YAWT: Is 10am too early for a ceremony?

[Ns1]

Preface: I now understand why every ATOT'er who's getting married posts a million YAWT's, jesus christ there's a lot of bullshit to deal with.



So we're doing a Vegas wedding. Everyone that would come to our wedding from out of state would need to fly anyway, so they might as well fly into LV instead of back to LA.

Our F&F are from LA, so a trip to LV is like an extended roadtrip to our vacation home.

This was supposed to be a Sunday Brunch type deal where we would do the ceremony @ 11am, brunch reception after, and then people can party with us or go home after that.

OF COURSE, 11am is not an available option at the chapel we want. So, we would need to book 10am ceremony OR 2pm ceremony. 10am would leave us better positioned for brunch, 2pm would leave us (and our guests) more time to sleep and get ready but totally fucks the brunch idea in the ass. I like brunch cuz y'know, unlimited mimosas w/o breaking the bank.

I'm also very aware that some guests may need to check-out during that time frame.

What say you ATOT?
- 10am ceremony and brunch after?
- 2pm ceremony and ??? after?
- 2pm ceremony with brunch BEFORE and ??? after?
- find another venue?

Obligatory: YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE FOR DOING A DESTINATION WEDDING
Obligatory: WHY GET MARRIED, JUST THROW MONEY IN A FIRE
Obligatory: LOL MARRIAGE

k, hope I got all that out of the way up front.

 

[lxskllr]

I like 10am. It leaves more day for stuff, rather than wait around for stuff to happen.

 

[Imported]

Can't do brunch after 2pm ceremony? I know some restaurants/buffets have brunch all morning and afternoon on Sundays.

I know I have a hard time waking up before 10am when I go to Vegas..

Planning a wedding myself.. definitely know that all the bullshit stuff feeling.

 

[Ns1]

Can't do brunch after 2pm ceremony? I know some restaurants/buffets have brunch all morning and afternoon on Sundays.

I know I have a hard time waking up before 10am when I go to Vegas..

Planning a wedding myself.. definitely know that all the bullshit stuff feeling.

Brunch ends @3pm (wicked spoon).

I figure my friends could (and probably would) just pull all nighters, true vegas style. Conversely, my parents/relatives are old and would pass out early on Saturday night and wake up at 6am on Sunday anyway.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Personally, I'd think that 10am was too early for a ceremony, especially if your intention is to have brunch immediately afterwards, in which case you're asking people to get up early to get ready for a wedding but skip breakfast because you're dining afterwards. That doesn't make sense to me. But planning a wedding around brunch (at a different venue) is something I've not actually heard of, so I don't have a frame of reference for it. It just doesn't strike me as logistically sound to do it that way.

Why not an early afternoon wedding, some drinks/clubs/Vegas scene that night, and then brunch the next morning? Or is your goal to get your new bride out to brunch in a wedding dress that will immediately have food spilled on it?

 

[Midwayman]

I assume no full church service at a Vegas wedding? Given you want a brunch reception 10am ceremony and at brunch 11-1130 doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[ponyo]

Just do the 10am. Get the wedding out of the way so people can enjoy rest of the day. No one outside of the family really cares about the actual wedding.

 

[Ns1]

Personally, I'd think that 10am was too early for a ceremony, especially if your intention is to have brunch immediately afterwards, in which case you're asking people to get up early to get ready for a wedding but skip breakfast because you're dining afterwards. That doesn't make sense to me. But planning a wedding around brunch (at a different venue) is something I've not actually heard of, so I don't have a frame of reference for it. It just doesn't strike me as logistically sound to do it that way.

Why not an early afternoon wedding, some drinks/clubs/Vegas scene that night, and then brunch the next morning? Or is your goal to get your new bride out to brunch in a wedding dress that will immediately have food spilled on it?

1) In my head, the plan would be for the guests to arrive at the venue and have some snacks + juice and then see the ceremony. Our room would be upstairs and they can all come up and we can do the champagne toast + some more snacks while the wifey changes into something more manageable. Then we as a group would go to the hotel next door for their brunch.

2) I'd rather not force all guests to arrive in Vegas on Friday night; with a Sunday ceremony it gives people more options (arrive sat for 2 nights, arrive fri for 2 nights, or arrive on sat for 1 night only).

I assume no full church service at a Vegas wedding? Given you want a brunch reception 10am ceremony and at brunch 11-1130 doesn't seem unreasonable.

No full church service.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

10am is way too early IMO.

 

[SlickSnake]

10 am is a bit early for a wedding, unless you are going to make an afternoon of it out on a catamaran or something. Usually the best part of a wedding is the reception after when it's dark and everyone gets drunk and really starts having a good time.

And funerals start out early because it's going to end up outside at some point.

