Anyone shorten their reception?

[DISNEY*lover]

Hi all. So my WP kinda talked me into shortening my lunch reception from a 1 hour cocktail to 30 minutes and the actual reception by an hour. So it would be 11:30-3:30 including the cocktail "hour". It doesn't sound like a bad idea for budget reasons but I'm afraid I might regret it when it's over. If I have the motorcoach bus for another hour and a bar for another hour that'll add $272.65 plus tax and service charge to the bill.

My question to you ladies is...did any of you shorten your reception and regret it?

 

[lurkyloo]

We shortened our reception and didn't regret it at all! We did a 30-minute pre-reception (which could have been cut altogether b/c we took our photos together before the wedding so we traveled to the pre-reception with our guests... and there was no booze... and I'm sure people were wondering when brunch was going to start...). Then we had a 3-hour reception, and it was the perfect amount of time.

However, we were going for more of a casual hanging-out-at-brunch feel than a traditional reception - we didn't have any dancing besides the first dances, so it's not like people were still shaking their booties on the dance floor when the reception ended at Hour 3. This might be a consideration for you....

 

[disbridemimi]

When are you planning to do photos? Will this cut your photo time in half? If not then i say CUT away! But it would suck to get rushed through photos

 

[DISNEY*lover]

When are you planning to do photos? Will this cut your photo time in half? If not then i say CUT away! But it would suck to get rushed through photos

No, it wouldn't change the photo factor at all.

 

[OceanGdss]

we shortened ours by an hour unexpectedly on the day of the wedding. We just found with our group size (70 guests) people were starting to dwindle out 3hrs in to the reception. So we chatted to our WP in the corner and decided to do our final/farewell dances right then. Our guests were relieved and it gave DH and I an extra hour together post reception before our after-party plans later that night :

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

I shortened mine but only because i wanted a longer DP. It didn't bother me at all. Actually it felt timed perfectly.

 

[Pinkerbell1983]

I'm doing the opposite, I want my fairytale to last as long as possible so I'm adding 4 extra hours on to mine

 

[DISNEY*lover]

I'm doing the opposite, I want my fairytale to last as long as possible so I'm adding 4 extra hours on to mine

4 hours?! Wow! Dancing and mingle the night away.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We did not shorten ours and I don't think I would have wanted to. Our ceremony was from 9:00 to 9:30 our pre-reception was from 10:00 to 11:00 and our reception was from 11:00 to 3:00.

We had 50 people, our ceremony was in Epcot and our reception was in Atlantic Dance Hall. We did alot of eating, dancing and talking.

Our DP was from 8:30 to 9:30 and I am sorry we did not start it at 8:00. I was really planning on hanging out and talking to people during our DP and we at the beginning but once IllumiNations started there was only picture taking. When it was over everyone left.

Alot depends on the timing of all your activities, are you having dancing and what type of food are you having. We used the hour pre-reception time to do pictures. We got to ADH around 10:40 and relaxed for a few minutes before all the activities started. They brought us some food down from our prereception and something to drink.

Linda

 

[Janell]

We had an hour pre-reception and a 4 hour reception. During the planning I was wanting to shorten the time, because I thought 4 hours was long and could get boring.

It wasn't, we had a wonderful DJ (Charles Miles) keep things going and the 4 hours flow by. People were sad to see it was all over. We did have quite a bit of entertainment. Scuba Mickey and Mickey and Minnie. The guest all got photos with Scuba Mickey and Mickey and Minnie, so that took time and they all loved it.

My two cents, do what you want. If you want it shorter, then do it. Your wedding day should have everything you want to happen for as long as you want it to happen.

Off topic, my favorite part of the day, besides marring my best friend. Was the hour and half we spent with Randy, having him take photos of us along the boardwalk and around the hotel. It was at the end of the day. Just DH and I and Randy. It was very relaxing, fun and a great way to end our wedding day.

 

[Pinkerbell1983]

4 hours?! Wow! Dancing and mingle the night away.

Yep! Plus we are having an dessert party in the middle of the reception. You only get to have a Disney wedding once (as well as hopefully a vow renewal) and I wanted mine to last and be really special! Plus all my guests are from the UK so are travelling very far, and I wanted to have loads of time with them! In the UK all weddings are long so I was shocked that Disney only offered 5 hours for the reception. All weddings in the UK start anywhere from 12-3pm and go on until at least midnight.

