Wedding Reception Advice?

Hi all. I thought maybe someone here could give me some advice about a sorta snafu that's come up in planning.

Long story short, since DF and I are having a tiny wedding in the UK, and a tiny wedding in the US, we haven't put very much thought into planning beyond the basics - visas, rings, something to wear, registry office appointment, etc. We're a very low-key couple, and honestly never thought we'd do much beyond getting all our friends and family together for a couple of drinks once the official stuff is out of the way.

We've decided to have something resembling a reception, and to send out 'save the date' cards, but here's the main area I need advice: Our wedding is at 12:30pm on a Saturday. Ideally, since it will still be a drinks/light food type of gathering with bands and a DJ, we wouldn't want to start the reception until about 7pm. However, since we managed to get a weekend booking for our ceremony, more people are now interested in attending. I really can't imagine having the kind of reception we'd go for in the middle of the afternoon, so would it be awkward to have such a gap between events? We'll be on the Isle of Man, so no one would have to travel very far to get home and come back.

Any other cheap and cheerful last minute wedding tips? My DF's mother is putting a bit of pressure on us to have more of a 'proper' wedding. We were going to have our big honeymoon after the US wedding, but we've gotten a bit of money as a wedding gift and might be able to sneak off for 2-3 days on a mini-break after this one. Any suggestions for nice locations in the UK?

Most of the weddings I have attended in the UK tend to have a gap in the afternoon.  Sometimes this is because the situation is as with yours, other times it is because there is a meal for family from 4 - 7.30pm and then the party starts.  In this situations, certainly in the UK, the important thing is to make sure that there is a good pub nearby.  Do this, and no one will mind the gap.

(Might be a good idea to make sure the pub does food too, so the guests won't be too drunk too early!)

Vicky

Fantastic! Thanks, Vicky. I guess I'm just used to US weddings where everyone is expected to stay with the wedding party from beginning to end. I like the idea of a pub break better, to be honest. I was just curious if we'd have to explain the gap on our invitation cards, but we'll probably just go with word of mouth since our situation isn't that uncommon after all.

The invitation should say something like...

"You are invited to the wedding of Elizabeth and X, to take place at St thingy's church at 12.30pm"

 "Evening reception at Whatsitsname Hall from 7.30pm"

No one will think this strange.

If you want, attach a little map and addresses showing all the local pubs.  You can get one from www.beerintheevening.com

Vicky

Having just attended my sister's wedding, I think it is a great idea for you to give your guests a break in between events. Guests get tired!

My wedding was last year and the best advice I would give is to get family and friends involved so it has a nice personal touch. My reception, which followed a registry office civil ceremony, was in two rented rooms in a community centre/bar. My husband's friend helped out with flowers, which made it much cheaper. It was really lovely how people close to me decorated the rooms the day before so that I was pleasantly surprised with their efforts on the day. My husband and I spent the night of the wedding in the hotel and a couple months later spent a few lovely days in the SouthView B&B in Windermere, which I would definitely recommend. I am not sure what areas in the UK you were considering, so I might be suggesting the wrong area altogether!

I am sorry that you are getting pressured, but going to a 'bigger wedding' recently reminded me how it is much better to do something that is right for your pockets and hearts rather than to do something to please others that isn't right for your or your partner. (I second the idea of saving money for other things, like the honeymoon!)

I hope that everything goes well for your wedding celebrations!

Thanks again, Vicky! That was ridiculously helpful. Um, and I think I'm going to have to get one of those maps just to keep in my wallet!

And thanks for your suggestions too, Zingy. I think your wedding sounds a lot like what we'll be going for - something a little more ceremonial that what we had in mind, but not too twee. The family pressure is well-meant, and they just want us to have a nice day, but we were excited enough just to have extra keys made for the flat so I doubt even a bare bones affair will disappoint us.

I'll check out your honeymoon suggestion, so thanks a lot for that. Our problem is that we're on the Isle of Man, so we'd most likely have to fly to the UK and that takes a large chunk of our budget out right there (this is me swearing at British Airways). We'll see. Thanks again!

We had a shoestring budget wedding and reception(s) and it went really well.
We had a nice registry office wedding and then a reception at the hotel for about 50 people. Then we had a 4 hour gap and had a evening 'do' at a rented Bowling Club. It was £25 to rent the room for the night and they even threw in a bartender. We had a DJ friend do the music and my sister in law did the food balloons and small floral center pieces. People bought their own drinks. It was very nice and so cheap!

We had a shoestring budget wedding and reception(s) and it went really well.
We had a nice registry office wedding and then a reception at the hotel for about 50 people. Then we had a 4 hour gap and had a evening 'do' at a rented Bowling Club. It was £25 to rent the room for the night and they even threw in a bartender. We had a DJ friend do the music and my sister in law did the food balloons and small floral center pieces. People bought their own drinks. It was very nice and so cheap!

Sounds like it would be fun!

That sounds really fun, Pebbles, and you can't beat £25 for a rental!

We're having our local taxi driver DJ our reception. I honestly think more people will come to see him than to see us get married, but maybe we'll get a break on the pub rental fee for attracting such celebrities.