How long is your reception? After party?

Preliminary schedule is ceremony at 5pm and the venue closes at 1am. But I assume almost everyone will be gone before that, maybe 12am or so.

As a Brazilian, we also party all night, ceremonies usually start later (around 7-8 pm) and the reception usually ends around 4 or 5 am.

Ceremony @ 5:30pm cocktail hour 6pm-7pm dinner 7pm, reception until 11pm. We are also having an after party until 1am. We have a younger crowd, though (a lot of cousins and friends are currently on our guest list, and the after party is at the venue's bar) and I'm hoping everyone will take advantage of the hotel block we're planning as well as the transportation we're planning.

I would be way passed out by then! Lol

Ours is from 530ish-10pm. We are young but still get tired like an old couple. So no late nights for us!

That seems crazy long to me. Our ceremony is at 6 cocktail hour n reception 630-1130pm. We are going to the lobby bar at our hotel after.

The one thing I hate about US weddings is how short they are. In Ireland they start with ceremony around 1pm and end around 2 or 3am lol - it's a cultural

Thing, to me for the money it costs the short wedding times here are not great value for money and the time will pass way too fast

Haha, I'd also be asleep by 3am You're not old! We were real fuddy-duddies, wedding at 2pm, reception from 4-9pm. No after party, although there was a bar downstairs so we knew that if people were up for it they could continue the fun downstairs.

It would be a shame to miss out on this tradition, I'm sure his family in Columbia would appreciate staying up a little late to party. Moving it all to start later is probably a good idea. I know you'll be excited, but maybe you can sneak in a nice siesta in the middle of the day?

My brother just married a woman who grew up in Colombia. Their reception ended at 11 and then they had an after party that included the carnival dancers. I believe the party was still going strong at 4am!

If your reception is in Columbia and that is what they are used to then you should be fine going with their customary timeline. Make sure there is some good coffee available and I bet your guest may surprise you. I'd force myself to stay awake if I was in a different country for an authentic wedding in their cultures style, I'd be excited to witness it.

Oh but to answer your question we are doing: cocktails 6:30-7:15, ceremony at 7:30, dinner at 8 and reception until 12:30 am

Ours is 5-10pm including a cocktail hour. No formal after party, but we'll probably gather at someone's rental house for some extra brews.

Our ceremony is at 5:45 or 6 (still deciding) and the reception goes until 11.

Mine (in Canada) ended shortly after 1 a.m. But in Mexico, parties last until 5 a.m. at the very least. My dad is famed for always leaving "early" at 3 a.m., haha. I don't know Colombian customs, but in Mexico if the reception ends at 1 a.m., your guests are going to be quite upset - and will remember forever.

What time are you serving dinner? I'd suggest having the ceremony at 7 p.m., start the reception around 8:30 p.m., serve dinner at 9, open the dance floor at 10. Also, I don't know if this is common in Colombia, but in Mexico you have to serve breakfast for those who are still there at 5 a.m. We serve a traditional Mexican breakfast (barbacoa de carnero, chilaquiles, tamales, etc.)

Our reception is from 5:30-10pm

Everything is a total of 5 hours.

My best friend is married to a Colombian and yes they party til the next morning! I'm sure your wedding will be fun. I would try to have the ceremony a little later (6 or 7) so the guests not accustomed to long partying will not have such a long day and can probably stay later since they had more time relaxing beforehand. Good luck :-)

Can you compromise? Start the ceremony around 5:00 and then have the show at 10:00 instead of midnight? Shut it down around 1am.

My ceremony is at 4:30. The reception will start around 5:30 till 10pm.

There is no way I would make it to 3am, I would say end by midnight at latest.