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Will my reception be too long???

MKM2014MKM2014 member
First Anniversary First Comment
edited July 2014 in Wedding Reception Forum
I'm getting married pretty soon (August 9!) and I'm starting to put together details with the DJ

Our ceremony is at 4:30 PM and we expect a cocktail hour to start at about 5:15-5:30, bridal party to arrive before 6:30 & dinner to start at 6:30-6:45

Until now I was planning on ending the reception at 11:00 (this is when alcohol sales have to stop at our venue).

Throughout the reception we will have the standard cake cutting, bouquet & garter toss & there will also be a photobooth throughout the night. Our venue is indoors but has easy access to a nice outdoor space & we were thinking about setting up some lawn games too. And of course dancing to start after dinner & go throughout the night & an open bar.

For some reason I'm just thinking this seems long? Do you think it should wrap up a little earlier, like 10:00 or 10:30?
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Re: Will my reception be too long???

  • JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited July 2014
    Our reception (excluding cocktail hour) was 4 hours.  Yours is 4.5.  I don't think that's terribly long.  People will leave when they're ready.  We had people start leaving as early as shortly after dinner, though the majority of them starting leaving during the early part of the last hour. 
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  • holyguacamole79holyguacamole79 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Our reception was from 4-9, and I was honestly ready to be done. I think you'll be fine.
    --------

    Until now I was planning on ending the reception at 11:00 (this is when alcohol sales have to stop at our venue).

    --------
    Are you selling alcohol at the wedding, or are they serving it?




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  • MKM2014MKM2014 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited July 2014
    They're serving it, guests won't pay. Sales was the term they used at the venue I guess just because you have the option of a cash bar. But it's all just the one bill we are picking up at the end of the night, bar service does have to stop at 11
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  • MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    It seems fine to me.  Ours was 4.5 plus cocktail hour, and there were guests who wanted to continue partying.  

    Be sure to cut the cake earlier in the evening.  Some guests seem to feel uncomfortable leaving before the cake has been served.  If people don't want to stay all night, they'll usually be ok leaving after the cake is served.  
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  • monkeysipmonkeysip member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    Excluding cocktail hour, our reception was set to be about 4 hours long, but we didn't leave until about another 1/2 hour after that.  A lot of guests had left, but there were still a lot left who would've stayed, and  they ended up all going out to some bars that night.  So I think people will surprise you with how long they want to party!

    For H and I, I think 4-4.5 hours was a good amount of time.  We probably could've stayed a little longer, but we were tired and ready to go back to the hotel.

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  • Cookie PusherCookie Pusher member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Our reception and cocktail hour package was 5 hours (4-9PM). The caterer was ready to go 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, which worked out well as our ceremony ended up being a few minutes shorter than we anticipated. We had a few guests leave before the end, but it was mostly because they either had to take care of their pets or had longer drives home. The vast majority stayed, and we had almost a quarter of the guests come out to party more with us afterwards.
    ~*~*~*~*~

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  • doeydodoeydo member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I guess Canadians like to party more than Americans, because that seems like an early ending to me.  2:00 sounds like a decent time to end a wedding.
    image
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  • Cookie PusherCookie Pusher member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    doeydo said:
    I guess Canadians like to party more than Americans, because that seems like an early ending to me.  2:00 sounds like a decent time to end a wedding.
    For some people, it has to do with liquor laws. A lot of places can only serve up to a certain time - and that doesn't just mean they have to stop pouring drinks, it means they cannot have customers in the establishment at all after that time. 
    ~*~*~*~*~

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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    doeydo said:
    I guess Canadians like to party more than Americans, because that seems like an early ending to me.  2:00 sounds like a decent time to end a wedding.
    No, I don't think that is the case.  In America wedding receptions last, typically, 4-5 hours.  That's just how it is here.  It also depends on the venue, but many times when you book a venue you can only book for a set amount of times and depending on that venues liquor license they may not be able to serve alcohol or have people within their establishment after a certain time.  And also, sorry not sorry, but paying for an open bar (whether it be full or limited) for, say, 9 hours would be an insane amount of money and definitely not doable by most people.

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  • climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I don't think that's too long. 

    Most evening weddings around here end between 11 and 12. Then there's the after party. 
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  • Cookie PusherCookie Pusher member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Our venue was a public space with houses behind it. Noise ordinances would not permit us to be on the grounds later than 10PM - but the caterer needed an hour to clean up, so we had to be done by 9. We invited our guests to come out to a food truck (yes, we paid) with us afterwards and then went to a few bars with whoever wanted to tag along.
    ~*~*~*~*~

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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    That sounds like a pretty typical length to me. Some people will leave early, some will close down the dance floor.
    image
    image
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  • PrettyGirlLostPrettyGirlLost member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    MKM2014 said:

    I'm getting married pretty soon (August 9!) and I'm starting to put together details with the DJ

    Our ceremony is at 4:30 PM and we expect a cocktail hour to start at about 5:15-5:30, bridal party to arrive before 6:30 & dinner to start at 6:30-6:45

    Until now I was planning on ending the reception at 11:00 (this is when alcohol sales have to stop at our venue).

    Throughout the reception we will have the standard cake cutting, bouquet & garter toss & there will also be a photobooth throughout the night. Our venue is indoors but has easy access to a nice outdoor space & we were thinking about setting up some lawn games too. And of course dancing to start after dinner & go throughout the night & an open bar.

    For some reason I'm just thinking this seems long? Do you think it should wrap up a little earlier, like 10:00 or 10:30?

    This is a know your crowd thing. Many on here will tell you your reception is too long.

    In my circle, that's standard. I'd be very sad to attend a wedding with dances that ended before 10 or 11pm.

    And unless your guests are being held hostage by pirates, they are free to leave whenever they like. If they feel "guilted" or obligated to stay for certain things or for a specific amount of time, that's on them.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


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  • JMS62415JMS62415 member
    Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment First Anniversary
    edited July 2014
    Ours is going to be from 4-10, starting with the cocktail hour from 4-4:45/5, dinner at 5, dancing from 6-10 but we'd stay longer if they'd let us. Noise ordinances say we have to shut off the music at 10 so we'll be out around 11. I don't think yours is much more than that. 
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