How late is your reception going?

anastassiiat

So I'm looking at everyone's posts for different topics here and on our FB group and it seems like a lot of you have receptions that are ending pretty late. Is it mostly because they start late as well, or do you just have longer receptions? Our whole wedding is from 4:30 - 10:00 (half an hour ceremony, an hour cocktail hour, and a 4 hour reception) but after reading on here I'm thinking we should probably extend it some more...

wright944

Our ceremony is at 6:30 (half an hour) Then a short break with apps and drinks, and then dinner, ect. Our ceremony and reception are at the same place. Ours will go until midnight. 

kellyeliz

Our ceremony is at 6:00 (about 30 minutes and we aren't reallllly starting until 6:15). Our cocktail hour will be from 7-8 and reception from 8-12. I think that is generally the normal amount of time.

blueikaos

Ceremony is 2:45-3:15 ish

Cockail hour is 5-6 and reception is 6-10

bar10521

Our ceremony starts at 5:30 and is about a 1/2 hour. Cocktail hour is from 6-7 and the reception is from 7-11. I like later weddings because then it's more of a party atmosphere. I think what you have planned is great though. 

sssdee

Our doors open for cocktails at 5pm I believe and the reception will end at 1am.

1am seems to be the norm in my area. Gone are the days that you get to party into the wee hours anymore. (Which now being a Bride I'm sorta thankful I'm not expected to stay until the very end if it were to go well past 3am... I'm going to be super tired I'm sure that night haha)

ashbeth06

I saw this post and I thought "Oh crap, I didn't email the liturgical minister about our wedding time change!" Lol. I just fired off that e-mail.

I'm starting social hour at 5-6 and we are having our reception 6-11. I'm pretty sure according to our contract we have to be out by 12 or end at 12. I forget which it is, but we're staying in a different town away from our guests so we want some time to get there as well.

anastassiiat

MrsK, FI and I will be going to a hotel after the reception since we will be leaving for our HM the next morning and we will be inviting people to come hang out with us at the hotel bar. The only thing is our reception is about an hour away from Boston Logan (where we will be flying out off), so maybe we'll just have to do a hotel near our reception site as opposed to a hotel near the airport. We have very few OOT guests, so we don't plan on doing a hotel block or anything like that.

And thanks for your answers everyone, you made me feel better about our timeline. I know we have an option of extended our venue and DJ services on the spot, and out photographer is with us for the whole day, so if we feel like the guests are still ready to party at the reception we'll just keep it open for another hour or so.

cnf2013

We have the same timeline as you: 

4:30-5 ceremony

5-6 cocktail hour

6-10 reception

It's all one location really. The ceremony is outside of the hotel where the reception is being held. That sounds kind of lame when I say it, haha, but it's on the shores of a huge, beautiful lake. Then the cocktails will be outside if the weather is nice or just outside the ballroom in separate lobby if the weather isn't good. Then the ballroom will open 6 for dinner and partying. We have lots of kids coming so an earlier end was good for us. And we don't see the need to pay for extra hours when everyone is planning on just going right upstairs to party afterwards. 

Berry327

Ceremony is at 6:30. Cocktail hour from 7-8. Reception from 8-12. Afterparty until the hotel bar closes at 2:30am.

lauraprevost

Our timeline is: 34: ceremony/mass 56: cocktail hour 612 or 1 I'm not sure what our contract says: reception

sparkles776

Our ceremony is starting at 5. cocktail hour 6-7 and reception 7-12.

cassienoel022

You'll be shocked at mine then! We are done with the receptions by 6:30. Our ceremony is at noon and cocktail hour starts at 1:30. I love only having a four hour reception because I'm not a huge partier but it will still be fun!

KplusA

I'm getting married in a state park, so we have to be off the property at 10 pm, which means that the wedding needs to end by 9!  I'm in love with the venue so I'm not too bothered by the early end time.  Our ceremony will be at 3:30, coctail hour from 4-5, and reception from 5-9.  By that time, all my older guests/guests with kids at home will want to leave, and all my friends will be ready for the after party!

rmp4996

What day of the week is your wedding? That could be why it is ending a little earlier. Our ceremony at church is at 2, will probably be over about 3/3:15ish, then we are going to do pictures and our cocktail hour starts at 6:30. Our reception is then from 8-12, and then we will have hotel rooms blocked off for anyone who wants to continue the party. The hotel offers a free shuttle bus from the venue to the hotel is we gurantee 10 rooms, which I think we can do. 

belle7fl

Our schedule is exactly the same as Bar although we can extend to 11:30 or 12 if we want and the party's still going. I dont think we'll be doing any after party because by that time I know we'll be exhausted and just want to sleep!

