Wedding dilemmas!!

LucyB-Bride_to_Be

Hi all,
was just after some opinions regarding a meal after our wedding! i know it sounds a bit daft but heres our problem, me and H2B are getting married at the Ayia Napa town hall on the 23rd Sept. The wedding is at roughly 12pm (subject to change), we can't decide what to do after the wedding, our original thoughts were we have the ceremony & photos, then book somewhere for a meal at night. However this would mean guests leaving after the ceremony then coming back at night for the meal, but people keep saying that we should have the meal straight after the wedding because people won't want to leave and come back. I see the point on this but i'm thinking that in the middle of the afternoon when its goin to b still quite hot will guests actually want a hot sit down meal?? because personally i know that me and h2b won't! Is it wrong to ask guests to come back in the evening? This is driving us crazy as we really don't know what to do. Don't want to offend guests but on the other hand don't want to have to settle for something that we don't want!
anyhow any thoughts/opinions would be much appreciated!!!

ria.pulls

I went to a friends wedding in gibraltar about 3 years ago, They got married at 9am in the morning.
After the ceremony the served canapes and champagne to all guests (about 25 of us) We then all went out for the day (on a dolphin watching trip) and then had a meal in the evening.
It worked really well and we all had a lovely time.
I guess as long as everyone knows whats happening it should be fine. possibly having a quick drink and canapes after your service might bridge the gap a bit? best of both worlds sort of.

Best of luck.

mshelsbels

Can't you get a later ceremony? If it was later in the afternoon you could go straight through (after photos etc) to having a meal/evening reception?

Hels

kelda_shelton

I think with this though yo dont really have an option what time, I know my sister who is getting married in Kos wont know until shes in Kos what time her wedding is.

LucyB-Bride_to_Be

The town hall weddings are only between 11am and 2pm so i couldnt actually get anything later, if it had of been later on it would have been perfect! But anyhow by the looks of it the meal is going to be in the afternoon as i don't seem to have had much choice, as my mum is paying for the meal (which i really do appreciate!) she's kind of forced us into having it in the afternoon. However as a compromise we've decided to have it at Garden of Eden which apparantly is one of the nicest restaurants in Ayia Napa...so not all bad i guess. Just feel like i'm being pushed into something i don't really want!

s4aRainyDay

You could have an extended drinks reception in a hotel or bar somewhere (even on the beach) with games set up (football etc) some snacks and drinks will keep everyone happy for a bit.
Its always seemed a bit odd to me to sit down for a full meal in the afternoon-I never know if to eat lunch or not, then the champagne goes straight to my head:beer:

shelovestobuystuff

We are bridging the gap with a little champagne reception immediately after the ceremony,light canapes and musicians to entertain.
wedding ceremony 2.30pm
string trio,champagne,canapes 3-4.30pm
dinner served from 5pm

We are having activities the day after but if we were having an earlier wedding we would have planned activities on the wedding day too to fill the gap

Any family weddings I went to as a child had the ceremony in the morning then everyone went away and returned for the evening meal and party.
personally I think If they live nearby thats fine but I would have somewhere or something set up that they could pass the time so they are not just hanging around all day.Although if they know in advance they have a few hours to fill then the guests can plan their own day in advance.Maybe provide local info of things to do with the wedding invitations.