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Evening Ceremony & Reception. Is This Enough Time?

posted 1 year ago in Reception
  • 2 Members Subscribed To Topic
  • poll: What Should We Do??
    Ceremony & Reception at the Museum and End Everything at 11 pm : (7 votes)
    27 %
    Ceremony & Reception at the Museum and Continue with an After Party : (14 votes)
    54 %
    Ceremony Only at Museum and Keep Looking for a Later Reception Venue : (5 votes)
    19 %
    Something Else?? (Explain Below) : (0 votes)
  •  
    1.
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    Blushing bee
    xx_ambyrr_xx    July 13, 2013   Canada

    In our search for an indoor ceremony space we came across a local museum that hold evening events. Their rental hours begin at 6:30 pm (can start set-up at 5pm) and everything must be wrapped up for 11:00 pm exit.

    My question is do we have enough time to do everything. Our ceremony is going to  be short and sweet (20-30 mins) and we are not doing a sit down dinner, rather a cocktail reception. FI is convinced that this is not long enough. I offered the idea of the 'after party' where we could shuttle everyone who wanted to come to a bar/club and keep going til last call. He says we will "lose to many people in between".

    What do you guys think? I welcome any comments or ideas from Bee's who have been in or attended weddings like that!!

     
    2.
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    pengoala    September 4, 2011  

    @xx_ambyrr_xx: I certainly hope so!  Our ceremony is slated to start at 6pm, and the whole evening ending at 11pm.  I wanted to keep it short and sweet, and on good days, I feel pretty good about it.  I hear ya about the panic that it won't be enough time though.  But I think if we plan it out with timelines, everything should be okay!

     
    3.
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    Busy bee
    blg529    August 6, 2011   Los Angeles

    That's pretty short. Most weddings I've been to have been evening weddings and they've gone 6-12 or 6-12:30. I agree with your FI that you will lose a lot of people between the reception and the after-party.

     
    4.
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    Helper bee
    canuckbee    July 10, 2011  

    @xx_ambyrr_xx

     
    5.
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    Bumble bee
    Mrs.RDV    September 17, 2011   Canada

    I think it is enough time.

    You say 11pm exit, does that mean you have to have everything cleaned up by 11pm, or just the people have to be out of there. Because if you have to take your decorations and everything out by 11pm, then that may not be enough time as you'd have to be done everything by around 10-10:30pm.

    I say this because I was MOH in a wedding and they had to have it cleaned up by 11pm I think it was and tear down started 1.5 hours before, so just as everyone is getting into party mode the party stopped.

     
    6.
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    Blushing bee
    xx_ambyrr_xx    July 13, 2013   Canada

    @Mrs.RDV: This is something that I have to look into further. That is the wording they use in the rental package so I will have to find out what it means exactly.

    They also have very strict rules about decorating so I imagine there isn't a ton of stuff we will be allowed to do anyway.

     

     
    7.
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    Helper bee
    canuckbee    July 10, 2011  

    I'm not sure what happened to the rest of my post! I was going to say reception time tends to vary significantly by region, so you should consider what is typical regarding where you live, and how long you want your wedding to be in comparison.

    In Northern California where I live many venues had 4 or 5 hour time frames including ceremony and reception, however I'm from Ontario and I think the party is just getting going after 4 or 5 hours!  Many brides local to me here (and many bees) have said that they would want to have alone time with their husbands by that time, however I want to celebrate with my friends and family as long as I can!

    Given that you are in Canada, I'd consider moving it to an afterparty somewhere nearby!

     
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    Honey bee
    Aure    October 6, 2012   Las Vegas

    You may lose people going to an afterparty, but the partiers and close friends would make it. It may be a more intimate and fun continuance of the reception.

     
    9.
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    Blushing bee
    xx_ambyrr_xx    July 13, 2013   Canada

    @Aure: That is what I was thinking, any guests that want to leave earlier can do so at that time and anyone that wants to continue the party can carry on to the next place.

    I think that most weddings here go late. We are in Newfoundland, so a bit well known for the party/drinking aspect of things.

    FI is home from work now and we are enjoying all of your responses!!

     
    10.
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    Busy bee
    MissKatelyn    July 9, 2011   Live in Westchester, NY / wedding near Portland, OR

    Our wedding is at the same location, and it goes from 6 to 11:30, which is almost the same time as yours. And this is including dinner. Dinner takes up the most amount of time.

