I wasn't entirely sure which forum to post this in. My ceremony and reception will be held at the same place on a Saturday evening. Normally, they book evening events from 7:00pm to 1:00am. Since the hall is owned by my fiance's family, though, they said they would work with us as long as no one else booked the same day. Well, looks like another event booked in the afternoon. So, now I am very concerned that our guests will be annoyed and / or not stay the entire reception. Here is how the timing looks:
7pm - Arrival / light snack
7:30pm - Ceremony
8pm - Cocktail Hour
9pm - Reception begins
9:30pm - Dinner is served
I realize that 9:30 is absurdly late for dinner. What can I do about this though? Have people been to later weddings? Should I be this worried about my guests not having a good time or leaving way too early? I should note that children are not coming to our wedding and the majority of our guests will be staying in a hotel (which we will have a shuttle for).