This story was originally published on September 16, 2022, and last updated on November 6, 2023.
If you’re interested in having a morning wedding ceremony and reception, there are a few things to know. Here’s my advice as a professional wedding planner.
Your bar tab will be lower.
$187.
That was the bar tab for a morning wedding I once did. Granted, this number was outside the hosted mimosa bar — which likely cost somewhere in the more typical multi-thousand dollar range that I see for bars at weddings — but still, $187.
Why was this? Well, cocktail hour was 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and thankfully, none of the guests felt like that was a great time to throw back a Jack and Coke. The bartender told me that, right at the end of the reception, which ended at 1:30 p.m., a few guests got a glass of wine but drinking outside of mimosas, lemonade, coffee, and water was limited.
And that’s pretty sweet if you, understandably, don’t relish a bar tab equal to a mortgage payment.
Your call time will be earlier.
At any wedding, the detail that most influences when you have to wake up is when you need to start getting ready. If you’re getting your hair and/or makeup done professionally, that call time is typically four to five hours before you need to be dressed and ready, either for any pre-ceremony photos or the ceremony itself.
With a, for example, 10 a.m. ceremony, this meant a call time of 6 a.m. with pre-ceremony photos going from 8 to 9:30 a.m. That 6 a.m. call time was tight and hair and makeup ran long, at no fault of the vendors. We were still able to conclude photos on time thanks to a very efficient photographer, a short photo list, and some gentle prodding from yours truly but these timings give you a sense of just how early you’ll have to set your alarm.
A slightly more comfortable morning ceremony would likely start at 11 a.m. with any pre-ceremony photos running from 9 to 10:30 a.m. (typically, it’s 30 minutes for a first look photos, 30 minutes for any wedding party photos, and 30 minutes for any chosen or biological family photos with all photos ending no later than 30 minutes before the ceremony to allow a break before heading down the aisle).
Remember, you also don’t have to do any photos before the ceremony, which would mean an even later call time for a morning wedding. Instead, those photos would happen after the ceremony. The only thing to watch there is that you have enough time to do photos, have any kind of meal, observe any kind of reception programming, and have at least an hour to clean up before you have to leave the venue.
Want a gut check from a professional planner? Here’s what people have to say about renting my Virgo wedding planner brain for an hour.
Your dancing will be minimal.
For many clients (and, I’d argue, guests), this will be a relief. Still, it’s something to note since the wedding we carry around in our heads usually involves some kind of popping dance floor. With a morning wedding, the sun is up and alcohol consumption is low, which typically means people are more hesitant to shake their tail feathers in front of strangers.
Your food options will be more plentiful.
I’ve eaten enough wedding dinners to last a lifetime and while, of course, there are many exceptions to the rule of dried out salmon and overcooked chicken, wedding dinners can be limited in their options. But brunch? It was a revelation. Breakfast burritos, eggs Benedict, muffins, fresh fruit — there was a reason so many guests went back for seconds.
Your guests will have some questions.
For many of us, the wedding we have in our heads goes something like this: 5 p.m. ceremony, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. cocktail hour, 6:30 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. dance floor, 10 or 11 p.m. guest exit, 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. venue rental ends.
There’s nothing wrong with this timeline, as long as it serves the mission statement of your wedding. But if you dare to venture off this well-trod path, be warned that your guests will have some questions. They can’t help it. The wedding they have in their heads has been engrained from decades of TV, movies, and wedding magazines.
So help your guests help themselves. Provide key timings in any kind of invite you may send. Share what meal may be served. Entice with caffeinated beverages. Once they’re there, they’ll love it but leading up to the wedding? They might be anxious because they’ve never done this before and, in my experience, anxious people often have a lot of questions.
Your evening will be open.
The thing that most people don’t realize about a late afternoon or early evening ceremony start time is that it’s not like you start your day at 2 p.m. and then, oh, hey, now it’s 5 p.m. and let’s get married. Typically, even with a later ceremony start time, your day starts in the early morning, particularly if you’ve arranged any kind of professional hair and/or makeup services.
This means that, on average, a wedding is a 14- or 15-hour day and people, they get tired. That’s why I always sigh a bit for the client who balks at a dance floor that is “only” open for three hours. Unless you’ve got a particularly dance-y group and/or plan to supply unlimited quantities of hard A, your people are not going to be able to physically sustain marathon dancing for more than 90 minutes.
With a morning wedding, you’re still set up for a long day (see the point above “Your call time will be earlier”). You will also, most likely, have an open afternoon and evening. For one morning wedding I did, this meant that the wedding party went back to a hotel, took a nap, and crashed by the pool. For you, it might mean arranging a special dinner with a core group of wedding VIPs.
Whatever the case, this will be different than many weddings since those weddings likely were the evening entertainment. As much as possible, do not give into the impulse that you have to provide programming for all of your guests for the entire day just because you happened to get married that day. Instead, focus on what activities will bring you and your partner the most joy and if that’s nap + pool time, go for it.
Need help deciding if a morning wedding is a good fit?
Try this exercise or consider mocking up a rough timeline. I also rent my wedding planner brain by the hour, if you’re looking for a professional to bounce ideas off of.