Um... depends on what kind of a ceremony it is, I'd say. That was the timing for my cousin's wedding earlier this month (wedding at 3, reception at 5), but it was a very informal, fairly short wedding.

Yes. Remember, the wedding may start 15 mintues late. Then, after the wedding, everyone throws stuff (rice, bubbles, butterflies, whatever you choose) at you and stands around and talks. You and wedding party take pictures.

So, if your wedding takes 30 mintues, thats 45 with a later start (what if Mom is late?,) then 15 mintues for throwing and talking, then everyone drives to the reception...1:15 or 1:30 depending on where it is. So yeah, you are right. You show up later, because you take pictures at this time. The appitizer hour (don't ask me to spell its proper name) is for that time when you aren't there for the guests to entertain themselves.

And it has nothing to do with anything, but you have the best icons.

Is 5:30 when people are allowed to show up at the reception? If so, you might want to make it a little earlier, unless it takes a while to get there. I would imagine that most guests will not stick around for photos, and will head out around 4:15, assuming your wedding is only 30 minutes.

I'll ask Beth what our schedule is and I'll let you know.

Well, it turns out that our schedule is that the wedding starts at 4:30, and lasts for an hour. We have the reception place booked starting at 6pm, and it takes about 25 minutes to drive there. Given that, I don't think you have the reception starting early at all, and you may want to make it earlier, or have extra things to do at the church.

How far away is the reception from the church?