cash bar is tasteless and rather we just said "Go for it!", we''d be doing you a HUGE disservice, in my opinion. (Kind of like a "friend" who tells you that you look great in a dress that really makes you look horrible. That''s not being friendly at all.)

ANYWAY, I LOVE a daytime wedding, I think they are lovely.

We''re getting married at 11AM on the Fourth of July, which falls on a Friday this summer. Here''s our wedding schedule:
11AM: Ceremony
11:45AM - 12:45PM: Cocktail hour
12:45 - 5 PM: Reception (buffet brunch and dancing)

Then, we''re going to invite anyone who is interested back to either my parents'' home or our future home (if we get the house we REALLY want, which is a mile and a half from our wedding site) to hang out and just relax. We''re having an enormous amount of food at the wedding, so we''ll have some light food at the house after.

Then, we''re going to host a very casual picnic outside where we go to view fireworks (probably order a ton of food from Portillo''s, a Chicago staple) and stay to watch the fireworks at night.

My parents are hosting a brunch the morning after the wedding, and we''ll probably do something else for the out-of-town guests on Sunday. FI and I will probably leave for our honeymoon Sunday night or Monday morning.

I think a daytime wedding could definitely save you some money on alcohol. You could easily get away with serving only wine, beer, and a few morning cocktails (Bloody Marys, screwdrivers, etc.) AND, I can''t imagine people will drink as much in the morning as they would in the evening. (Or at least I hope they wouldn''t!)

You could do a variety of things after your wedding. You could have a casual get-together for the bridal party and out-of-towners at your parents'' home, or a restaurant that is fun and local. I''m excited to be able to extend the festivities all day because then I get to wear my dress the entire time!

Good luck with the plans, I''ll think of more ideas and post them as they hit me.

 

[emilina22]

we''re going to be getting married in the morning, at 10am actually. right after the service (which will end at 12) we will be heading straight to our sit-down lunch reception, and then after that which will be at like 3ish, we will be taking pictures...and after pictures we after party...we would be leaving for our honeymoon a day or two after our wedidng.

 

[allikatac]

We also got married in the morning at 11:30am. The reception started at 1pm and lasted until about 4pm. It was short and sweet since we didn''t want anything too over the top. Our location was at a country club so it was really pretty seeing the sunlit golf course in the background. The morning wedding really helped cut the cost of alcohol as well. Like Haven said, not many people drink that much so early in the day!

After the wedding, my immediate family and a few friends went back to my parent''s house for some drinks and socializing. We left for our honeymoon very early Sunday morning so we rented a hotel room close to the airport that night. It was nice being able to go to the hotel and have some evening left to spend with DH on our wedding night

 

[zoebartlett]

We''re getting married at 11:00 in the morning, on July 12th, actually.

Here''s what we''re doing:

Saturday, July 12th:

-- 11:00 AM outdoor ceremony, approximately 30 minutes
-- Cocktail hour and reception immediately following the ceremony
-- We need to leave by 4:30 so the venue (a restaurant) can set up for their usual dinner crowd.
-- Head back to the hotel and part ways with our guests for a while
-- Have some sort of casual after party in the hotel''s pub (maybe around 6:00/6:30 or so -- the time hasn''t been determined yet).

Sunday, July 13th:

-- Have breakfast. We''ll probably run into our guests and that will be good. We''ll get to see them before we leave for our honeymoon. We''re not doing a formal, hosted brunch. My dad may take his brothers out for breakfast at a place on the water. The rest of us will just eat at the hotel.
-- Pack and leave for our honeymoon to Quebec City (we''re driving).

We had considered doing a harbor cruise as an after party but when I got seasick this past summer (testing out this idea), we decided against it. Since the wedding and the hotel is in a beach town, we''re not too concerned with hosting anything major after the reception. We figure guests may want to walk around the touristy area, maybe do some shopping, and/or head to the beach.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I''m getting married sunday june 15 at 11:30 am. the wedding will be over by 5 and then we''re heading off to the nicest hotel around for our wedding night. we won''t actually leave for our honeymoon until about 2 weeks later since i have to wait for the school year to end.

the way i see it, we get to enjoy the whole day with our families and then we still have the rest of the day to enjoy being newlyweds to ourselves. hello room service!

 

[neatfreak]

We got married in the AM, and I cannot recommend it highly enough (especially if you are day people like us). But really? DON'T PLAN ANYTHING FOR THAT NIGHT! You will be so so wiped out that all you will want to do is crash.

We were done with our reception and trolley ride around 5ish and we just came back to the hotel and slept for a few hours! Then we ordered in chinese.

We had all these big thoughts about "what will we do after!?!?!", and big plans to call everyone to hang out that night, but really it was a blessing that we had nothing planned. My advice would be to play any post-wedding activities by ear that day so that you can just crash if you want to.

 

[Haven]

That''s good to know, Neatfreak! I was wondering if we''d even be able to make it until 9 PM to see the fireworks the night of our wedding. I imagine it''s an exhausting day.

