Years ago, couples were married on Saturday mornings in a church or synagogue, and the day was spent traveling to a variety of scenic places for endless rolls of photos, and then the reception happened at 7 or 8 that evening. This meant that guests were expected to come to a morning event and an evening one.
There were always those who skipped the wedding ceremony, especially if it was a Catholic Mass (long and mostly impersonal). After all, Catholics still had to go to Sunday Mass either late Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. But skipping the ceremony was considered a little rude.
Today if couples want a morning ceremony, they often have an early afternoon reception, and if it's a church wedding, the reception venue is very close by. Even nondenominational couples having weddings in lovely parks usually choose from an abundance of fine restaurants within a mile or two. But the important factor is this: as much as your guests love you, it's a good idea to keep the whole event closely bundled into a manageable block of hours, avoiding a second drive to anywhere new, especially in big cities (like Boston, where I live and work).
I know a young bride who last year had a wedding in one town, and a reception in another town forty miles away and starting three hours after her ceremony ended. I wasn't able to attend her event but the photos showed a wedding party looking fairly exhausted. I can only guess about her guests.
There is a flow to all this and just because you like one place for the ceremony and another place for the reception doesn't mean a big travel agenda works for anyone. No matter how exciting and joyful a wedding day can be, it also must have room to breathe and relax, and waiting in downtime works against that kind of comfort.
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