pastoreem12

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_how-late-is-your-reception-going?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:bfd6378e-c7fa-41be-9a3f-bb7997ed00b6Post:6c916684-a085-4d7b-85bb-0c893283edc8">Re: How late is your reception going?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm getting married in a state park, so we have to be off the property at 10 pm, which means that the wedding needs to end by 9!  I'm in love with the venue so I'm not too bothered by the early end time.  Our ceremony will be at 3:30, coctail hour from 4-5, and reception from 5-9.  By that time, all my older guests/guests with kids at home will want to leave, and all my friends will be ready for the after party!
Posted by KplusA[/QUOTE]

Ours is exactly like yours! We are getting married at a Methodist owned retreat center, which is mainly for children's summer camps. So we also need to be out by 10pm. We are doing the ceremony outside on premise at 3:30, cocktail hour from 4-5, and reception, 5-9. However we are probably doing a bridal party and family photos before the ceremony because our families are SO big, it would take so long after the ceremony to take photos, so it may be less than an hour. Plus the venue only alots 4 hours for the reception that is all that is included, it is an extra $200 for an extra hour. That is a little frustrating.

But I think your timeline looks good!

anastassiiat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_how-late-is-your-reception-going?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:bfd6378e-c7fa-41be-9a3f-bb7997ed00b6Post:f88fa460-5570-4a2d-8eb6-b5c727349a11">Re: How late is your reception going?</a>:
[QUOTE]What day of the week is your wedding? That could be why it is ending a little earlier. Our ceremony at church is at 2, will probably be over about 3/3:15ish, then we are going to do pictures and our cocktail hour starts at 6:30. Our reception is then from 8-12, and then we will have hotel rooms blocked off for anyone who wants to continue the party. The hotel offers a free shuttle bus from the venue to the hotel is we gurantee 10 rooms, which I think we can do. 
Posted by rmp4996[/QUOTE]

Ha, I didn't even think about this! It's on a Sunday (for budget reasons), so now that I think of it people might not even want to stay out too late because everyone has work/school/etc. on Monday. Good point!

cassienoel022

Mine is on Saturday. Our venue just has live bands starting at seven so we want to be out by then. That and me and my fiance are day people

anastassiiat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_how-late-is-your-reception-going?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:bfd6378e-c7fa-41be-9a3f-bb7997ed00b6Post:7c35a8f0-1bc1-4e63-83b9-0e42a51045c5">Re:How late is your reception going?</a>:
[QUOTE]Mine is on Saturday. Our venue just has live bands starting at seven so we want to be out by then. That and me and my fiance are day people
Posted by cassienoel022[/QUOTE]

Sometimes I wish I was a day person! haha I'm super cranky when I just wake up in the morning, FI always makes fun of me for that. So that's why we've figured it'd be too much stress to have a day wedding, since that would mean we'd have to be up super early to get ready and all. :)

iloveu4ever

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_how-late-is-your-reception-going?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:bfd6378e-c7fa-41be-9a3f-bb7997ed00b6Post:0bbd9c91-d0bb-4a16-a9d5-b49a10cdb2f0">Re: How late is your reception going?</a>:
[QUOTE]We have the same timeline as you:  4:30-5 ceremony 5-6 cocktail hour 6-10 reception It's all one location really. The ceremony is outside of the hotel where the reception is being held. That sounds kind of lame when I say it, haha, but it's on the shores of a huge, beautiful lake. Then the cocktails will be outside if the weather is nice or just outside the ballroom in separate lobby if the weather isn't good. Then the ballroom will open 6 for dinner and partying. We have lots of kids coming so an earlier end was good for us. And we don't see the need to pay for extra hours when everyone is planning on just going right upstairs to party afterwards. 
Posted by cnf2013[/QUOTE]

Our ceremony will start around 2:30 and end by 3:30. Our reception will be 4-10. Because ours is in a small town and people can hear the noise.

Kris1482

Our timeline is 

Ceremony: 6:30

Cocktail:7-8

Reception-8-12

We figure that's a good time for us because we are doing a Friday so maybe people will only have to take a half day. And if our family doesn't want to stay as late we will have the last half hour with friends and it will be fun. (going off when family leaves other weddings by) And then of course an afterparty!

coconut shrimp

We are having a Saturday daytime reception.  The reception goes from 11am-5pm and then we will be having a post reception boat cruise for those guests that would like to attend that will go from 5:30--9:30 pm.   We have lots of kids attending that are between the ages of 3-7 years so we wanted to keep things on the early side, we figure if people still want to socialize after the boat cruise then we can do it at the hotel.