Your wedding reception should start as soon after your wedding ceremony ends as possible. If you can start the reception an hour after the ceremony, that’s the ideal amount of time. You'll obviously want to take your wedding photos right after the ceremony, so it's always nice to set up a cocktail hour for your guests after the ceremony if it's at the same venue as the reception. If you cannot start the reception right away, then you will want to make sure your out of town guests don't get impatient... set up a hospitality suite at the hotel your guests are staying at with snacks and beverages so they have somewhere to go and something to do before the reception begins. If the party is at another site, get people there as quickly and efficiently as possible. The sooner your reception starts, the better a time your guests will have... they're there to celebrate you and your new spouse's big day, after all. Why keep them waiting?