1:30pm Ceremony - would you eat lunch before attending?

We are having a 12.30 ceremony and dinner not till 3.30...

I put this in the extra info in the invitations...

"the wedding breakfast will not be served until late afternoon, if you are anything like (groom's name), make sure you have a hearty breakfast!"

If they don't think to have lunch beforehand then that's not really your fault is it?

If you want to provide canapes and nibbles then by all means do ... but it's not an essential part of the day.

To me, this is one of these "common sense" things that sadly rarely is. I'd always eat before a 1.30pm ceremony (ours is 1.30pm incidently) even if it was only a McDonalds, a couple of home-made sandwiches or a pasty from Greggs.

We're sending out a "thanks for saying you'll be coming" letter in the next week or so to our guests so I might just add a line into the letter reminding people to eat beforehand as I'm sure most of them won't think about it either

Where me and OH both work lunch is 12 Noon - so we are certain most of our friends will have eaten by then.

I don't think I'd necessarily have a proper lunch because I'd probably be getting ready or travelling at lunchtime, but I'd either make sure I had a big breakfast or take snacks in my handbag - I always have snacks in there lol

It might be handy to make sure there's something available on the quiet if you have elderly guests - at a wedding last year my sesame snaps rescued an elderly man with diabetes who didn't realise it would be so long before dinner and his sugar levels were dropping alarmingly!!

I would definitely eat beforehand, I would imagine most people would.

I wouldn't have lunch, but I'd make sure I have a big breakfast.

I'm sure your guests are sensible people, they will realise that they won't get lunch at "normal" lunchtime, so it's their own fault if they get hungry.

My wedding takes place at 2:30pm, so i'd advise my guests to have lunch don't want no

growling bellies during the ceremony ? ?

I might have a big late breakfast or brunch, but if I hadn't eaten, would be my own fault that we were not sitting down until after 4pm so I wouldn't worry too much. Our service is at 12pm so right through lunch! We are sitting down about 3:30pm so I have arranged for canapes to be given to guests to draw them out a little!

I would eat before hand. Anyone who has been to a wedding knows (or ought to) that they won't be eating for a while!

I'd have a hearty breakfast but it would all depend on how far I was having to travel etc. I'd be hungry before 4.30 though, particularly if you're serving alcoholic welcome drinks. Canapes are always a welcome addition, though only if it means not stretching yourself financially too far.

I have to admit I probably wouldn't have had lunch as I'll have been getting ready and then making my way to the venue. I think I would have had a late breakfast though. It wouldn't be your responsibility to feed me though! If you've got budget for canapes, then it's a nice thing to have, but I always think they're not very good value for money and you could probably spend it better on something else ?

I am very unorganised compared to all you lot!

Now I know more about weddings having ate and slept weddings last 18months (wow time has gone quick!) I would make sure I had something before hand.

But last year when my friend was married I spent the morning trying to find a gift bag that would fit his awkward gift and a card.

I dont normaly have breakfast...just cant stomach food early in the day.

So by time I'd bathed and done my hair (long so needs timeto hair dry and straighten) and tried on every dress I had more than once till I made my mind then got to the station....then got a cab for the final journey...its was about 1345. We didnt get to eat till after 1600 and I was absolutly starving!

Saying that so were the rest of the table...so cant just be me!

So think it will depends on the type of poeple maybe that your inviting. If they are used weddings then they will be prepared.

But this was the first of our friends to get married..so we didnt know whats normal.

Asian weddings are diffrent....you go to the hall..late obviosly ...bride is normaly late...groom is normaly late. You eat...watch them get lots of gold and then go home!

See this is what I thought - people may be too busy getting ready and trying to get to the venue on time to think about lunch. I'd like to get canapes but I just think they are too expensive for what they actually are. I'm in two minds. Plus we have so many different types of people coming I think there are bound to be people who dont eat before they come and people that do.

Thanks for all your responses!

I've been wondering about this one too.. our church service is 1pm and wedding breakfast is not till 4.30 at venue. I'm thinking of maybe serving a few canapes as the photos are being done at the church, as I dont think I would have time to eat lunch before a wedding with all the running about getting ready and travelling!

For me it would depend on how far I had to travel as I just can't eat early morning. I would most likely at least have had something to eat before though.

Before I started planning my own wedding, if I was invited to a 1:30pm ceremony I would not have had lunch, expecting it to be served as soon as the ceremony ended, i.e. as close to a normal lunchtime as possible. I never realised people serve wedding food at such odd times. We will be serving a lunch at 1:30pm and a dinner at 7pm because it would never have entered our heads to do otherwise. (We're the first to get married in at least 10 years in our families, and the first of all our friends, so wouldn't know what normally happens.)

I don't think not eating lunch before a 1:30pm ceremony lacks 'common sense'... if anything, common sense would dictate that lunch would be served at lunchtime and dinner would be served at dinner time!

But now I've started planning a wedding and going on wedding forums, I would know to eat something before the ceremony!

To the OP... we included a 'timetable' in our invitation, which let guests know (among other things) what time the food would be served... could you do something similar maybe?

I'd probably avoid eating it certainly wouldn't do you any harm

We've included one on our website but I wanted to keep our invitations as simple as possible so I havent included one in them.

The Yorkshire-lass in me is saying 'tough they should have eaten before hand' but the other part of me is saying maybe we should have something (even if it does add to the ever increasing budget!).

