I dont know what to do about the reception..HELP PLEASE

hailey513

so we just did our final meeting with caterer and went over the times of what time ceremony,reception is to start and end. our ceremony is at 2pm and we figured our guest would be at reception venue at 3pm starting appetizers. we figured after bridal party/family photos we would be there around 4pm. right now we have venue until 7pm and planned on extending it an additional 2 hours to end at 9pm. but my mom about had a cow ( because shes paying for caterer and the servers) because its going to cost an additional sum of money for the extra to hours that she said we never discussed. so my question is if i have reception till 7pm do you think thats too early to end it or if i extend it till 9pm would alot of people leave because they have been with us all day and had to get sitters because its an adult only reception..THANK YOU anything helps at this point because i dont know what to do

aem2006

Although my wedding is until 10, I feel like that is early so we are having an afterparty with all of our friends/family at a bar or private room somewhere downtown. Maybe that's a good way to extend your wedding but let those who need to get home or are tired to leave? It's crazy how much two extra hours can cost! I hope it works out for you!

nnoble4

We paid extra to have an extra two hours.  For us it was needed.  We didn't want to have a super early ceremony time (partially because I didn't want to have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready and partially because I knew we had a lot of OOTs, so we wanted to be flexible in case some people wanted/needed to fly in that AM).  So, our schedule was: ceremony at 3:30, cocktails at 4, dinner/reception 4-9.  I initially wanted to go out with everyone afterwards, but DH and I decided it was more important to go back to our hotel room and enjoy being hubby and wife (also, by the time everyone, including ourselves, left the reception venue, it was 10pm).

Now, if you are going to start your reception at 4, I would say that 7 isn't too bad.  Can you meet in the middle and end at 8?  I think ending at 7 is not bad, but its about what you want.  Are you having a more formal wedding?  If so, it's usually associated with a more evening time.  Did you want to follow the traditional 4 hour timeline? If so, you may need to go until 8.  Our party really started getting started at like 8pm....but it all just depends on what you want.  Talk to your mom.  Did she give you a set budget?  If so, compromise and scrimp on something else if it is important to go until 9pm.

MissOwl

go for the extra hours. if it helps, our wedding day timeline is similar (130 catholic ceremony) and we're ending around 9 if not a little later. we're doing a dancing hour (with swing dance lesson) between cocktails and dinner so that people don't eat at like 4pm. you could consider that too. i would definitely go for the extra time--find a way to pay for it yourself if you can.

beckilee37

missowl, what a good idea to have a swing dance lesson! are you two big swing dancers? Who did you get to teach everyone?

jnkreager

we are extending for an extra hour...we want the time with all of our friends and family!  maybe you can meet her halfway and only extend an hour or offer to pay for part of it?