Those who are married: Anyone have a morning/noon ceremony?

[neatfreak]

Looking for advice from all of you ladies out there who thought your morning/noon wedding went very smoothly.

Just looking to see how early you started on things, how long it took to get ready, and if it was an issue to have the wedding at 11 or 12. Our ceremony site is about a 15 minute cab ride from my salon, and we haven't yet booked a "getting ready" hotel. Just trying to figure out if my 9-10:45 hair and makeup appointment will be ok or if you think it's too late? I'm getting hair/makeup done at a very well known salon in SF. The guy is known as THE guy for wedding styles, and the woman on the phone said they do 3-5 weddings a week typically, so I think their time estimates will be accurate.

Any adivce/websites/links anyone has would be fantastic! THANK YOU!

 

[poptart]

Hey there! Our ceremony was at 11:00 in the morning and we had a little brunch after for the reception. I believe I was at the salon at about 8:00 to get my hair and makeup done. My hair really only took about 20 minutes and the makeup took about another 20 or so. I was at the venue just after nine, everyone got dressed, and we were all ready by about 10:30. The judge got lost on the way to the wedding hall, so our ceremony didn''t start till 11:30. Other than his blunder everything went fine. It was nice getting everything done in the morning and early afternoon so we had the entire day to ourselves.

*M*

 

[TravelingGal]

Ours started at 10:30 AM. I booked a hotel a half mile from the ceremony site and the stylist showed up at 7 am. I was easily ready by 9:45 when the photographer came by and we did start on time.

By 11:30 all the group photos were done and people walked over to the reception site for appetizers and cocktails. We entered shortly after 12. The reception was supposed to stop at 4, but they let us go until almost 5.

Everything went pretty smoothly!

 

[AmberWaves]

We''re not married yet, but our ceremony is at 9:30. Yes, 9:30 in the morning. Need I mention that I am not a morning person? Well, the day before I''m getting my nails done, getting the rollers put into my hair so I can sleep on them. I''ll probably be up at 6am to shower and all that in the hotel, run to get my hair done and have the makeup done somewhere in between. I actually have my makeup trial next Saturday, and I''ll see what she recommends. Our reception is at 11am, so hopefully there will be enough time for everything.

 

[jcrow]

we had a wedding at 11:30. i don't remember exactly when we started all that but i know it was definitely earlier than you are talking about.
we stayed at a hotel the night before and the hair lady came and did our hair at the hotel. after which we all did our own makeup. it was me and 3 bridesmaids that had our hair done and my mom and aunt.

after we got ready we went to the church to take pics (bridesmaids & my side of the family - dh and i didn't see each other before).
plus we all needed to be at the church a certian time before the ceremony.

 

[neatfreak]

Hmmmmmm....Thanks everyone for your advice. I guess there isn''t much I can do about it as the earliest appointment the salon offers is 9. But they said I can come a bit early and settle up beforehand, and they can work on my makeup during my hair.

I''ll just have to make sure everything else is taken care of BEFORE we go to the salon, luckily I have a day of coordinator to help out with the rest of the stuff at the site so I don''t have to deal with that on the morning of with any luck.

They promised to have me out of there by 10:30, we can then walk over to the hotel, I can slip into my dress (super easy to put on, no complicated ANYTHING), and then we can hightail it over to the ceremony. Since it''s close by, I''m hoping we''ll be ok with the time. FI nixed the pre-ceremony photos anyway for us since he didn''t want to see me until the wedding.


I guess time will tell for us whether it''ll work...now I''m a bit worried.

 

[neatfreak]

Also, on another totally unrelated note, what the heck did you guys do AFTER your reception ended mid afternoon/evening (besides what you all are thinking-dirty!)? I have NO idea what we will do all evening, is it weird to go have dinner with family later in the evening or something?

Stupid question I know...

 

[poptart]

We went up to a hotel up in the mountains for a few days. It was about a 2-3 hour drive from the city we got married in. We went and changed at the house after the reception and then left for the hotel. It worked out really nicely because we were able to get there before dark and still got to do some things that day.

*M*

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/7/2007 6:02:23 PM
Author: poptart
We went up to a hotel up in the mountains for a few days. It was about a 2-3 hour drive from the city we got married in. We went and changed at the house after the reception and then left for the hotel. It worked out really nicely because we were able to get there before dark and still got to do some things that day.


*M*

Ohhhh that's a GREAT idea. Maybe we should go to Napa instead of staying in SF...

But then we couldn't be back for the planned brunch the next day. But then again, no one right now KNOWS we are planning on having a brunch.

Thanks for the great idea Poptart!

 

[risingsun]

We were married in a beautiful Victorian hotel. A second marriage for both of us. My hairdresser came to the hotel around 7:30am to do hair and makeup for me and "touch ups" for the wedding party. She and her husband were also guests at the wedding. The ceremony was at 11:30am, in front of an ornate fireplace and under a lovely chandelier. We all wore formal morning attire. It was a beautiful wedding that went off without a hitch. Because the hotel was so lovely, we didn't need much in the way of extra decorations. They did special linens for the tables. After the ceremony, the guests were invited for cheese, fruit and wine [from the restaurant's own vineyards] on their large veranda. Then they set up for the formal luncheon. Guests had been given three choices of entree on their response cards. The reception lasted until 5pm. As part of our wedding "package," we booked the bridal suite for that evening. It was gorgeous and gave us something to do after our guests departed

We left on our honeymoon the next day.

