dj end time

When does your venue require you to leave so vendors can pack up? Find out and let your dj go with the flow playing music until you have to be out.


Can you start dancing during/before dinner? Waiting 1.5 hrs is a long time.

I think until 11 or 12 would work! Is there a specific time that you would need to be out of the venue by? When does your venue do last call (if you're serving alcohol at your reception)? You may want to factor those times in to how long you book your DJ for.

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No out time by venue. It is at a american legion in a super small town so there are really no restrictions. They told me they will serve alcohol until everyone leaves. I guess I was thinking eating would take about an hour with the social interaction, and the DJ would be setting up during dinner? Maybe if DJ started at 7:00?

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No out time by venue. Thank you for your advice!

View Quoted Comment Usually the dj is set up before you arrive so they can play ambient music during cocktail hour and dinner.

My DJ was set up before dinner, but did not do cocktail hr due to limitations at venue.


He performed our introduction, first dance, and background music during dinner. (My guests got up to dance as soon as they were done eating. No official opening of the dance floor). I would not have him play til midnight as that seems very long to me. I think typically receptions go about 4 hrs (plus an hr or so for cocktail hr so 5 total). If the reception starts at 5:30 that’s 6.5 til the end. (It could be a know your crowd thing too) I personally would have him end at 9:30 or 10. Our reception started at 5 and most of our guests were gone by 8:30. We had a winter wedding and it was precipitating a wintery mix for reference.

Your DJ should be there for dinner, too.

If dinner is at 6, dancing will likely start around 7ish. But a DJ is the best person to ask on this, as well as their hourly rates. Some may just charge you for 8 hours (including setup).

That's a really long reception if you're doing 5:30-12. Is that not including the actual ceremony?

If someone wants a longer reception then go for it if there's no curfew. How is that different from partying into the early hours at a bar or 3 afterward? Many cultures are just starting as soon as others end for the night. And many brides say they wish the party lasted longer. Guests who wish to leave early can do so while others will stay till the end.

Sure, you can book the DJ until 12am, but I don’t think guests will stick around that long. What time is your ceremony starting? Your guests will arrive 30 minutes before your ceremony. So when you calculate that arrival time through midnight, it’s fairly long.

We had a similar timeline, but our ceremony and reception were in the same place. Happy hour at 5:30 (bar opened and there were snacks in the guest goody bags) with dinner at 6:30 and toasts and dances at 7. We ran a little ahead of that time line, but we had the Dj until 10 as we had to be out by 11.

10:30 would be the traditional answer. You lose most guests after cake anyway