Ceremony and Reception Time

I think it's viable if you cut have a short ceremony and shorter cocktail hour

Mine was 3-8pm. It was plenty of time for the event, but that didn’t include decorating and set up time.

View Quoted Comment

Fortunately we can set up the night before, so that's not something we are worried about

Ours is 6pm-12pm. The venue does set up and clean up. I think 5 hours is plenty

Daughter's wedding was 6.5 (3:30-10 pm), and we could be on premises for about 3 hours prior to the start of the ceremony for getting ready/first look/wedding party photos. Ceremony was 3:30-4:00, cocktail hour 4-5; reception 5-10. Even when the DJ played the last song (which turned in to three "last songs") the dance floor was packed, so daughter and SIL were thankful for every minute they had. (It was a mostly inclusive venue, so we didn't have any set-up or clean-up responsibilities.)

We’re doing 4 hours. I figured a ceremony is less than 1/2 hour so Ceremony and shortened cocktail hour then 4 hour reception... Just a thought..

My ceremony is at 5pm. Cocktail hour is 5:30-6:30. And reception is 6:30pm to 10:30pm. So 5 1/2 hours total for event. Vendors are able to arrive to set up at 1:30pm. I think 4 hours is normal for reception time but I think 3 could be enough.

30 min ceremony, 30 min cocktail, 4 hour reception or possibly 30 min ceremony, 1 hour cocktail and 3 hour reception. Like you mentioned, 5 is best for your budget so I wouldn't stress it. I'm sure your guests will be happy being able to celebrate your day with you anyway they can.

No 5 hrs is perfect. Mines is 4 hrs and i thought that was short. I wanted to do 5 but we can't afford it. If you can so 5 hrs go for it that's perfect

I think 5 is fine. But I would not go any shorter than 5. You could also ask them about doing half hours. Our venue let us start a half hour earlier. Most important is staying within your budget.

My reception was 4 hours (including cocktail hour) and my ceremony was 20 min. so i would say its really whatever you and your budget are comfortable with. i would've liked to have extended one extra hour but that was $2000 so we said no. lol

View Quoted Comment

Same with us. Our wedding is from 6 PM - 12 AM. Our venue sets up and cleans up too and our ceremony starts at 6 PM. I think we will keep the ceremony under 20 minutes hopefully. Cocktail hour for another 30 minutes or so in order for room to be flipped and what not. 7 PM dinner start hopefully. This works well for us