When To Do Cake Cutting, etc - HELP!

mykidsmomtx · February 8, 2010

We are having a hard time deciding on how to sequence the events. We are having a 4pm beach wedding with a 3 hour private reception. Actually, there are a couple issues we would appreciate your input on:

Immediately following the ceremony is typically when all the pics are taken - what do all the guests do during this time? The WC suggested we do the cake cutting immediately following the ceremony so the guests can be mingling with at least some food and drink while waiting. Is this what most people do?

If we wait until the reception to do the cake cutting - then we run into the problem with the hourly photographer because we are not allowed any "breaks" in the time.

If our reception is at 6pm outside, what should we expect with the quality of the pictures anyway? Maybe it would be best to do the champagne/cake during the daylight?

If we do the toast immediately following the ceremony, should the BM/MOH speech be done at that time or could we still wait for the reception to do this?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!!

inanna · February 10, 2010

Are you planning a dinner reception? I'd find it strange to cut and serve the cake before dinner. Also, is there a large gap between your planned ceremony end-time and the beginning of your reception. As a guest, I really prefer a smooth transition between ceremony to cocktail hour to reception.

I think most weddings have a cocktail hour with appetizers between the ceremony and reception (or just cocktails). This is when the guests mingle and the couple can take photos. Our photos after the ceremony did not take long (25 minutes?) and we were eager to get back to our guests and enjoy some of the appetizers we'd paid for. You can also do your formal photos before the ceremony to save time.

Immediately after the cocktail hour we did our grand entrance with our parents and bridal party and then dinner began. About midway through dinner the speech/toast began (we only had 1 speech). Then after dinner we had our first dance (we didn't cut the cake until very late in the evening). You could cut the cake immediately after everyone finishes dinner, then go into your first dance, and your photographer would then be free to leave after that.

We had an outdoor reception at night without much lighting other than some string lights and candles and I don't think the professional photo quality was bad at all. Our photographer's assistant came prepared with lighting equipment that wasn't intrusive or too bright, but it got the job done.