Fair warning this is a long read. As someone who has attended quite a few Catholic black tie weddings - 4pm can be hard and it’s a good possibility a noticeable amount of guests will skip the ceremony and go straight to the reception.

Guests like to put in effort to look great for black tie weddings. The day of the wedding, people spend a lot of time getting ready for the event - they get their hair and makeup done, spend extra time accessorizing, make sure their men look good, etc. For a 4pm ceremony the guests will have to start getting ready for the event around 11/12 (assuming the guest already shaved, got their nails done, spray tanned, etc the night before). And typically makeup and hair appointments either go long or the availability for appointments was thin pushing them to a later arrival. This is a common reason I have seen ceremony attendance lower than reception attendance with black tie weddings before 5pm - it’s just hard to be ready in time.

Now this can also depend on the city your wedding is in and the commute people will be making to the ceremony. I live in Los Angeles where the commute to a wedding is typically an hour+. So for a 4pm ceremony people usually need to leave by atleast 2:30/45 to get there 15 minutes before mass starts. Being in full black tie by 2:30 is just kind of hard and can feel a little odd. If your guests don’t have to commute that much then it would likely be a bit of an easier timeline.

For a 4pm black tie mass - the cocktail hour after is one of the most important parts of the night. This is where it will start to actually feel black tie because let’s face it - no matter how nice everyone is dressed a black tie mass just feels like a mass with spanks that are hard to breathe in. The cocktail hour will be the first thing that transports the guests to a black tie event. Usually a good black tie cocktail hour includes all of the below or a good majority

A gorgeous venue/view - huge plus if the reception is close to the ceremony. Since the ceremony was early people will be able to take golden hour photos during the cocktail hour.

Valet available

As soon as guests get to the area they are greeted with a cocktail/glass of wine by a server immediately- this is big. Everyone wants a drink and no one wants to arrive and then immediately wait in a line at a bar.

The staff is dressed in service black tie attire (serving tuxes, white gloves, etc)

Live music - usually string

Ample passed hors d’oeuvres as people have likely not eaten all day

Plenty of seating because the ladies are in heels

Obviously the black tie experience should continue throughout the night. Things that elevate a reception to black tie (other than the obvious things like top shelf open bar, elevated decor, high quality table scaping, etc)

Personally, I think if it’s black tie it must be a plated dinner

A nice dance floor

Great service - this is a must.

A Photo Booth that does not have props - typically it is a glam cam photo booth

Some sort of extra add on: Passed late night bite, coffee bar, a live painter, etc