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Wedding Reception Forum

Two hour reception, too short??

I live in LV,NV and I've been looking for a great place to have both ceremony and reception, however I am having a hard time finding a venue that will give a reception for more than three hours. Top of that I've found the perfect place! Except it will be almost 7000 for a half hour ceremony and then a two hour reception. Is a two hour reception okay? Or is that too short? What's the normal time for a reception? And I wouldn't normally want to spend so much on a venue but it's basically wedding ready all people would have to do is show up. Comes with food, chairs tables, flowers, music, and a sunset view lakeside.

So basically, will a two hour reception be expectable or should i just keep looking and find a place that will give me a longer reception time and maybe even cheaper?

Re: Two hour reception, too short??

  • It all depends on what you're expecting for the reception. If you're thinking cake & punch or a simple cocktail reception, two hours is fine. If you want a full meal, two hours is tight even without dancing. Obviously, the big shabang dinner and dancing reception is out of the question. What time of day are you planning the ceremony? What sort of food options are you planning? How many people? Are they travelling?
  • The ceremony will be held at sunset and it will be outside. We are planning on having just about 40 guests. Most of the people who will be coming will be younger and they are already living in town, then the older folks will be traveling to us, and I feel like if I just had a short cocktail reception people would feel like they traveled for something small. I haven't even thought about food yet.

    Right now, I love the venue, it something that I wanted, right on the lake, wisteria dropping into the lake, it very romantic and at sunset the light reflects off the wisteria and water and its a purple glow, however its only for a short time. I asked if I could pay for and extra two hours but they said that's unusual. Weird.

    So would it be right to stick with what I like and go cocktail or should I look for a different venue where family can visit, dance, and have dinner.


    Ugh I'm torn.


  • What's more important to you: the appearance of the venue or the type of event you host? There's no right answer; it's up to you.
  • If I were a guest to an off-hours (like non-meal time) wedding, I wouldn't feel shorted by a 2 hours cocktail reception. I think it'd be fun to continue the party afterwards at a bar or restaurant.
  • The ceremony will be held at sunset and it will be outside. We are planning on having just about 40 guests. Most of the people who will be coming will be younger and they are already living in town, then the older folks will be traveling to us, and I feel like if I just had a short cocktail reception people would feel like they traveled for something small. I haven't even thought about food yet.

    Right now, I love the venue, it something that I wanted, right on the lake, wisteria dropping into the lake, it very romantic and at sunset the light reflects off the wisteria and water and its a purple glow, however its only for a short time. I asked if I could pay for and extra two hours but they said that's unusual. Weird.

    So would it be right to stick with what I like and go cocktail or should I look for a different venue where family can visit, dance, and have dinner.


    Ugh I'm torn.


    If you have people traveling, I'd go for the longer reception with dinner.  It just seems nicer to give them something a bit more than a 2 hour cocktail reception (would enough food even be served to equal a meal??) after they've traveled (who knows how far?!) for your wedding.  But that's just me.

    Why don't you try posting this on your local board.  I have a hard time believing that there are so few places in Las Vegas that won't let you do a ceremony and 3+ hour reception.
  • No, 2 hours isnt so bad. Like my wedding is a sunday and our ceremony and reception are 30 min apart because of travel time. We timed it out and all the big events are in there with dance time. Then people who may want to leave dont feel bad.
  • I'd post this on the Vegas board. They might have some ideas for you, or suggestions for alternate locations.
  • The ceremony will be held at sunset and it will be outside. We are planning on having just about 40 guests. Most of the people who will be coming will be younger and they are already living in town, then the older folks will be traveling to us, and I feel like if I just had a short cocktail reception people would feel like they traveled for something small. I haven't even thought about food yet.

    Right now, I love the venue, it something that I wanted, right on the lake, wisteria dropping into the lake, it very romantic and at sunset the light reflects off the wisteria and water and its a purple glow, however its only for a short time. I asked if I could pay for and extra two hours but they said that's unusual. Weird.

    So would it be right to stick with what I like and go cocktail or should I look for a different venue where family can visit, dance, and have dinner.


    Ugh I'm torn.


    Sunset means mealtime most of the time, so you need to serve a full meal, or enough heavy appetizers that would constitute a full meal.  What kind of food is included in the venue?



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