The Truth About co*cktail Hour
Who doesn’t love a good co*cktail? We sure do! And those hors d’oeuvres(yes, I had to Google how to spell it) are always to die for! It’s an essential part of the wedding day. I don’t think we’ve ever been to or photographed a wedding that didn’t have a co*cktail hour. It’s just one of those things that always happens at weddings, but do you know the real reason they exist? Cocktail hour exists solely to entertain your guests while the bride and groom get their photos taken.
The Reason Why
Yes, that’s right. Originally, the bride and groom didn’tattend co*cktail hour. When itwas more traditional to see each other for the first time during the ceremony, the only opportunity for photos wasin between the ceremony and reception. This meant that the weddingguests were forced to waitfor an hour before the reception began. Thusthe idea of serving co*cktails and hors d’oeuvres was created to occupy the guests! What a perfect idea! Today, more and more bride and grooms want to attend their co*cktail hour,which is great and they get to socialize more with their guests and it gives them time to relax before the craziness of the reception begins. But here is the bad news…
Example Timelines
There is simply not enough time between ceremony and reception to capture all of the photos the newlyweds want and have them attend co*cktail hour. Let mewalk you through what a typical timeline looks like during this hour gapfor a couple who isn’t participating in a First Look (seeing each other before the ceremony).
5:00 pm – Ceremony Begins
5:30 pm – Ceremony Ends & co*cktail Hour Begins
5:35 pm – Family Formals Begin
5:50 pm – Family Formals End
5:55 pm – Bridal Party Photos Begin
6:10 pm – Bridal Party Photos End
6:10 pm – Bride & Groom Portraits Begin
6:20 pm – Bride & Groom Portraits End
6:25 pm – Bride Gets Her Dress Bustled
6:30 pm – co*cktail Hour Ends & Reception Begins
As you can see, the bride and groom portraits get the least amount of time. 10 minutes doesn’tallow for the bride and groom to get into a rhythm of shooting. We try our hardest to capture the most variety, but we’ll be very limited by our surroundingssince traveling too far from the reception site will limit our time even more. Even if we did get the coupleto co*cktail hour, they wouldonly have a few minutes to grab a drink and say hello to a few people. Forthat reason, we highly suggest sharing in a first look if you want to attend co*cktail hour. To show you the difference, let’s walk you through what a typical timeline looks like during co*cktail hour for a couple who shares in a First Look.
5:00 pm – Ceremony Begins
5:30 pm – Ceremony Ends & co*cktails Begins
5:35 pm – Family Formals Begin
5:50 pm – Family Formals End
5:55 pm – Just Married Portraits Begin
6:05 pm – Just Married Portraits End // Bride & Groom Go to co*cktail Hour
6:25 pm – Bride Gets Her Dress Bustled
In Conclusion
Because the couple participated in a First Look, we were able to grab a ton of portraits in the beginning of the day before the ceremony began, along with all of the bridal party photos, thereforeallowing you to attend half of co*cktail hour! You can read about even more benefits of a First Look here, but we’re finding that the desire to attend co*cktail hour is a pretty good reason to share in a First Look! In conclusion, if you don’t want to share in a First Look, then we highly suggest providing a 30 minute gap between ceremony and co*cktail hour or even extending your co*cktail hour for an additional 30 minutes to allow you to attend. We promise that this will eliminate so much stress and will let you have the most fun on your wedding day!
