I'm recently engaged and just starting to look at venues. The church we're getting married in apparently only offers one ceremony time on Saturday afternoons, so our cermony is set for 2 p.m.
I'm thinking of having a reception at our university's alumni center. I like the look of it, there's plenty of parking, and it's just a few blocks away from the church. My concern is this: The alumni center can only be rented out until midnight, and they'll stop serving alcohol at 11. Is that enough time for a reception?
The alumni center is right next to a popular bar (which is inside a hotel, where a lot of guests might be staying), so I thought some of our harder partying friends could walk down there if they weren't ready to call it a night. And I might want to join them.
I haven't been to very many weddings, so I'm just not sure. Is it weird for the reception to wind down before midnight? The alumni center has done wedding receptions before, so I assume it worked for other brides. But there are plenty of other reception options in our area.
Thoughts?
Re: How late should my reception go?
2-2:45 ceremony
2:45-4 photos/cocktail hour
4-6 first dances, toasts, general dancing
6-7 dinner
7-8 cake cutting, dessert, general dancing
8-10 general dancing
10 bouquet, garter toss
10-11 more dancing
That's 4 or 5 hours of dancing. It's more than enough. Most receptions fit everything in in 4 to 5 hours. Remember, also, that you'll likely have guests who don't want to stay late, even if you want a huge dance party vibe. My timeline was just to show you how everything could fit.
Really hard. But I wanna do that because I want you
- all of you, you and me, every day. Forever."
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