Critique my wedding pweese

[Popsicle434544]

Jumping on band wagon here, seen a couple of other brides do this.

Second guessing myself in regards to our wedding.

Church ceremony at 4pm for 45 mins, then on to golf club (5mins down road)
On arrival we have pimms and soft drinks for guest's and sharing platteres on tables (picky bits) whilst we have our photo's.
Dj will be playing background music.
6.30 cutting of cake and speeches and we will provide glass champagne.
7pm evening guests arrive.
7.30 first dance. And music gets started.
8.30 bbq with lots of sides
Shortly after that lay out wedding cake and krispy kremes for who prefers them.
We have a photo booth and outside giant garden games for kids.
We are also putting some money behind bar hopefully...

Xx

I can’t get past “picky bits”. Gross.

Anyway, I also think dinner is way too late. People are much more willing to listen to speeches and watch cake-cutting if they’ve got some food inside them. If they’ve hung around drinking Pimms since 5, they’ll also be wasted.

I think it's fine and sounds fun! Although this it just one pimms at 5pm though and then nothing more provided until 6:30? Nothing wrong with an evening paid bar but would try to stretch to providing more drinks in that period of time and a welcome drink for the evening guests.

I would do

4pm wedding

4.45 arrival at golf club

Reception with more than just Pimms and soft drinks, I would add at least some bottled beer and Prosecco

Sharing platters are a faff and some people will pig out on them whilst others don’t get any so I would do some substantial canapés

6:30 barbecue, speeches and cake cutting

8.30 evening guests arrive (although I don’t get the evening guest thing, never been to a wedding with 2 tier guests)

9.30 / 10 wedding cake and doughnuts

If you can put money behind the bar that would be good, again I’m of the view that you feed and water your guests and don’t force them to pay so would pay for wine, beer and soft drinks. Think it’s fine to make spirits payable

I'd be starving. No food till later or sit down meal?!

Have you got plans in place in case the weather is bad? I’m thinking alternative to garden games/barbecue

I also wouldn’t do day/evening guests unless you’re restricted on the ceremony venue for some reason?

As for the timings... now, it may just be me and my friends being massively vulgar; but if you left us with 3 1/2 hours at a wedding with not much to do and no food, we’d be shitfaced by the time you brought food out.

The trouble is with both ‘picky bits’ and BBQ is that it never seems to ensure everyone’s had a decent meal.

Picky bits might get hogged by one group and so you might only have a couple of bites. A BBQ you might queue for ages, only grab a burger, realise it wasn’t enough, have to queue up again; then all that’s left is some limp lettuce.

So yeah. You’ve either got some grumpy, hangry guests leaving early, or some disgraceful drunk people doing the Macarena and roping your granny into doing the Conga

Also agree with PP to think about where your guests are travelling from - they’ll arrive at the venue at least 1/2 hour early; so you’ll have evening guests arriving as speeches are starting; plus people arriving the the ceremony at 3/3.30 - if they’ve had to travel they may not have had the chance for a decent lunch.

I would be starving if I had to wait until 8:30. You need to let people know food won’t be served until then so they can have a large late lunch. If I had lunch at 1 then came to a 4pm wedding I would expect to be having a substantial meal around 6-6.30.

Alcohol and empty stomachs is not a good combination.

I have NEVER been to a wedding with a pay bar.
I’ve only ever been to ONE wedding without a pay bar. Totally normal here.

Please don't do money being bar, someone always abuses it, and no one minds buying their own drinks.
You could have some fruit juice with the BBQ..... As well as tea and coffee instead.
Maybe some sparkling wine hand out just as you arrive from the photos. Please limit the amount of time you give photographer as they always over run..

I've been to weddings where they've given everyone 2 or 3 tokens for a drink in the evening - particularly for evening guests.

A friend's wedding she gave out special corsage type things to certain people - members of the wedding party, couple of other people she chose for whatever reason.

Those people got a free bar all night.

The rest paid.

Nobody minded either way.