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Length of Reception?

CD2011CD2011 member
100 Comments
in New York
How long was/is your reception?? People were posting timelines on my month board and it seems that everyones are going to be between 5-8 hours. We have 4 hours TOTAL from beginning of ceremony til end of reception. I feel like it's going to be WAY too short now. When we originally booked everything we thought it would be plenty of time, and our DJ and photo packages all started at 4 hours so we didn't want to have to pay all the extra for additional hours.

We also wanted it around sunset, which is why we picked 8pm, and we have to be out of our venue at midnight. We obviously could have just settled for having an earlier ceremony and paying the extra hours, but it's kinda too late for that now! We partied for 10 hours the other night for our Jack & Jill and it went by so fast.

Making me sad :(
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Re: Length of Reception?

  • kkozlo2kkozlo2
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Our ceremony was 4:30-5 Then the cocktail hour started at 6:30 and the reception ended at 12:30. Our party itself was 6 hours and it was awesome. I think you might feel it goes to quickly BUT there are ways around paying too much for everything....

    A few questions- what time is dinner if your ceremony is at 8? It seems really late or are you not doing dinner because it is so late?

    Our venue was a 4 hour package- open bar. That is usually what the time table is centered around. That meant the party would be 5 hours closing the bar for one hour during dinner. Then we added an hour and ran a tab and paid that instead of the open bar fee. It was a little less expensive since all 175 people weren't still there. As for the DJ he didn't play cocktail so his time didn't start until 730- when announcing started. That way he only had to pay for one extra hour which was $75. As for photo- Our package was an unlimited hourly package kind of thing. You can get around some of that though. Most photographers leave the site about an hour early as it is. There is only so much dancing they can get photos of so talk to them and see what they might be able to do for you.

    I agree- you may be disapointed if you only have 4 hours start to finish but if that is what you can do- I am sure it will be wonderful and you will have the time of your life. These are just some ideas :)
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  • kevinandmonica2011kevinandmonica2011 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My day was pretty unusual, given the distance between the ceremony and reception (@90 min).
    Buses picked up at noon
    Ceremony at 2
    Buses picked up again at 330/4
    Cocktail hour began at 5ish
    Everything wrapped up about 11/1130

    I would have partied all night if I could, but but 11, the crowd had thinned out pretty good... the people who were left stayed up all night and hung out/partied anyway.  We just re-located. 

    Personally, if you already have your timeline set, I would just stick to it.  It's waaay too late in the game to make any changes now anyway.  Plus, you will have ALL day to relax and enjoy getting ready (I would have KILLED for that.  seriously).

    The day will go by in a complete blur no matter what... whether it's 4 hours or 14, it's still going to go by so fast.  Just enjoy what time you have and really savor every moment!
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  • pitbullmommy315pitbullmommy315 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    8 hours seems like a really long reception! Our ceremony begins at 6:30 and the reception will end at 11pm. Seems kinda short but I know our friends will be partying after, just in a different location!
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  • DondadaTimes2DondadaTimes2
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My ceremony was at 11:30, cocktail hour 12-1 then reception 1-5. So total we had 5.5 hours. I just suggest keeping any special dances and such to a minimum. I dont know if youre doing the B & G tosses, Anniv dance, Dollar dance, etc...but keep in mind that while it'll take a few min to dance, it'll also take a few min to get everyone up there to carry out the activities. So maybe cut some of those out if youre willing to.

    I wouldnt worry about the length, it will certainly fly by, but you'll have a blast and I promise no matter how long it is, you'll blink and it'll be over. Thats just the way it is!

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  • sbolger17sbolger17 member
    Seventh Anniversary 1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    PP have good advice -- it's too late to worry about it!  I would never expect a wedding to go past midnight, so it sounds normal based on your start time.

    Our ceremony is 3:30-4, cocktail hour will start at 4:15 and then we go until 10.  We're paying extra for the 45 minutes above 5 hours so that kind of sucks, but it was important to FI that we keep guests busy until that time.  I was okay with ending it at 9:15, but oh well.  (We wanted to start the ceremony at 3:30 to also take advantage of daylight since our venue is so beautiful.)
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  • CD2011CD2011 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ok, phew! You all made me feel better! In response to some of the things you said- we are NOT doing a formal dinner. There will be a ton of food, but it will be set up at stations and people can eat whenever they want (I'm actually having them set it up so it's available right after the ceremony, so our guests can eat/drink while we take pics... us and WP will just grab a quick bite when we get in and throughout the night)

    Also, we aren't doing any of the traditional things like B & G tosses. Most of our guests, including friends, are already married, so not many people would even participate. None of the traditional dances either except 1st dance, but it's going to be a fun one Wink

    And our hotel is right down the road, so I guess we could just go there after if people still want to continue the party!
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