Ceremony & Reception Start Time

Well when does your ceremony begin? My reception is 4 hours FYI.

I have seen people go out afterwards to celebrate longer.

@ GymRat, I was planning for ceremony to being at 3 but after timing everything out, its seems pretty tight. Alyssachu, haven't thought about that. However, then I would have to pay for another DJ.

At my friends wedding, we went to the hotels where everyone was staying's bar. They had appetizers preordered for everyone. Last week another friend walked a block to the bars and kept partying.

Is your ceremony and reception at the same location? Lets say it is:

3-3:30pm ceremony

3:30-4:30pm cocktail hour

4:30-8:30pm reception (or make it 5 hours ending at 9:30pm).

So the only way it would be tight is if your ceremony and reception are in two different locations, very far apart and if you decide to have a 5 hour reception instead of 4 hours.

If you want to forego the expense of having to get another DJ, then hit up a bar, lounge or club.

Just consider this: you are going to be up very early getting hair/make-up done and possibly pictures before the ceremony. Think about the amount of energy you'll have towards the end of the night to continue to host your guests.

^^ Completely agree with @GymRat! If you have a 30 min ceremony, 1 hour cocktail hour, then 4-5 hour reception then that is plenty of time!! You can always pick a bar for people who want to keep partying after the reception ends!

I am having my ceremony at 4 in a local park and then we are relocating to the reception venue will there will be a cocktail hour from 5-6, dinner, cake cutting and then dancing from 7:45-10:30. That is way more than enough time to dance, hang out, and have fun. Your feet will hurt, you will be tired, you will probably want alone time with DH at that point.

FH and I are having an after party at a dueling piano bar. We are providing an open bar at cocktail hour/ dinner (not really having a reception since it's a small wedding), but once we get to the piano bar, everyone pays for themselves. I *think* our time line will look like this:

6:00-6:20 ceremony

6:20-7:00 cocktail hour

7:00-8:15 dinner

8:15-8:30/45 cake

9:00-? piano bar

Here's our time-line with everything in one location

5-6 ceremony

6-7 cocktail hour

7-8 dinner

8-11 dancing.

For us, 3 hours of drinking and dancing is plenty. We are all mid-20s and love to have a good time. We will go to a bar next door after to continue celebrating

My "after party" is going to be FH and I alone in our hotel room..

Our venue and most if not all other venues we looked at all have the ceremony plus reception time at 5 hours. I feel like that is a pretty standard amount of time but I agree with pp if you really need/ want more time have an after party. You could probably even see if the venue will allow you to add an hour

You can always do an after party just at a local bar. There is no requirement to have anything formal afterwards. Your financial job is done after the reception IMO.

Ask your hotel if your guests can hang in the lobby or in their bar. Make sure their bar stays open late, sometimes hotel bars close early. I talked to the manager where we have a hotel block bc our reception has to end at 1030. They will have the bar open and don't mind people hanging out in the lobby with coolers either. I'm planning on ordering pizzas there for my "late night snack" instead of at the reception. Then you can leave and go to your hotel room at any point vs if you were out a bar you might be stuck there later.

Thank you all for all of your ideas and timelines. I see now that I have a few options that me and FH can think about to get us started.