Exact Answer: 2 to 3 Hours
Weddings are a very special moment in a couple’s life. They hold a lovely memory in the hearts of the people to be cherished for their entire lifetime. In many cultures, marriages are not regarded as just a union of two people but as the union of two families.
Weddings give a marriage legal and cultural acceptance. At its core, it can be described as a feast to celebrate the union of two people who would be then called spouses. Different cultures have different styles of commemorating weddings and it would be quite difficult to describe all of them at a place.
How Long Do Weddings Last?
| Elements Of The Wedding | Time Consumed |
| Seating of the guests | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Procession of bride and groom | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Welcome address | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Religious readings or their favorite Literature | 15 to 20 minutes |
| Vows | 5 to 20 minutes |
| Exchange of Rings | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Recessional | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Wedding feast | 30 to 40 minutes |
The entire wedding function can be divided into eight significant parts. This pertains to the time from the arrival of the guests to the wedding feast being served to the guests.
The wedding function starts with the arrival of guests and them occupying their allocated seats. This is followed by the bridal party stepping down the aisle with the accompaniment of symphony and well-wishers. Both these parts of the wedding take about 10 to 15 minutes.
As the bride and groom reach their places, there may be a welcome address being given by the officiating person. If the event is religious, there may be a religious reading from the scriptures, otherwise, the couple may choose anything significant to their relationship to be read. These facets of the wedding may take about half an hour in total.
The next part of the wedding event is taking the vows and exchanging the nuptials rings. The twosomes take their respective vows or merely say, ‘I do’ before exchanging their rings. These wedding components also take about half an hour.
In the concluding part of the marriage, both the bride and groom walk away together for the wedding feast. The wedding feast may be the longest time takers and may have got to an hour in total.
Why Weddings Last So Long?
The time involved in the wedding process which makes it so long depends on a couple of factors. The important ones among those are the number of guests at the wedding function, the length of the welcome address, and the vows.
The number of guests at a wedding is one of the most important determinants of how long it may take to conduct a wedding. The more number of wedding guests signifies a greater time being involved in getting them seated. In addition to that, more time might be consumed in the feast and wedding toast.
Moreover, in some cases, all the guests are required to meet the bride and groom personally to greet them on the occasion. In such a scenario, the time involved in the wedding would be increased manifold and might even tire the couple. It is commonly seen that smaller weddings are concluded within two hours while big fat weddings go on for 5 to 6 hours.
The length of the welcome address and the vows taken by the couple also influence the time consumed at weddings. These are the most boring parts of a wedding and must be concluded at the earliest possible time frame. In this way, the wedding ceremony remains simple while the guests do not get bored.
Conclusion
Wedding ceremonies take about two to three hours on average. Getting the guests seated and the procession of the bride takes roughly about 15 minutes each. This is followed by the welcome address and the vows of the couple, each taking about 15 to 20 minutes. The next part of the wedding is an exchange of rings followed by a wedding feast which can take about an hour or two.
The length of the wedding ceremony is greatly influenced by the number of guests and the speeches delivered. The shorter and lesser they are, the merrier.
