11pm reception end time.. is it too late? Also, gap hour opinions solicited.

Where I come from, big weddings end at midnight or later so I personally would be totally fine with 11pm though if you're able to avoid the hour gap I would.

If it only takes 10 minutes to get from venue to venue then I would suggest a gap of no more than 30 minutes.

I wouldn't do a 1 hour gap, maybe 30 minutes at most. But no, 11pm is not too long for the reception to end. Our upcoming reception will be ending at 11pm and I am positive that the party will continue elsewhere afterwards

11 pm is a great ending time for a Saturday wedding, but I agree with the PPs that I'd make it a priority to eliminate that gap. As a guest, I would likely take an Uber or cab instead of walking 10 minutes if I'm dressed nicely and in high-heel shoes, and you should also account for people who can't easily walk, or if it's raining/bad weather (also not sure where you're located, but it says your wedding is in January? Depending on where you are, that might be awfully cold to walk in wedding-guest attire). Anyway, you also don't want people standing around for an hour waiting for cocktail hour to start, and I don't think it would be self-evident for guests to go to a bar near the venue. I would recommend moving the ceremony start time in order to eliminate the gap. Or at the very least, shorten the gap to 30 minutes maximum

Thank you ladies for your feedback!

There aren’t any older people coming, everyone is in their 30’s. Everyone is coming from out of town so we want to be able to spend as much time with everyone as possible, hence delaying the cocktail hour a little bit so we could spend more time with everyone. Doing the 1 hour gap allows for people to walk around, grab a drink or hot cocoa, take photos (the town square is decorated for Christmas), and enjoy the scenery. It’s in north Florida which never snows, temp will be 40s-60s depending on the day, though there is the chance for the occasional rainstorm although it isn’t the rainy season. I def hear what you all are saying and I appreciate the feedback!

11:00 is a perfect end time.

As far as gap hour, I would skip that. Guests do not want to stand around for an hour with nothing to do. I would have cocktail hour start as soon as guests start arriving at the reception venue. As a guest, they are not going to be interested in taking a stroll and snapping photos when they are anticipating cocktail hour and a wedding reception to begin.

Can you extend cocktail hour, and have it start a half an hour earlier? That way guests can get a drink upon arrival and eliminates that long gap... I also wouldn't want to walk if I'm all dressed up with hair and makeup, and 40 degrees is still chilly.

The gap doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me but i like what PP suggested to extend cocktail hour by another half hour

I would avoid the gap as well. You're hosting your guests from the beginning of the ceremony until the end of the reception. The 11 o"clock end time is fine. You may have guests ducking out a bit earlier than that, which is to be expected.