 

[dank69]

Wedding brunch? Your fiancée agreed to this?

 

[Ns1]

Wedding brunch? Your fiancée agreed to this?

When I showed her the bill for a saturday ceremony + reception, yes.

 

[dank69]

When I showed her the bill for a saturday ceremony + reception, yes.

Haha, more power to ya buddy. You're the only one that will be able to make this call. There are people out there that would crucify you for a 10am wedding and then there are people that won't be sleeping anyway.

 

[Imported]

When I showed her the bill for a saturday ceremony + reception, yes.

I wish my fiancée agreed to that. I gotta deal with a site fee, food minimums which thankfully include alcohol, rentals, etc. We're having it on a Friday afternoon/evening to save some costs though. Most of the guests coming are from out of town anyways.

 

[KeithTalent]

Excellent choice. We did our ceremony at 10:00 AM then had a wedding brunch after.

Whole thing was done by about 4:00 PM, maybe earlier. Was awesome.

KT

 

[Ns1]

I wish my fiancée agreed to that. I gotta deal with a site fee, food minimums which thankfully include alcohol, rentals, etc. We're having it on a Friday afternoon/evening to save some costs though. Most of the guests coming are from out of town anyways.

yeah man. My 1 and only requirement was free-flowing alcohol for everyone, which meant paying out the ass for open bar ($45pp/2-3 hours) or spending outrageous sums on a venue that allowed for outside catering. And in LA (and I'm sure SF) good wedding venues are booked sooooooooo far out.

Excellent choice. We did our ceremony at 10:00 AM then had a wedding brunch after.

Whole thing was done by about 4:00 PM, maybe earlier. Was awesome.

KT

I wish I could green this.

 

[Zeze]

It's early due to the process reason. I've shot about 5-6 weddings as a pro & just got married. Here's why:

For typical ceremonies that begin at 5-6pm, bride and bridemaids get ready from 7-9am.

8-8:30 AM: Bride and bridemaids shower for 30 mins and general shenanigans before meeting up in Bride's room or the ready space.

Wedding makeup take about about 60-75 mins for the makeup & hair PER PERSON (bride + your # of brides) Most makeup artists (hopefully) come with an assistant. So the throughput is 60 mins x (bride + maid of honor + bridesmaids + HER MOM and your mom) divide by 2 (artist + assistant).

Let's go for the conservative count of bride + maid of honor + just 2 bridesmaids (no moms) = 4 hours

12 PM - 1 PM: This is when they're about done. Your wedding photographer documents this for your wedding day progression.

When makeup & hair are freshly done, the men should be too. What is the first thing we all should do? Go and take pictures of the expensive work you just did. Wedding photographer picks a site locally and start shooting.

3 to 4 PM: You're done shooting, and believe me- it's a shitshow of family, friends, wedding party all scrambling about- are the moms ready? where's your uncle? did we tip the makeup person before leaving? where'd I leave my cell? The ceremony is only 2 hours away!, etc.... After all the cleanup, transportation arrangement arrive, and all that stuff done, you all leave to the ceremony site.

5 to 6 PM: Ceremony begins.

So this paints the picture and it has been typical for all Western & Asian weddings I've been to and shot.

The bottleneck is on the ladies getting ready & photography. If you aim to have ceremony by 10 AM, then you gotta get up at like 3 AM.

 

[Ns1]

Yes, the assumption was that they would be up by 6am for HMU.

There are many pros/cons of a 10am ceremony ^_^ For my part, substance abuse and all-nighter was a likely solution as there is no fucking way I am waking up that early.

re: asian weddings

I am having it in Vegas to escape the asian wedding.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

It's early due to the process reason. I've shot about 5-6 weddings as a pro & just got married. Here's why:

For typical ceremonies that begin at 5-6pm, bride and bridemaids get ready from 7-9am.

8-8:30 AM: Bride and bridemaids shower for 30 mins and general shenanigans before meeting up in Bride's room or the ready space.

Wedding makeup take about about 60-75 mins for the makeup & hair PER PERSON (bride + your # of brides) Most makeup artists (hopefully) come with an assistant. So the throughput is 60 mins x (bride + maid of honor + bridesmaids + HER MOM and your mom) divide by 2 (artist + assistant).

Let's go for the conservative count of bride + maid of honor + just 2 bridesmaids (no moms) = 4 hours

12 PM - 1 PM: This is when they're about done. Your wedding photographer documents this for your wedding day progression.

When makeup & hair are freshly done, the men should be too. What is the first thing we all should do? Go and take pictures of the expensive work you just did. Wedding photographer picks a site locally and start shooting.

3 to 4 PM: You're done shooting, and believe me- it's a shitshow of family, friends, wedding party all scrambling about- are the moms ready? where's your uncle? did we tip the makeup person before leaving? where'd I leave my cell? The ceremony is only 2 hours away!, etc.... After all the cleanup, transportation arrangement arrive, and all that stuff done, you all leave to the ceremony site.

