{"id":51527,"date":"2014-10-25T16:44:32","date_gmt":"2014-10-25T16:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.topweddingquestions.com\/blog\/?p=6656"},"modified":"2014-10-25T16:44:32","modified_gmt":"2014-10-25T16:44:32","slug":"how-long-should-a-reception-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/wedding-reception\/how-long-should-a-reception-be","title":{"rendered":"How Long Should A Reception Be?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How late should I reception go til, is 8pm too early?<\/h1>\n

We are getting married at 3pm on a Saturday. The reception hall is about 10 minutes away from the church. We are planning a cocktail hour from 4-5 and dinner at 5.30. Since most vendors do everything in 4 hours increments that means our reception will end at 8pm, is this too early for the night to end? We can’t afford another 4 hours of everything, any suggestions?<\/p>\n

Emmanuela Stanislaus, Precious Occasions, Wedding and Event Planner<\/h4>\n

There isn’t anything that says that you need to end your reception at any specific time. The end time really depends on the type of vibe that you want for your reception. For example, if you want to have more of a party atmosphere, you may want to have the reception end later. If not, then you are okay with the end time that you have set. However, I do recommend that you add an additional hour to the reception site to allow time for all of the formalities like speeches, cutting the cake, garter and bouquet toss, and allowing time for guests to have a good time. While you’re correct that most vendors operate in four hour time blocks, most of them will allow you to add an hour or two to the package that you have booked with them. The vendors that I would suggest you consider adding one hour with would be your venue, photographer, and videographer (if you have one). I hope this is helpful. Good luck!<\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/h3>\n