 

[flowerbelle]

Well, now I"m curious because I'm just starting to plan for a December wedding and spoke with the wedding salesperson (the one prior to getting a WP)...and he said that because I'm doing a 10am ceremony at the WP, the reception is only going to be only 3 hours and not 4 hours...so the reception would end at 3pm. However, he told me that if you do a night ceremony, it will be a full four hours. Of course, I was upset about this because it seems like I'm getting jipped just because I'm doing a morning ceremony (I don't believe I'll be paying less either)....ANY thoughts?? Is this really true?? My DF and I really enjoy dancing so having more time for the reception would be better. THANKS!!

 

[AmbPyp]

We had our reception at the Living Seas and had it shortened. We changed afterward and had everyone meet us at the Boardwalk for Dueling Pianos and dancing at the Dance Hall! It was a great money saver and TONS of fun!

 

[tiggerrifficheidi]

First of all, I have to agree with Lurkyloo. If you're having the casual hang-out reception, having it shortened is PLENTY long.

Also, if you're having a morning ceremony combined with guests with kids or without a band or DJ, people will start to trickle out early on you anyway...particularly if you have a DP later that night.

We had our wedding at 10:00, Pre-Reception started about 11:00-11:15 and everyone was out of there (we closed the place down with our bridal party) by 3:00pm. I'm not saying I wouldn't have minded being there longer, but people just aren't going to hang out with kids or with another event that evening (again, unless you have a rockin' DJ and have a partyin' group).

Well, now I"m curious because I'm just starting to plan for a December wedding and spoke with the wedding salesperson (the one prior to getting a WP)...and he said that because I'm doing a 10am ceremony at the WP, the reception is only going to be only 3 hours and not 4 hours...so the reception would end at 3pm. However, he told me that if you do a night ceremony, it will be a full four hours. Of course, I was upset about this because it seems like I'm getting jipped just because I'm doing a morning ceremony (I don't believe I'll be paying less either)....ANY thoughts?? Is this really true?? My DF and I really enjoy dancing so having more time for the reception would be better. THANKS!!

Where are you having your reception? We had ours at Narcoossee's, and you may have to be out of there early due to dinner. On the other hand, if your ceremony is at 10:00, your guests will start arriving at your reception by 11:00, so 3:00pm is really pushing close to 4 hours.

 

[flowerbelle]

We're planning on having a DJ at our reception even if it's an afternoon reception...and my DF and I love to dance (MUSIC is very important to us!!) Of course, I don't know how the guests will be (but my family really enjoys music too!!). I guess I just want to know whether they have allowed a morning 10am ceremony and afternoon brunch to have a reception until 4pm and not just 3pm...because I would certainly rather be more comfortable with this. I don't believe we would be paying any less than those who stay until 4pm to do their reception. PLEASE give me your thoughts on this!! I appreciate it very much!!

 

[flowerbelle]

Sorry I forgot to include this...we would be having our afternoon reception at the Grand Floridian ballroom (not at any one of the restaurants).

 

[Janell]

Well, now I"m curious because I'm just starting to plan for a December wedding and spoke with the wedding salesperson (the one prior to getting a WP)...and he said that because I'm doing a 10am ceremony at the WP, the reception is only going to be only 3 hours and not 4 hours...so the reception would end at 3pm. However, he told me that if you do a night ceremony, it will be a full four hours. Of course, I was upset about this because it seems like I'm getting jipped just because I'm doing a morning ceremony (I don't believe I'll be paying less either)....ANY thoughts?? Is this really true?? My DF and I really enjoy dancing so having more time for the reception would be better. THANKS!!

Well not that Disney cant change things. Our wedding was May 19, 2008 at the wedding pavilion with a reception at living seas. Ceremony was at 10:00am. Pre-reception was 11:00-12:00 reception at 12:00-4:00.

 

[Pinkerbell1983]

Your anniversary is the day after my wedding!

 

[flowerbelle]

Janelle,
Did you have to pay more for a reception that is 4 hours (other than 3 hrs)? Did you request more hours for the reception? I'm just curious...thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate it!

BTW, how do you post a previous quote on here so you can answer or reply to it?? Do you just copy and paste the response or is there a special way to do it? Thanks! I'm just a newbie and trying to learn.

 

[Janell]

Happy Wedding. You will have a wonderful time. its a great time of year. Just note if your outside taking photos, to ask someone to dry you off. lol Someone helped me and it made all the differences.

flowerbelle, I don't believe we paid more for the extra hour. I never got a quote on a shorter reception. I know that we paid more for sodas for 5 hours instead of 3. But other then that, I can't say if there was more of a cost for 5 hours. We didn't request more hours, it was just what our planner set up. I assumed it was a package they offered.

If you want to quote someone there is a tab at the bottom, with reply that you select and it takes that quote. Im not sure how to do more then one quote per post.

Happy Planning!