Each venue will have its own specific set of rules and time stamps. And a lot of the time, it will depend on the particular package that the couple chooses – because it’s usually based on the hours of use.
Ask a lot of questions when scoping venues, including if you’re able to tack on any extra “dancing” hours to the end of the night. Most of the time, hotels and venues made specifically for weddings will be the most flexible when it comes to the late night hours.
Other Expert Answers
Woman Getting Married
“You want the party to go late into the night, but you’re restricted by how late the venue will allow your reception to go until. I was totally one of those brides. We were lucky enough to have a venue that let us go until 2 a.m. if we wanted, but the thing is, nobody wants to stay at a wedding that late.
So, just how long should a wedding reception last? And what would your wedding timeline look like if it has to end by 10 p.m.?
The first thing you’ll want to figure out is a total length of time for your wedding ceremony/reception. I think the magic number for a ceremony and reception is 6 hours total. That would be an hour (ideally 30 minutes or less) for the ceremony, an hour for cocktails immediately following the ceremony, then 4 hours for dinner/dancing.” – Woman Getting Married
“Fortunately, for wedding planners and vendors like me, most of the time, the reception gets limited to four or five hours. That’s what most venue and catering packages are based on. Oh sure, you can extend things, but here’s a list of five reasons why you should not make your wedding reception last all night long:
Huffington Post
- Five hours of an unrestricted open bar is enough alcohol for any wedding guest to ingest.
- When you extend your wedding reception to more hours than what is standard for your venue, you’re extending the staffing time for everybody on your dime.
- Wedding days and nights are exhausting.
- The potential for drama increases exponentially after five hours of drinking and partying.
- The later the reception runs, the higher the probability of accidents happening to your guests.” – Huffington Post
WedShed
“How do you get around a venue curfew?
Here are some suggestions we have.
Start everything earlier
Everything. Earlier ceremony, first dance, meal, speeches. Have a lunchtime wedding. Basically, give yourself the maximum amount of time to celebrate and make the most of the dance floor so you feel like you’ve had an epic long party by the end.
Wedding after-party
If you know that there’ll be a solid contingent of guests that are keen to kick on after curfew, arrange an after-party at a local bar or hotel that will still be open. You can let guests know that a bus will be arriving at the curfew time to transport the party people to the next destination. The only thing to remember is that not everyone may be allowed in (don’t forget what we said earlier about people getting intoxicated).
New Year’s Eve wedding
Some venues will be a bit more lenient on the curfew if it’s NYE. After all, the party can’t really wrap up before midnight.
Plan a recovery session the next day
Have an amazing wedding, go to bed and then get up the next day knowing you’ll continue to enjoy your friends and family’s company because you’ve organized a get-together.
Whether it’s a recovery brunch where you consume the leftovers or a pub lunch, we loved enjoying all our guest’s company the next day. And it made saying goodbye on the wedding night easier.
Private property wedding
If a curfew is an absolute deal-breaker and you really can’t handle one of the solutions above at one of our lovely venues, consider asking if any friends or family know someone with a farm that would be open to hosting a wedding.” – WedShed