Concerned about a short wedding reception timeline...

I'd opt for going straight into dinner. Five hours doesn't give a lot of time to try and fit everything in. Is it a small wedding guest list? If so, you might have an announcement made that guests are free to get a drink and then find their table with dinner served at 6:45.

8-11 is 3 hours.... or do your vendors need the last hour to clean?

Our standard time frame for a Friday is 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 hours for Saturdays. This is 30 minutes for ceremony, hour for cocktail hour and either three or four hours for dinner and dancing. I think this is plenty of time for either day. If you are doing photos beforehand you will be just fine.

@MFB Agree 6-11 would totally work. OPs timeline only goes til 10 though which seems to be tight...

OP, could you clarify if the reception is ending at 10 or 11?

I don't have the contract in front of me about the cleanup, but I'll check once I get home. If it does include cleanup that could be a problem! I have a bad feeling that everything needs to be wrapped up by 11. I'm not having super complicated centerpieces or decor, so the cleanup won't take too much time. Things like the linens and setup are things the venue handles.

I'm keeping the guest list around 100, probably making some cuts.

We also have to vacate our venue by 11pm. I am hosting a cocktail hour before the ceremony (5-6), ceremony 6-6:30 and then serving dinner at 7:00. Being a Friday evening, I wanted to allow time for guests to make it to the ceremony. The half hour between the ceremony and dinner we are snapping some quick family photos and allowing the guests time to get drinks and find their seats for the reception. We are doing a first look and wedding party pictures before cocktail hour.

I agree with LB -- what's up with the last hour?

First of all, I'd lose the cocktail hour entirely. Depending on the expanse of your bar service, it could take guests 15 minutes to get a drink. That's going to be the time period that experiences the most pouring. Even if you have several bars open, a half an hour just seems too short.

Secondly, are you really going to be able to serve dinner the minute the reception starts (which you have down as 7:00 PM)? I think it's going to take some time to get everyone served, and that's if you're not having a buffet. Added to that is the fact that most dinners last longer than 45 minutes (which is what you've scheduled). My experience is that dinner is, at the very least, an hour long.

So, you see, it's imperative that we know about that last hour because a two hour dance party is going to absolutely fly by (they do when they're four hours).

ETA: OP, I just looked at your profile and found your venue. It's lovely, historic, and appears to be the type of place that handles the clean-up. I'd be shocked if they don't. And as far as your décor is concerned, since they're handling everything on the tables, collecting your florals and décor pieces will not take you an hour. I'm crossing my fingers that you're good to go until 10:45 or so, which is a lot better for you.

Five hours is pretty typical, so as long as guests can be there until 11, I think you're fine.

Our ceremony started at 6, and our reception went until 11:30. Our timeline went:

6-6:30 ceremony

6:30-7:30 cocktail hour

7:30-7:40 guests seated for dinner

7:40 toasts

7:50-8:45 dinner

8:50 first dance & father-daughter dance

9 dancing starts

9:20 cake cutting & dessert served

dancing until the end.

Will your ceremony and reception be in the same spot? Mine will be and the caterer said it will probably take almost the entire hour to flip the room which is why my cocktail hour will be a full hour.

The ceremony and reception will only be in the same spot if it rains! So fingers crossed it doesn't! If not then it won't be a problem to skip a cocktail hour. I'll definitely update once I confirm the 10 or 11 pm timeframe.

That is my exact timeline:

6 ceremony

6:30 cocktail hour

7:15 dinner seating begins

7:30 wedding party intro

7:40 salads served

8:00 dinner service

8:30 cake cutting and dances

8:45/8:50 dance floor opens

11:00 end of reception

Same time frame as mine! We're skipping cocktail hour completely since ceremony and reception are in the same place, and taking pix beforehand. We're also offering drinks as guests arrive for the ceremony.

3:00 pictures

5:00 finish set up, finish pictures, time to breathe/touch up make-up

6:00 ceremony

6:20ish straight into toasts and dinner

7:30-45ish start dances

11:00 last call, close up

What I witness at every single wedding I work with regards to time :

-it takes a minimum of 15 minutes for guests to move from cocktail location to dinner table. It doesn’t matter how few guests you have, how short a distance guests have to walk, or how often your DJ politely asks guests to take their seats. Plan on a minimum if 15 minutes being spent on this alone. IMO skip cocktail hour and go straight to being seated for dinner.

- the number of speeches/toasts you have will significantly impact your reception timeline. I have seen people take too long giving their speech and ruin the dinner hour/food quality. Keep the mic use to a minimum and tell those using to keep it short and sweet. No speeches, just toasts. IMO skip toasts and just have you and FH use the mic to thank everyone for coming.

- do all pics before the ceremony thus leaving only candids being taken after the ceremony.

Your timeline is tight but you can certainly keep it moving without it feeling rushed. All pics done ahead of time, no cocktail hour, no speeches.

We have to be out of ours by 11pm too. What I've came up with is:

5:00-5:30- Ceremony

5:30-6:30- Cocktail Hour

6:30-6:45- Entrances, first dances, etc.,

6:45-8:00- Dinner & toasts

8:00-8:15- Cake Cutting

8:15-11:00- Dancing

I'm in the beginning stages of planning, but I'm worried about my timeline too. 6:00 ceremony, 6:30 parade (New Orleans 2nd line) then return to venue where dinner will be ready at 7:00 and we have to be out of there at 10:00. We will be doing pictures before hand.

I will definitely consider the no speech thing!

OH yeah, I've been to some weddings where the speeches seemed to last forever. I'm already planning on not having the speeches and nothing more than quick toasts.

That a girl Rae!

Went to a wedding that had over a half hours worth of speeches. Food was cold when it was finally served, so I'm also in the no speeches camp.

Okay, so looking at my contract we need to be completely off the premises by 11 pm. So we will need to consider a few minutes of cleanup. That being said, other than the centerpieces and a couple personal items they are cleaning up the tables and other things.