When Can You Leave A Wedding Reception?

The bride and groom often leave the reception before guests leave, either to get a head start on the wedding night or to rest before an early exit. The departure of the bride and groom from the reception is a significant part of the event, but it’s not necessary to stay. Bonus points if you can greet the couple.

The size of the wedding depends on the couple’s size, as leaving early would be more noticeable and possibly hurtful. If the wedding is small, leaving early would be more noticeable and possibly hurtful to the couple.

When receiving the wedding invitation, make sure to RSVP as soon as possible. If you know in advance that you will leave, you can do so. Many couples are incorporating an after party, so the event doesn’t stop at the end of the reception. It’s fine to leave before the end of the reception, if at all possible, stay until after the cutting of the cake.

Guests may leave early during the wedding reception, but it’s not necessary to say goodbye. Socially accepted departure times are after the ceremony, before the reception, and after the cake is cut. It depends on what you consider early, but no need to be at a wedding reception for 5-6 hours.

Guests should stay until the wedding cake is cut, and loyal guests should stay until the last minute. A wedding with a ceremony, cocktails, dinner, and dance can be six hours long. If you are a loyal guest, you should stay until the newlyweds have made their own exit and waved them off.

How long to stay at a reception?

A crucial element of wedding reception planning is crafting a well-honed timeline for the evening. Your typical wedding reception runs about 4-5 hours—plenty of time for cocktails, dinner, toasts and, of course, dancing! Follow this foolproof wedding reception timeline to ensure a smooth, fun-filled evening of celebration for you and your guests. Weve crafted for you a wedding reception timeline based on the average 4-hour wedding reception. Take a look and make adjustments to accommodate your style, guests and venue. Happy wedding planning!

Download the For Your Party Wedding Reception Timeline.

0:00 – Cocktail Hour. After the ceremony, guests will head to the reception and get started mingling and enjoying cocktails and appetizers. The bride and groom generally use this time to take formal photos with the bridal party and family. The bride and groom can also set up a greeting line to welcome wedding guests as they arrive at the reception.

What is the proper etiquette for leaving a wedding reception?

Stay to the end.. Two words changed the bride and grooms tradition of leaving early: after-party! For many couples, the reception only gets the night started. The after-party, which begins once the reception is over, typically goes on into the early hours. In this case, the bride and groom will often be the last to leave. But even if youre not having a post-wedding bash, its still appropriate for the newly minted marrieds to stay to the end of their reception if they so choose. It gives them more time to chat with guests who traveled a great distance or with family members they only see at other relatives weddings!

Is it rude to leave a wedding without saying goodbye?

Weddings are the one exception to this: As long as youve spoken to the brides or grooms family at some point during the reception, you do not have to say goodbye to them as you leave, especially if theyre dining or dancing. It would be ruder to interrupt their merriment than to forego the farewell.

Dont Leave a Party Too Soon. This seems contrary to my abiding advice, but let me explain: You did not have to say yes to your hosts invitation, but you did. Therefore, you are required to be a good guest. If its a drop-in that lasts just two hours or so, a 30-45 minute pop-in is perfectly acceptable; its long enough to chat with the hosts and celebrate the occasion.

If an event has a start and end time listed on the invitation, you should expect to stay for the whole thing. The hosts have likely planned out activities accordingly, and to leave early would be to snub their efforts. For a wedding, if you are unable to stay until the couples send-off, you should at least stay through the dances and the cutting of the cake; dashing immediately after dinner is never appropriate.

What is an acceptable time to leave a wedding reception?

Cake Cutting. Keep in mind that traditional wedding etiquette dictates that its acceptable to leave a wedding once the cake has been cut, so this formality is best placed after all the other key moments of the evening.

Reception Hour 3. Hour three of your reception is all about having fun! Ahead, learn how to break down this portion of the evening.

Games/Activities. This is the part of the night where the garter and bouquet toss would take place; many couples are including other reception games and activities throughout the event as well.This is a great time to encourage guests to visit the photo booth, for example!

Do you have to stay the whole time for a wedding reception?

Its certainly fine to leave before the end of the reception. If at all possible, stay until after the cutting of the cake. Regardless, simply make sure you get some face time with the couple to visit and offer your best wishes. If youve done this, its not necessary to say goodbye.

How do you politely back out of a wedding?