 

[Clio]

I originally wanted a 10 am wedding, which is more traditional in my denomination and region. We ended up doing it at noon because we had some guests who had to drive 2-3 hours to get there.

It was a lovely wedding. We had an elegant little luncheon, mingled with all of our guests, then we left mid-afternoon. Everything wound down early enough that out-of-town guests could do some sightseeing (in addition to being my mother''s hometown, the town where we married is a somewhat famous tourist destination).

We drove the 3 hours to my hometown, where we went out to dinner and spent the night in a lovely B&B before flying out for our honeymoon the next day. It was nice having the evening to ourselves - very relaxing and romantic.

 

[Courtneylub]

I really liked the idea of a brunch reception with mimossas and bloody marys. That would also solve your open/cash bar conflict and just serve a couple of drinks like that.

 

[krispi]

I''m now divorced, but my wedding was a morning wedding. It was a traditional time for my ex''s family, and he wanted to do it then, so I agreed. It worked out really well - we had the wedding at 11:00, started the reception at noon with a lunch buffet, and finished up around 3:00-4:00. My ex and I checked into the hotel, had some time to relax and change clothes, and then we went to his parents'' house for a post-wedding party. My family is very conservative, so we chose not to have any alcohol at the reception to avoid offending them. As a compromise, his parents had their side of the family over for dinner, hired caterers and a karaoke machine, and had a really great entire day together. Most of his family came in from out of town, so it was really nice to have the extra time to spend with them.

 

[Octavia]

For morning brides, what time did you/will you have your hair appointment? Our probable venue is about an hour from my salon (allowing time for traffic, just in case), and with an 11 or 11:30 ceremony and allowing time for some photos beforehand, it seems to necessitate an awfully early appointment! Am I being clueless about something? How did you ladies handle it?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 3/10/2008 6:44:34 PM
Author: Octavia
For morning brides, what time did you/will you have your hair appointment? Our probable venue is about an hour from my salon (allowing time for traffic, just in case), and with an 11 or 11:30 ceremony and allowing time for some photos beforehand, it seems to necessitate an awfully early appointment! Am I being clueless about something? How did you ladies handle it?

We had a noon wedding and my hair appointment was at 9. But then again I am a fast dresser AND at most my venue was 15 minutes away from my hotel, and my hotel was a 5 minute walk from the salon...

It was cutting it close and we didn''t even take any formal pictures beforehand.

So I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that you consider changing some of your plans...maybe have the stylist come to your venue? Or choose a closer salon?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 3/10/2008 6:44:34 PM
Author: Octavia
For morning brides, what time did you/will you have your hair appointment? Our probable venue is about an hour from my salon (allowing time for traffic, just in case), and with an 11 or 11:30 ceremony and allowing time for some photos beforehand, it seems to necessitate an awfully early appointment! Am I being clueless about something? How did you ladies handle it?

My appointment is for 8:00 that morning and as I mentioned earlier, our ceremony''s at 11:00. The salon is about a 10 minute or so drive to the venue, where I''ll be getting ready. We''re not doing photos before hand because we won''t have time. The salon I''m using isn''t the one I usually go to -- the wedding''s in another state.

Can you find a salon closer to your venue and/or closer to where you''ll be getting ready? If I were you, I''d think about not doing photos ahead of time. If you''re like me (a stickler for being everywhere early or at least on time), you may end up wishing the morning didn''t feel so rushed.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I will need to be ready by about 9am for pics beforehand so ill be getting my hair done at around 6am ,lol. I''m doing it this early and my house, salon, and wedding venue are all in the same town!!!!

 

[CrownJewel]

I''m a Sunday morning wedding gal! FI has very religious Jewish relatives and they will only be able to attend a Sunday morning wedding. Plus, it saves money!! I do feel badly for my friends who have to travel back home after the wedding, or take a day off. It is also a hassle to get ready beforehand...but I''m sure it will all work out fine.

I''m excited to see many other morning weddings!

 

[krispi]

Date: 3/10/2008 6:44:34 PM
Author: Octavia
For morning brides, what time did you/will you have your hair appointment? Our probable venue is about an hour from my salon (allowing time for traffic, just in case), and with an 11 or 11:30 ceremony and allowing time for some photos beforehand, it seems to necessitate an awfully early appointment! Am I being clueless about something? How did you ladies handle it?

If I remember correctly (it''s been a while) we started pictures around 9:00. We did the traditional not seeing each other before the ceremony, so we only took the separate pictures beforehand.

I''m not too much help on the appointment time, since my mom did mine at home that morning, but she started whenever we woke up that day.

 

[Octavia]

Yep, I was afraid of this. Oh well, things will somehow work out.

 

[anchor31]

The hair appointment will be at 7, then we have to pick up the bouquets at 8:30 and go home for make-up (DIY; I can''t find an affordable make-up artist that fits into the rather tight schedule). The photographer with be there at 9:45 and we''ll have an hour of "getting ready" and formal pics with the girls before leaving for the 11AM ceremony.