I was also going to add though..we are getting canapes and it was a consideration that you pay alot for a few nibbles....

But if it was more than a few nibbles poeple would be too stuffed for the actual wedding breakfast.

oh and Brenda Jones...wtf??

My Ceremony is at 1:30, we're not serving canapes just because there £4.95 per person with 110 guests thats a lot of money for a snack!

i'll probably just warn them that just because the ceremony finishes at 2 2:30 doesnt mean they'll go straight to eating the meal x

I'd say that they won't have eaten lunch. They will prob have a big breakfast but will be hungry by 2 (remember they will be taking an hour or two getting ready, plus however long it takes to get there, plus they will get there early rather than bang-on 1:30).

I have been to a number of weddings like this and have found it to be the case.

I am sometimes hungry during the service (and no I am not greedy!).

I would deffo have some canapes for your guests othwerwise they will be chewing your leg off by half 4.

I would have every intention of having something but in reality i problem woulnd't have. I would end up taking ages to get ready and run out of time.

I think canapes are a good idea especially if drink is flowing. But i guess this really depends on your budget. I do think that giving a brief timeline in your invited would be a good idea though so people are aware what time dinner will be served. Also i think it depends on the type of wedding breakfast you go for a sit down meal or a buffet.

Those prices are exactly the same reason we weren't thinking of them too. I asked our venue whether they'd let us put out a couple of bowls of crisps and cocktail sausages, and some paper plates just so people who need a nibble can - or maybe we'll just open our sweetie buffet instead. Either way, the hotel won't lose out as if they won't let us do our own nibbles or come up with something at a suitable price for us, then we won't have anything.

Surely people realise that after the ceremony comes photos? Our photographer suggested that we leave between 1 and 2 hours for everything although I reckon we will finish earlier.

@ Future MrsJ - I think that is dependant on what time you class as lunch time? For me lunch is 12pm - 1:30pm. But that is because it's very very rare for me to eat lunch later than 1pm. I would therefore say that if you arrive at a 1:30pm ceremony expecting to eat at 2:00pm for example that is lacking in common sense. Even someone who has never been to a wedding must realise that a B&G will want photos etc and the meal won't be served without them?

Most people will realise this, but not everyone will have been to a wedding before (or for a long time).

If it's any help, most people are hungry 4 hours after they last ate. So if your guests ate at 12:30 then they would be hungry by 4:30, if they ate before 12:30 (likely as they will have probably eaten before they got ready- iron clothes, shower, hair, make-up and travel) then they will be hungry before dinner is served.

I think you should either serve canapes OR should have your wedding breakfast earlier. 3 hours is quite a gap and I don't see why your guests would know that (unless you tell them).

We chose a later time to get married so that people could have time to eat etc, and so that we don't have to cater for them for as long.

@ KV - we did the same for that reason also.

Our ceremony is at 3:30pm so there's lots of time for people to eat beforehand BUT we also know that most people will have at least 1 - 2 hours travelling on the day to get there, so we've arranged some canapés (a la my other thread from earlier!) to keep people going until the BBQ at about 5:30/6pm.We have put a note on our website recommending people grab some lunch before the whole thing kicks off.

I've only been to a couple of weddings before and the one that sticks in my mind was an 11:30 ceremony, so only time for breakfast beforehand but then lunch wasn't served 'til about 3pm and we were all ravenous - not to mention a little tipsy because the drinks had been flowing since the ceremony ended and everyone arrived at the reception venue! It wouldn't necessarily have occurred to me to have lunch if the ceremony was at 1:30, although in future I'll always make sure I've eaten heartily before going anywhere!

Too late to change the ceremony time as everything else is planned around it.

Can't really afford another £500 for "nibbles" that half the people probably won't even touch.

Can't move the wb time much earlier because of the time needed for photos.

Decisions, decisions...

I understand what your saying, however....when we booked the registrar we were given the choice of 1:30 or 4:30....so we chose 1:30....our guests will be at the venue or a local hotel the night before and they will be warned well in advance on the invitations...i really dont no what else to say as £495 for 3 canapes per person is just silly...we have a very tight budget, not only having to suffer the VAT increase we've also suffered from the annual increase and are original prices have gone up! we're having to pay an extra £50 just for the DJ, and 5% increase on all our meals so from £3624.50 to £3844.50 just for the sit down meal....we've lost £270 just on sit down meal and DJ, not to mention the drinks package and function room hire!

Well I certainly wouldn't expect to eat at 3 or 4pm... either I'd expect to have lunch straight after the ceremony, or I'd not expect to eat until 'dinner' time, so after 6pm. As someone who has not attended a wedding in years, photos would not have occurred to me. We're not even having hours and hours for formal photos, as I don't like them! We are eating as soon after our ceremony as possible

I just don't think it's fair to say someone has no common sense for expecting to eat at either a lunch time or a dinner time. Lots of people have not been to a wedding in years and do not know that it is standard to eat in the middle of the afternoon.

You make good points AJ.

My OH can't see the need for canapes either so I'd need to convine him but I'm not that convined either!

Its on the website so I'd hope most people will see it and remember to bring snacks if they need them. I may look at alternatives like nibbles instead of canapes as that would be a cheaper alternative.

Are you having speeches before dinner? If so, a little way round it might be to have edible favours to take the edge off for people ? a cookie or some sweets just to have something