• Thank you for thinking of me. I regret to tell you that I wont be able to attend due to another commitment, but please accept my warmest congratulations.
• Regrettably I wont be able to attend the wedding due to some conflicting commitments.
• “Thank you so much for the invitation, I really appreciate it and it means a great deal.”
• I would love to attend, but I have prior commitments on that date.
• We would love to celebrate with you but unfortunately, we cant make it work.
• Ive given it a lot of thought, and unfortunately, we wont be able to attend.
• Thanks so much for the invitation. Unfortunately, due to family/work/financial commitments, I wont be able to make it.

• Thank you both so much for including us in your wedding. Sadly, we wont be able to attend, as we will be traveling to the UK for my nephews christening. I wish we could be in two places at once!
• I hope you have the most wonderful time celebrating this special occasion.
• I hope we can get together for drinks soon, and you can tell me all about your wedding plans!
• We would love to celebrate with you as soon as you return from your honeymoon.
• We will be thinking of you on August 10th and popping a bottle of Champagne in your honour!
• Im sorry to say that well have to celebrate this one from afar!
• Im gutted that I wont make the wedding, but I know youll have a phenomenal day.
• Im sorry that I wont be there in person, but Im sending my best wishes to you both.

Need a crash course in wedding etiquette? Youll find lots of helpful posts in our wedding planning section!

Why do people leave weddings early?

The three most common reasons guests leave receptions early: the photographer, the caterer, and the bride and groom.

Having personally performed over 1,500 weddings over the years as the most preferred wedding DJ in northern Colorado, including Amore DJ Entertainment consistently being voted the “Best DJ in Estes Park” for several years in a row, I get a chance to see lots of reasons why guests leave early. The fact is, guests came to see and celebrate with you, as the guests of honor. So, if guests take the time to get ready, make the journey, but leave early, do you ever wonder what really causes them to leave? Here are the three most common reasons guests leave receptions early:

The Photographer. Excessively long photo sessions before and after the ceremony with the photographer. Okay, the plan is 25 to 45 minutes for photos, but this often lasts an hour…or more! We’ve seen many photo sessions go 2 to 2.5 hours this year for Colorado weddings! It’s often longer when Colorado wedding photos are off property, or with a newer wedding photographer, or a photographer who is unfamiliar with your Colorado mountain venue. This doesn’t matter whether they are based in State, or are out of State. This problem also includes the very common sunset or romantic shots that tend to happen just after dinner, about the time for the toast and cake causing even longer delays. You know the ones…the very ones that are “supposed” to last about 10 minutes, but in the end, usually take about 45 minutes. Guests are restless, become bored and will always leave early.

The Caterer. The caterer’s food service is slower than they expect coming out. Sometimes the buffet is line long and very slow. We’ve seen this alone take well over an hour! Sometimes unknown to the couple, the caterer is inadequately staffed, or ill prepared. And frankly, sometimes caterers simply “want” the dinner service to go excessively long because their belief is that the meal “is” the celebration, and not a small part of the “total” celebration. Any of these become part of unnecessary delays. Delays that quickly cause the caterer to be slow in breaking down the buffet line, clearing dirty dishes, pouring champagne and preparing for the cake cutting. Abnormal delays with these are commonplace with the dinner service often lasting two hours, or more! Guests become bored and will always leave early.

Is it disrespectful to leave a wedding early?

Plan to Stay the Whole Time. If you need to leave the wedding after the ceremony, you should let the couple know in advance. Otherwise, plan to stay for all the key moments, even if that means choosing a later flight or paying your babysitter extra. “A traditional guideline is to not leave a wedding early,” says Meier. “If you must, be sure to wait until at least all the main parts of the reception are over, such as the dinner, all the speeches, first dances, and cutting of the cake.”

Bring (or Plan to Send) a Gift. While etiquette does require that you give a gift to a couple when you attend their wedding, it doesnt require you to bring it to the big day—especially if you (or they) are traveling for the event. “For destination weddings, be careful not to carry a gift that the couple will have to ship home, and instead ship it directly to the couples new home,” says Meier. “You can then bring a card to hand to them at the wedding with a note about the gift coming to their home.” Traditionally, guests gave a gift of “about the cost of being a guest,” says Van Son. “However, I think its important to note, gift what you are able to afford. You have been invited to attend the wedding because you are a valued person in the couples life, not for the gift you will be giving them.”

Communicate Food Restrictions Ahead of Time. Catered weddings dont offer the flexibility of an a la carte menu—so if you have any dietary restrictions, you should let the couple know as soon as possible, says Meier (and not as the server is handing you a plated meal).

How do you exit a wedding reception?

6 Ways to End Your Wedding Reception … Group photo at the reception. … DJ Dance Party at the Wedding Reception. … Nightcap or specialty drinks. … Wedding car. … Newlywed photo. … Last Dance for the Newlyweds.