Four weddings...

[Blair138]

FI and I met with our pastor and he informed us that the church we are getting married in is performing FOUR WEDDINGS on our day! Holy crap! I have heard of 2 or 3 but FOUR! Ours is at 3:00 and we have the first rehearsal the night before. Each wedding gets 2 hours AND THAT IS IT! We get from 2-4 and we need to be done...holy crap! They have been doing this for 20-some years but man I think that is cutting it close! Anyone else''s church do something like this?

 

[Elmorton]

No, but I have a friend who is getting married this summer, and I think there are 4 on her day, too. From my understanding, the church will work like a well oiled machine and you''ll be in and out. Does the church have a wedding coordinator there? If so, they''ll manage the whole bit, and you won''t notice a thing (other than your wedding starting on time)

Also, FWIW, I was afraid that I would feel really weird if I saw another bride on my wedding day - I booked the park where we got married for something like triple the length that we needed it so that there was no way that another bridal party would be standing there waiting while I was finishing up photos. But, when I was walking up to the ceremony site with my BMs and photographer, about 50 ft away was another bride with her BP posing for photos. I don''t know if she was married in another part of the park or at another location and just came there for photos or whatever. My MoH is very protective (and I love her for it) and she said to me "You look SO much more beautiful than her!" which was sweet (the bride could have been a freaking model), but it really wasn''t as strange as I thought it would be. I just waved a small hello, went on with my BMs, and by the time I was standing there for the first photo, the other bride and party was gone. So, even if you catch a glimpse of another bride on your day, it probably isn''t as big of a deal as it likely feels now. You''ll be so caught up in your wedding, your entourage, your moment, that the brief moment you pass another wedding will be very slight in your memory.

 

[Blair138]

Thanks Elmorton! I don''t think I''m worried about other weddings, I am most worried about my own. One of my GM thinks he is Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses and is an usher in a wedding at 1 in a city that is 30-40 minutes away from my church on a good day...I have accepted this but I am still worried that he will be late. I am most worried about the church''s wedding coordinator as she scares me! But I do have a DOC so I know she will handle anything I need.

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 6/8/2009 10:31:25 PM
Author:Blair138
FI and I met with our pastor and he informed us that the church we are getting married in is performing FOUR WEDDINGS on our day! Holy crap! I have heard of 2 or 3 but FOUR! Ours is at 3:00 and we have the first rehearsal the night before. Each wedding gets 2 hours AND THAT IS IT! We get from 2-4 and we need to be done...holy crap! They have been doing this for 20-some years but man I think that is cutting it close! Anyone else''s church do something like this?

What? No funeral???

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Yeah this is common actually..at the chapel at the university I attended I decided not to get married there because sometimes they do 8-10 a day!! Like Elmorton says it''s a "well-oiled machine" typically..you have x amount of time to get ready, then x amount of time for the ceremony, then you have to get out w/in like 30 minutes. It''s kind of intense. But no worries other people do it and I''ve seen photos of their weddings and they were gorgeous! So I think you''ll be fine.

 

[Dannielle]

Wow

I hope everything runs smoothly for you, i''m sure it will be fine, especially if this is a common occurence at the church.

 

[bee*]

When we were booking our church, we were told that only one takes place per day so we can have it anytime from 12 up until 4. 4 weddings is a lot in one day.

 

[laughwithme]

4 weddings does seem like a lot to me. If they have an on-site coordinator, that will help for sure. Just ensure everyone is on time!!! I have even heard of writing "prompt" on the invitation to ensure that no one arrives late.

My church does two ceremonies per day on Saturday - 1:30 pm and 5:30pm. We have the later time. We are allowed "use of the church" beginning at either 3 or 3:30 (can''t remember) - I am already a bit worried about how this will work with pictures, since we are seeing each other beforehand, and I don''t know how we can get our formal photos in if we want them at the church - its just a logistical thing we need to work out, and I know we will.

 

[Clairitek]

I think we are the only show going on in our church but I know that I will not be the only bride at the hotel where my reception is. I know this because I tried to book one of their smaller function rooms for my very small reception and it was already booked for this other wedding''s cocktail hour.

I wonder if she will be pissed when she finds out that shes not the only bride in the house that night. I don''t really care and hopefully she won''t either. Considering there are 4 of us getting married on 6/20 on PS alone I can imagine that Newport, RI will be crawling with brides.

My fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly on your day!

 

[Delster]

The rule over here is one wedding per day - in fact it can be harder to book the church and a priest than to book the reception venue!

It sounds like they know what they''re doing though. If you have the church from 2pm to 4pm and your ceremony is at 3pm, chances are the 4pm to 6pm people are having their ceremony at 5pm. So there''s a little wiggle room

 

[sammyj]

We checked out a high-end venue (chiavari chairs were the standard!) that accommodated up to 4 weddings a day (ceremony and reception). I was shocked!!! I didn''t doubt that the staff would be extremely organized and, like Elmorton said, everything would operate like a well-oiled machine, but I wanted our wedding to feel as intimate as 125 ppl together in one room can feel. Needless to say, we didn''t go with this venue.

 

[ash313]

Wow! That does seem like a lot to me. But I am getting married in a Catholic Church, where the rule is one per day, one pm only, no exceptions.

However, that doesn''t mean it''s impossible for other churches to get it done! I bet they will do a fine job. You might ask them what their agenda for the day looks like if it will help calm your concerns!

 

[Blair138]

Thanks for all the replies ladies! I don''t doubt the wedding people at the church but it seems crazy that they took on 4! When I booked they didn''t say anything about any times other than 3 and 5 so that makes me think that this year must be insanely popular for weddings. It''s a little over a month away so I will let you all know how it goes!!!

 

[Lanie]

For the day I''m getting married, my wedding is one of four. It isn''t cutting it close to me, but I had never thought of that. Our church is Catholic and is the most popular church to be married in. There are masses at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 7pm. I''m the 3pm slot! We only get 20 minutes for pictures...we have to be in and out of there in roughly an hour and 20 minutes!

You will be fine. They wouldn''t schedule it otherwise.

 

[marchswallowbird]

At the chapel I''m getting married at, they schedule you in 90 minute slots. You have to be in and out of there in 90 minutes maximum, or you have to pay for a second time slot ($300). You have to have all your pics done, all your decorations put up and removed, and your ceremony completed within this time slot. They schedule weddings all day long in 90 minute increments.

I should say that it''s a nondenominational chapel, so people don''t do a full religious service or anything...the ceremonies are usually short.

I would love to have an extra 1/2 hour!

 

[ilovesparkles]

I have never heard of this! Its kind of scary. I know that my wedding will be the only one in the synagogue for the entire weekend! Plus Jewish weddings have so many different parts, we need a minimum of 3 rooms just to do the different rituals that are traditional. And then reception space if we do that at the synagogue as well! We are very close to our rabbi and he will be at the reception too.

I am sure your wedding ceremony will run smoothly, they must be pros at pulling off 4 weddings in one day!