Isn't it reasonable to expect, if a wedding invitation says 3:30 pm, then the ceremony is going to start somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:30 pm?
I thought so, too. Then SO and I arrived at "Mike" and "Molly's" wedding about 3:10, only to discover that we wouldn't be allowed into the room (ballroom in a hotel/restaurant complex -- ceremony and cocktail hour were to be in that room, reception in another ballroom) until 4:15.
Mind you, the invitation and the wedding website both said 3:30. Period. Not "Arrive anytime after 3:30, doors open at 4:15, ceremony at 4:30." Just 3:30.
We earlybirds-who-didn't-know-we-were-earlybirds trooped down the hall to the bar to kill time until the appointed hour. Then it's back to the ballroom, where we mill around, take our seats, and wait ... and wait ... and wait. I'm sitting there watching my post-wedding plans go down the drain. Yes, I did make plans for later when I thought I'd be able to leave in the 6-6:30 range. SO had been at another, physically grueling event Friday night through this (Sunday) morning and was exhausted, so we had agreed to take off as soon after dinner and cake cutting as we could manage.
A few minutes before 5, the ceremony still hasn't started. SO can see my distress and tells me that if I want to bail, he can get a ride home with a fellow guest we are friends with. I actually got up to leave, only to encounter Mike, his mom and his best lady (yes, his honor attendant was female, not that there's anything wrong with that /tm Seinfeld) in the hall getting ready to go in.
No way I was going to walk out in front of the groom, so I went back in and stayed for the ceremony, which got underway a couple of minutes after 5 and was lovely. I went through the receiving line and congratulated the HC, then made a quiet exit.
I admit I was rude for leaving before the reception when they'd paid for my dinner, but in June my weekends are scheduled tighter than a cow's arse in fly season, and something like this can throw everything off. Also, I am dealing with a temporary vision issue that makes it extremely difficult for me to drive at night. With the reception start time looking like 7 pm, there was a good chance I would have to make at least some of the drive home in the dark. (My post-wedding plans, which I did get to, wrapped up before sunset.)