BTW: we had valet parking for the cars, as we wanted this to be as easy for our guests--and ourselves--as possible!

ETA: This took place in Bay Head, NJ

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 7/7/2007 5:47:11 PM
Author: neatfreak
Also, on another totally unrelated note, what the heck did you guys do AFTER your reception ended mid afternoon/evening (besides what you all are thinking-dirty!)? I have NO idea what we will do all evening, is it weird to go have dinner with family later in the evening or something?

Stupid question I know...

Great question!! We''re having an 11:00 ceremony and the reception needs to end around 4:00 (I think we need to be out of the restaurant by 4:30 so they can begin setting up for the dinner crowd). I was wondering how to spend the rest of the day. By ourselves holed up in a hotel somewhere or on our way to an airport hotel? At an afterparty at a bar (not our thing though)? Hanging out with relatives at their hotel(s) (assuming our friends will have left by then to get back home to their kids)?

So, I have NO IDEA what we will do but I think if you''d like to use the time afterwards to be with family, especially OOT guests, that sounds very nice. Are you having a day after brunch? If not, this might be a good time to really catch up.

 

[Clio]

We had a noon ceremony, and my grandparents gave a brunch for us that morning. The bridesmaids and I got ready at the site, and I don''t really remember how much time dressing/hair/makeup took, but it wasn''t more than an hour. Somehow it all worked, but we''re very low-maintenance types (a little mascara and lipstick and my face was good to go).

The town where we were married was a 3 hour drive from the airport from which we were leaving on our honeymoon the next day, so the drive down occupied much of our time after the luncheon reception. We spent the night at a lovely B&B, and my dad took us to breakfast the next morning (everyone else was still up in the other town) before we flew out.

 

[monarch64]

We had a 12:30 p.m. ceremony with reception on site. It was a Sunday, but my hairdresser was kind enough to come in and open the salon for my gals and I at 7 a.m. We got to the site at around 10 so I had plenty of time to get dressed and go over last minute details with the coordinator and everyone else involved. After the reception ended at 5, most of our close friends joined us at our nearby hotel in the lounge for more cocktails and it was another fun couple of hours. Our families went out to dinner that night as well.

 

[Blenheim]

Our ceremony was at 11:30, and I''m really happy that we had a morning wedding. I think that our hair person got to the hotel around 6 or 6:15, but she did me, my mom, and my three bridesmaids with some time to spare. We went with her recommendation, figuring that she knows best how long she generally takes. DH and I left the reception around 3:30 or so and went back to the hotel and took a nap, then went on a long, slow stroll together by a nearby lake. We then went out to dinner together, and then back to the hotel room to watch a movie. It was nice being able to relax together. We had brunch with our families the next day.

 

[AmberWaves]

Oh, after the wedding we''re going to a movie and maybe mini-golf. My aunt booked a suite for a party that night.

 

[zoebartlett]

Oops! I just reread this and realized you were asking those who have already been married.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/8/2007 11:18:25 AM
Author: zoebartlett
Oops! I just reread this and realized you were asking those who have already been married.

No worries Zoe!!! Looking for opinions from anyone who might have an idea.

 

[jcrow]

after the wedding, we crashed!! sooooo tired. we ate then slept and really we were too pooped to hang with our guests or anything. the next morning we were suppose to go to brunch with our guests, but well.... they didn''t call us cause they didn''t want to disturb us. we didn''t know where and when we (they) would end up eating so we missed the brunch. ah well.

so, i wouldn''t be too worried about planning anything after the wedding/reception.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 7/8/2007 12:05:59 PM
Author: jcrow
after the wedding, we crashed!! sooooo tired. we ate then slept and really we were too pooped to hang with our guests or anything. the next morning we were suppose to go to brunch with our guests, but well.... they didn''t call us cause they didn''t want to disturb us. we didn''t know where and when we (they) would end up eating so we missed the brunch. ah well.

so, i wouldn''t be too worried about planning anything after the wedding/reception.

Totally agreed!

Mine was a later-in-the-day wedding (4pm ceremony, reception finished by 9 pm), but we were E X H A U S T E D. We got back to the hotel at 9:30 and were just crushed! Even if we''d married earlier in the day, I can easily see where we''d have just taken a nap and then had a quiet drink or bite to eat alone.

In fact, thinking about it now.....my best friend''s wedding was a 10 a.m. wedding (waaaaaaaaaay to early and heavily influenced me to do an afternoon wedding several years later!). We were up doing hair appts at 5:30 a.m.! Her reception was over at 5 pm, and a bunch of us made plans during the reception to meet up at a downtown pub for a few drinks at 7 pm. When the reception finally closed, I was flat-out-exhausted, and it took everything I had in my to drag myself down to the pub (and I was 10 years younger then!)....and I was only the MOH. Had I been the bride, don''t think I could have pulled it off.

 

[marcy]

Our wedding was at 11 a.m. in the park. I didn''t have anyone do my hair or makeup. We were all ready and dressed well before 10:30 but waiting around that long was hard too.

After the ceremony we took pictures and went on to the reception. We had a family luncheon at 1 p.m. then invited everyone to a reception at 2 p.m. We had to split them up because of $$$$ and couldn''t invite everyone to a luncheon.

The reception lasted for about 3 to 4 hours. The hotel where we had the reception gave us the honeymoon suite for free because we had our reception there so we ordered in room service and stayed at the hotel that night.

The next day we took off for a few days to a cabin in the moutains.