Is a 3 hour reception too long?

Our wedding is 6 hours total

Ceremony:30 minutes

Receiving line: 30 mins

Cocktail hour: 1 hour

Reception: 4 hours

My family loves to dance so we want 2 hours of just dancing; do you have a DJ? If so just turn that music up and let your guests dance the night/day away. Everything will work out ; your guest will feed off of your energy so once you have fun I am sure everyone will follow.

Happy wedding planning

We're looking into a DJ, but the cruise company wants $800 to add one to the reception (not sure if this is in general or just a DJ they work with personally). My sister knows a ton of DJs and can get us a better price, so if we can bring in our own we will have one (if not, we might opt for an iPod wedding!) But I know the majority of the people we are inviting will not want to dance for two hours, which is why I think 3 hours is a bit much.

I also didn't think of a receiving line. How did I forget that? I'm so new to this whole thing!

Should I also be taking photography into consideration for the length of the reception?

Luckily you still have time to work on the logistics, but if your family & friends are not the "dancing type" 3 hours may be a tad bit too long.

During the reception you still have:

Dinner ( plated dinner can take an hour)

First dance/father-daughter dance/cake cutting/ bouquet toss etc

All the things above can take a total of 1.5 hours - 2 hours; so a 2 hour reception might be perfect in your case if possible.

During the last hour(if you want the reception to last 3 hours) you can always make your rounds and go visit each table, and mingle with your guest.

Tami, a 45 minute photo break might definitely help make 3 hours easier to manage. Definitely something to think about. And the majority of the wedding would be indoors, not on the decks, so you wouldn't be able to tell you're on the water because the boat has a smooth bottom and doesn't rock

Shelley, the only dance I'm sure of right now is the first dance. I don't think I'll be having a father-daughter dance, but isn't there a mother-son dance as well? That could factor into the total length. Since it will be small, the last hour could definitely be used to talk to guests, since there will be some family there I haven't seen in a loooooong time.

We are having the following dances:

First dance

Father-daughter

Mother-son

Mother-daughter

Lol, my point is you can do whatever you want; it's your day

If you take a 45 minute photo break just make sure that your guests are entertained during this time. Our photo break will be during our cocktail hour; since your wedding is during lunch I am sure some light refreshments will be greatly appreciated by your guests

Though it seems like a long time it actually might fly by a little faster while they view the sites from the yacht! Btw, nice choice in venue!

Oh yeah, a mother-daughter dance! Duh. Totally forgot about that one. We could probably do all four then, but I think it would be cute to have the father-daughter dance be for FH and his daughter.

I'm just trying to figure out what the "conventions" are and if we can get away with breaking them without making things totally unbearable for our guests. A cocktail hour is definitely a possible, I'll ask FH what he thinks in the morning (since he's sleeping now like I should be lol!) Thanks, Shelley!

You are very welcome; time for me to go to bed

If you need anymore help just let me know

Christa, that's true. I love looking back at the city from boats, such a wonderful view! I love the Boston skyline, and I think my out of town, and even in town, guests would enjoy it too. And thanks, we originally were going to have it at an estate, but a yacht sounded so much cooler

Tami, alcohol is permitted, so it's entirely possible to extend the photo session. I didn't think of reception games, and I haven't even decided if I'm going to do a bouquet toss yet (leaning towards yes, but still not sure). And it's entirely possible that I could dance with my FIL, I'll ask FH what he thinks. I'm just nervous because all of a sudden it's 349 days away, and time is flying!! So much to do, so little time to do it all.

I should be going to sleep as well, but I'm sure I'll have more posts to respond to at a more civilized hour (at least here on the East Coast). Thanks, ladies, much appreciated!

Our wedding/reception will be like a pp...

Ceremony is 1-1.5 hours (It's a Catholic ceremony performed by a Bishop lol)

Cocktail Hour/Wedding pics- 1 hour

Reception: 4p-8p so 4 hours. We are needing to be done and out by 10 or we all get locked in the park! lol It closes so we figure wrap it up by 8p and clean up, we should be out before the Park Rangers hold us hostage for the night! lol

That amount of time on a boat will be fine, assuming none of your guests are bringing small children or that your guests have issues with motion sickness. If you've got any guests who'll be pregnant at the time of your wedding or just in case some guests have issues with motion, it would probably be a good idea to have some motion sickness medicine/stomach aids in stock for the boat. But I personally would not have any issue with being on a boat for 6 hours

YOUR RECEPTION HOUR ARE FINE COMPARED TO MINE MY RECEPTION IS FROM 6:30-12A. WE ARE GONNA HAVE 150 PEOPLE AND I HAVE A LOT OF FAMILY SO IT WILL BE LIKE A MINI REUNION INSIDE MY RECEPTION. I DO HAVE A QUESTION WHAT IS THE RECEIVING LINE?

Yes. If you're having group pictures done that should be allotted too, you can't do that when the major stuffs going on jut basic dance songs, so 3 hours is probably cutting it close!

And here i thought my 4 hour reception wasnt long enough!!

I think a 3 hour reception on a yacht is the PERFECT amount of time. With 50 guests, there's enough people to socialize, and I'm sure a lot of the entertainment will be enjoying the view as the yacht cruises around the harbor. If I was invited to your wedding, I would be really excited to go on a yacht; I wouldn't even care about lack of a dance floor or reception games if you ultimately decide not to have any of that.

Lol ours is:

Ceremony: 30mins 4.30-5pm

Cocktail hour: 1 hour 5-6pm

Reception: 6 hours 6pm-12am

It's perfect, but I would make the ceremony shorter. No one wants an hour ceremony, and unless you're doing a mass, it's just not necessary. Do a half hour ceremony, cocktails, lunch and cake; it's perfect.

They're on a yacht! There's scenery! It's perfect.

No most wedding receptions are between 4 and 6 hours