    What I would do is list out all the things you want to have happen: bouquet toss, cutting of the cake, father/daughter dance. Plot out about how much time each one will take, and then see how much time you have left over for dancing. Most people will be fine with 1.5-2 hours of dancing, which is from 9-11. Assuming that your ceremony actually starts at 6:45 (if things run late), and end at 7:15, that still gives you 1 hour and 45 minutes to do the dances and cake cutting and bouquet toss. None of which take much time and ALL of them can be done while guests are eating and drinking.

    So yes, I think you have enough time. Can you have more time? Yes. But I do think you have enough time.

     
    11.
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    Helper bee
    dianeanthony    October 1, 2011  

    Mines is a ceremony and a dinner reception in the same venue from 5PM to 10:30PM as entertainment must end by 10:30.  If its more like a cocktail reception then that should be fine..

     
    12.
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    runawaybride2011    July 1, 2011  

    I attended a wedding last weekend that was similar - ceremony at 5:30 and everything ended at 10 PM.  On one hand, it was fine - plenty of time for cocktails, (long) dinner, some wedding traditions and some dancing.  On the other hand, when they called last dance, it felt like the party just started.  Everyone shuttled back to the hotel where the couple had an after party (cash bar) and surprisingly, the vast majority of guests went, at least to make an appearance (the good friends and immediate family stayed for hours).  If you have the option of the after party, I think you're fine with the ceremony/reception time - plus it might save you money with a 4 vs. 5 hour event.

     
    13.
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    Helper bee
    sheebsw    May 7, 2011   North Carolina

    Yes it is plenty of time!  Our wedding started at 6:00....Coctail hour was at 6:30, Reception started at 7:30 and it ended at 11:00. 

    It was perfect....by 11:00 people were tired and starting to leave anyway....So, no worries, everything will be great!  Good luck Smile

     
    14.
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    Blushing bee
    loreleileigh    April 28, 2012  

    I'm actually planning something similar for my wedding.  We are renting a local museum for the ceremony.  We will be starting at 6.  Luckily for us, there is a reception venue attached to the museum that is owned by the city.  Rental still isn't much later than 11 though, I think we have to be done by midnight or something.  We are probably going to have an afterparty type thing, but I'm thinking for most people that is plenty of time. 

     
    15.
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    Blushing bee
    GDub    June 9, 2012   Ontario

    With a timeline that tight, are you able to do your wedding photos before the ceremony?  Otherwise you may have difficulty fitting it all in there.  Most of the couples I photograph will choose a first look in the afternoon, as well as having their family and wedding party photos done prior to the ceremony.  That leaves all the time afterward to enjoy their friends and family instead of rushing around doing photos.  I realize you didn't specifically mention photos, but I am assuming you will want some done in there somewhere.  :)

     

     
    16.
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    Buzzing bee
    ella86    October 6, 2012  

    I voted ceremony at museum and reception at a different venue. I don't think will be long enough if you need to wrap up around 11. And, I agree with your FI in that you are going to lose people if you have an "After party". Plus, you don't want to run out of time if something runs behind.

     
    17.
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    Busy bee
    justelope    December 30, 2011  

    Our entire wedding will be three hours, so I don't think it is too short.  Depends on how many things you want to do (e.g. toasts, and dancing, and toss, etc.).  We are doing a standing, mixer style reception with no dancing and we are cutting out most of the traditional elements. 

    I'm fine with it, because personally I am not a big fan of going to weddings where things stretch out over seven or eight hours. 

    Guests that want to stay later can come party back at the house.

     
    18.
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    Busy bee
    KimmySumShuga    September 21, 2012   Newport Beach, California

    I think you've got a great rental time for a cocktail reception! with a sit down meal it might be tight but still the option of a cash bar after party for those who want to keep celebrating with you is a nice OPTION and yes, some will come and some will go home but that's okay! 

    I'm scared I dont have enough time... I have about 3.5 hours for ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner & dancing on our yacht venue and so I'm thinking about having an after party at the our hotel bar for those that want to keep partying OR having our ceremony in a chapel nearby then ONLY reception on the yacht.

    I'm worried one's too short & the other is too long! I can't decide! Cry

     

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