Extending the reception.

I think 30 minutes is fine. As a DOC I always close the bar about 15 - 20 min before the night ends, and I never do a 'last call' because that just leads to people rushing to get booze and it makes it hard to get people to leave as they all have a fresh glass.

If you extend the reception by one hour, your bar should have the same amount of extension too.

We end up going out to a bar with some of our guests - no one was "obligated" to come, we told people by word of mouth, and once getting there, everyone paid for their own drinks.

I think 30 minutes is the best bet. It sort of signals the party is beginning to wrap up. Some people will leave, but some will also stay until the last dance has been played. Like The Nuptials said, it'll give people time to finish their last drink too so they won't have to rush out. My reception ends at 12am, but our bar will be closing at 11:30.

How long is your reception if you don't extend it? A standard reception is 4 hours, and that's really plenty. That said, if you do choose to extend it, the bar should be open as long as the reception is going on, IMO.

View Quoted Comment It's 4.5 hours long. When I'm going through the timeline it feels rushed, which is why we're wanting to extend it.

I think it's fine to close the bar about 15 minutes early, you don't want people getting fresh drinks as it's ending, but I wouldn't close it any more than 30 minutes early.

I'd have the bar open as long as the reception is. Our bar closes 30 minutes prior the end of the reception though.

View Quoted Comment

I'm a wedding singer and literally every wedding I've ever attended or played has been a 4-hour reception. If yours is already 4.5, I'd honestly just leave it. You really don't need more time than that to go through all your formalities, have dinner and party time.

Hmm that’s a tough one (actually this prompts me to ask a question so thank you for reminder lol!) but does your reception offer late night coffee? I would close the bar a half hour before. Give people half hour to gather their things, say good bye and get some coffee in them if anyone is driving. Plus if everyone leaves like 10 minutes before or something then that gives you a wee bit more time to gather everything so you don’t feel as pressured.

If you extend the reception a full hour; I would extend the bar 30 minutes. Honestly, people will start to leave when the bar closes but as a DOC, I always close the bar about 20 minutes before

View Quoted Comment

100% agree. 4.5 hours is more than enough. However, if you're extending an hour, then bar stays open for the hour.

View Quoted Comment Including dinner and cocktail hour?

I encourage you to consider your timeline and goal for extending your reception as you consider how long to extend the bar. As mentioned earlier, closing the bar is an indicator that the party is starting to wind down. It may be beneficial to consider how your guests will respond to your event if they are likely to leave as the bar closes and your goal is to keep the party going, or even carry over to another location for an after party. You may also wish to consider the time of day your wedding will be held. I imagine fewer people will stay and drink for a full hour late into the night versus earlier in the day. If your guests are a drinking crowd, I am certain they would appreciate the extended open bar. If you expect they will mostly drink casually, it may not be worth the expense of extending the bar for the full hour. Whatever you decide, your guests will enjoy the extra time to celebrate you and your partner!

Our reception was from 6 -11 p.m. which I thought was just the right amount of time. 4 hours would have seemed too short. I would say keep the bar open the entire time.

View Quoted Comment If that 4.5 hours includes cocktail hour, I think you should extend it.

Our entire reception, including cocktail hour, is 5.5 hours, and we're paying for 5 hours of open bar. Here's a rough outline of our timeline:

4:30-5:30 - cocktail hour

5:30-5:45 - entrance, first dance, speeches (bar closed, guests will have champagne at their seats)

5:45-6:45 - dinner

6:45 - dessert bar opens

7-10 - dancing (bar closes at 9:45)

View Quoted Comment

No, cocktail hour is separate. 1-hour cocktails, 4-hour reception, reception includes dinner. Standard wedding formula.

View Quoted Comment Gotcha I was going to say that sounded short but with cocktail hour added in seems normal. Most venues I looked at did a 6 hour package for the cocktail/reception.

View Quoted Comment Yeah I agree!

Every wedding I've ever attended, the bar has closed 30 minutes prior. I think 30 minutes is absolutely fine and it's the norm, at least where I live (Florida, although have also attended weddings in NC and RI)