5 to 6 PM: Ceremony begins.

So this paints the picture and it has been typical for all Western & Asian weddings I've been to and shot.

The bottleneck is on the ladies getting ready & photography. If you aim to have ceremony by 10 AM, then you gotta get up at like 3 AM.

This is all true. My niece's wedding was a few weeks ago and even though technically I'm just a guest, I was running around trying to help everyone out because people would forget shit, be running late etc. Wedding was at 5pm and I got there late myself lol.

 

[Zeze]

Yes, the assumption was that they would be up by 6am for HMU.

There are many pros/cons of a 10am ceremony ^_^ For my part, substance abuse and all-nighter was a likely solution as there is no fucking way I am waking up that early.

If the ceremony is indeed a hard start at 10 AM (i.e. music starts and people march in), then 6 AM may not be enough- at all.

So how many bridesmaids does your fiancee have? (including MoH).

Wedding photography has 2 distinct sessions:

1. Informal fun ones with the party PRIOR to ceremony (The one I mentioned at 2pm)

2. Formal one AFTER ceremony with family, friends, entire guests, etc. These are the obligatory 'standing still' ones & 'serious' portrait shots.

Each take about 60-75 mins.

You may be able to cram both AFTER the 10 AM ceremony. But then what are the guests doing for 2.5-3 hours? Typically, that cocktail hour takes care of that 1 formal session.

You may be shorting yourself for wedding photographer's services. Something to think about.

 

[KeithP]

2) I'd rather not force all guests to arrive in Vegas on Friday night; with a Sunday ceremony it gives people more options (arrive sat for 2 nights, arrive fri for 2 nights, or arrive on sat for 1 night only).

Generally, Sunday-Thursday nights are the cheapest at hotels. A 2PM Sunday ceremony would allow guests to fly in Sunday morning saving them from having to pay more expensive rates. Would that be an important consideration?

Speaking personally, 10AM would be too early for me. It would limit what time I would want to hit the sack and that would be the last thing I would want to think about on a Saturday night in Las Vegas.

-KeithP

 

[Ns1]

thx for the reply ZeZe, my responses in bold below.

If the ceremony is indeed a hard start at 10 AM (i.e. music starts and people march in), then 6 AM may not be enough- at all.

So how many bridesmaids does your fiancee have? (including MoH).
3 including MoH

Wedding photography has 2 distinct sessions:

1. Informal fun ones with the party PRIOR to ceremony (The one I mentioned at 2pm)

2. Formal one AFTER ceremony with family, friends, entire guests, etc. These are the obligatory 'standing still' ones & 'serious' portrait shots.

Each take about 60-75 mins.

As part of the wedding package, we are using their photographer for the wedding ceremony (no exceptions). Includes 1 hour of time before the ceremony to get ready + pictures, and 35 minutes after the ceremony to take pictures. It's up to us if we want more

You may be able to cram both AFTER the 10 AM ceremony. But then what are the guests doing for 2.5-3 hours? Typically, that cocktail hour takes care of that 1 formal session.

We're getting a sick room for a post-ceremony mini-reception before the brunch. They can drink and chill?

You may be shorting yourself for wedding photographer's services. Something to think about.
Duly noted. What she says might not be what she really wants, so need to have a real long discussion with the wifey tonight before I drop these deposits tomorrow

 

[highland145]

I like 10am. It leaves more day for stuff, rather than wait around for stuff to happen.

x100

Better if the wedding party is hung over.:biggrin:

And grats.

 

[Ns1]

x100

Better if the wedding party is hung over.:biggrin:

my friend said the same thing: "10am? Dude your whole wedding party is going to be hungover"

my reply: "If everyone is hungover I would consider the wedding a success"

 

[KeithTalent]

I don't know, it does not really need to be that complicated. If this is what you want and what you have both decided, then everyone else can work around your schedule.

We had a 10:00 AM ceremony; I know the wife and her party got up quite early at the hotel; had coffees, then had the make-up and hair peeps show up for 7:00 AM. Photographer was there for them getting ready then went down for the ceremony. We had coffee and snacks for the people waiting around prior to the ceremony since they need to have something to do.

After the ceremony we had all of the formal pictures since everyone still looks their best. More snacks and mimosas were out for consumption so the other peeps could mingle.

After that you go and do all of the party shit with all of the food, speeches, dancing (we skipped the dancing), etc. We then blasted out of there around 3:00 or 4:00 with our wedding party for some of the more goofy pictures and just random stuff around the city.

Not saying it's for everyone but the important thing is that was what we wanted, what we paid for, and that's what we got because we made it so. You should do the same.

KT