Ceremony and reception

Its not rude at all. There are always room for adding more or less.

Its your call and how you decide to go about it. The invitation can indicate the time you want them to join you for the party.

I think that's fine. People still get to celebrate with you but you also save money. I think this is win-win.

If you do want everyone there to celebrate throughout you could save a bit of money by having a later ceremony and only doing hors d'oeuvres and a late night snack.

I would recommend having a later ceremony and serving appetizers instead of a full dinner. That way, you can invite everyone and serve everyone some food.

You could have a ceremony that's smaller and then maybe word your invitation to the reception guests so they are showing up for cocktails and snacks. Some people even have later evening weddings starting at 6:30 or 7 and then have a cocktail style reception without serving dinner, just appetizer type dishes. If you specify that dinner won't be served, people will plan accordingly and eat a meal before coming - no biggie!

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I agree with you 100%!

Your invitation time must be carefully planned for it to work without any awkwardness. I would be mortified to see guests arriving early to a bunch of people still eating dessert.

I don't think it would be rude. I've heard of people having a small ceremony and a bit of a larger reception - however, I usually hear for them being invited for dinner. Your only consideration is that if people show up a bit early, they might see people eating dinner.