reception too short?

sadiemaea1

I am seriously concerned and cannot stop thinking that the 4hr reception time we chose is too short. I know most reception times are about 5hr, but we didnt go with  that because it cost another $1000. It would cost another $500 now to change from 4 to 5hrs, but I have already have my invitations. I know some people say that people start leaving at about the 4hr time anyways, but I wanna get some feedback here. Plus our ceremony pictures run into the reception about 30min, so thats really only 3 1/2 hrs for the eating, talking and dancing. Also, my fiance keeps assuring me that 4hrs is long enough....hmmmm

MeaghanandMichael

I would definitely go 5 hours. Sure it is more money, but you are already spending all sorts of money on the day why would you want to shorten the day?

Unless your wedding is really late night I have never seen people leave before it was over. Sure some people have to go here and there, but I have never been to a wedding where people just peace out an hour early.

I had a 6.5 hour reception and people never stopped eating and dancing and half the wedding actually came to the after party which lasted 4 more hours! If a party is a good party people will want to keep it going.

angelsong21

Ours is only 4 hours as well.  We don't have a party crowd coming, and our ceremony is not until 7pm.  That puts guests at leaving at 11:30pm after working all day and with many of our guests having kids, I think that will be plenty late enough. 

drgirl

I think it depends on what time it all starts. If it's a 6pm reception, then ending at 10pm may be too early. If it's 7-11, or later, that might work. It also depends on how much dancing, entertainment, etc you'll have. If it's stressing you out a lot and you can afford the $500 then do it. Keep in mind that you'll need to see if your photographer may want extra to stay until the end (if you want them there until the very end).

anmorgan32

We're having a 4 hour reception, but it's also on a Sunday so that's why we are ending it early, so that people don't feel obligated to stay and so I don't have to worry about a bunch of guests skipping out before it's over. I think we are going to just plan an after party for those that want to continue celebrating, maybe you could do the same?

tammythetiger

I can relate.  It's really hard for me to choke down "just another 1k" for the wedding.  We have a ong Catholic wedding (6:30pm) because it was our only option at the church, we can't even think of starting the reception until after 7:30pm.  The wedding party won't arrive until 8:30pm.  We have to be done by 11:30pm.  It feels short but when I think about the fact we are having a reception at a brewery with an open bar, appetizers instead of a full dinner, the reception may be ending just in time to haul the drunk folks out.  Some ways we are trying to spend more time with friends and family.....

• We are setting up a "Friday night arrival" get together for our out of town guests.  
• On the wedding night....we purposely chose a hotel for guests (and us as bride and groom) that has a bar/restaurant that stays open until 3am.  With a winter wedding, this seemed like a good idea to keep the party going.  
• On Sunday after the wedding, we will stay in town to spend more time with family. 

I've also had other friends who continued the party in their suite...but only for the closest friends.

cutiepie12702

We actually paid for an extra hour to make our reception 6 hours long. My aunt had a 4 hour wedding and it was over as fast as it began (she now says she wishes hers was longer). Your wedding only happens one time and I want it to last as long as possible. I really don't care if other people want to leave early - it's my day and I want to enjoy the entire day. Our ceremony is at 6, our cocktail hour starts at 6:30 and the reception ends at 12:30.

Mrs.B6302007

Our reception was about 3 1/2 hours though we planned for 4.  We had the hall for 5 (including the hour for clean up) but most of the guests had left by 10:30 or so we ended it half an hour earlier than planned.  I really think it depends on your crowd and the size of your guest list.  We only had 80 guests and we were in our mid 30s so our friends were, too and had families to get home to and the like.