The Auf Ruf Friday night includes Friday night services, which will be from about 7:30pm to 9:00pm. It'll be followed by a brief Oneg--a small celebration with some cakes and cookies, and an opportunity for people to chat. That shouldn't last more than another hour at most.
The food sort Saturday afternoon is scheduled from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.
The Saturday night dinner for out-of-towners and the wedding party will start at 7pm, and last as long as a large Chinese banquet dinner normally would. That'd probably be until 9 or 9:30, as a guess.
The wedding ceremony itself will be rather brief--a half hour, at the most. It'll be followed by appetizers and a dinner and dance reception that will go on until 9pm.
An Auf Ruf is basically an ordinary service with an extra few minutes of blessings for the bride and groom. After these blessings are completed, it's traditional to throw candy at the happy couple, hopefully not creating any bruises that would mess up wedding pictures.
After the services are over, there will be bits of cake and vegetables to snack on, and an opportunity to stand around for a while and talk.
The wedding events are taking place in San Francisco, and following local standards for dress, which are somewhat less formal than traditional East Coast standards. For the Auf Ruf, a T-shirt and jeans are probably too informal, but almost no one will be wearing a fancy dress or a tie. For the food sort, wear clothes to do work in. Layers are best, as it can be cold in the warehouse. The Saturday night dinner may see a few sportscoats and ties. At the wedding itself, the bridal party will be formally dressed, but a coat and tie should suffice for others.
April temperatures in San Francisco typically run from a low of 48 to a high of 64. While rain is not likely, it is certainly possible. All wedding events will be indoors.
At the Auf Ruf, perhaps 40 temple regulars and another 40 or so guests from the wedding. At the food sort, perhaps 30 people. At the Saturday night dinner, perhaps 70 people. At the wedding itself, about 150 people.
There are actually two synagogues involved, Sherith Israel and Sha'ar Zahav. Sha'ar Zahav, the site of the Auf Ruf, is actually a couple miles from the hotel. Sherith Israel is three blocks away.
We're planning to have some sort of babysitting available during the wedding and reception. We're not quite sure what, yet, however. If you've got any ideas about what sorts of babysitting you might be needing, let us know... it'll help us figure out what sort of service to get.
Although not listed on the RSVP card, there will be a nice Mac 'n' cheese meal available for kids under 6, as well as those who request it.