How long are the weddings?|Howlongtobeat (2024)

FAQs

How long are weddings usually? ›

As a rule of thumb, wedding ceremonies typically last 30 minutes to an hour—although short and sweet wedding programs are okay, too—and most wedding receptions typically last four to five hours.

So, how long should your wedding ceremony be? Wedding ceremonies typically last between 20 and 30 minutes, which is ample time to cover the basics (words of welcome, a few readings, your vows, the ring exchange, and the final pronouncement).

Depending on who you ask, four hours is typically considered long enough for a wedding reception. But the truth is that it may not be up to you, and reception length can vary due to a ton of different factors.

4-5 hours will be your best bet for reception length. Do note that the ceremony isn't included in this, as it's just the reception (and co*cktail hour, if you'd like to count that). Some people think that less than 4-5 hours is perfect and I really feel that even 3-4 hours would be plenty.

So what is the 30/5 rule? It's the rule that accounts for things that typically take 5 minutes in real life that will take 30 minutes on a wedding day. It also means that 30 minutes on a wedding day will feel like 5 minutes. You may have heard people say over and over that your wedding day will fly by.

If you are doing a heavy hors D'ouerves more co*cktail style reception a 3-hour party will be perfect! Events do inherit more cost the longer they run.

“A normal ceremony”

The average ceremony is “short and sweet”! That's right, in today's standards, a wedding ceremony lasts about 15-20 minutes.

I always advise brides and grooms to schedule their ceremony 1.5-2 hours before the sun sets, especially if there is no first look! If your wedding is in the SUMMER (June-August), your ceremony time can go as late as 7 pm!

In the summer the sweet spot seems to be between 1:30pm and 2:30pm but for a winter wedding I'd definitely consider a 12-1pm ceremony to make the most of the little daylight you have for some amazing portraits.

I'm orginally from WI and wedding receptions usually start around 5pm and end at midnight. I live in NC now and have found that most venues only want to rent their space for four hours. So starting a reception at 6pm would require it to be over at 10pm.

How long should dinner be at a wedding? ›

Eating – Plan for 45 minutes to 1 hour for a seated meal. For a buffet, in order for everyone to get their plates, sit down and eat, you are looking at approximately an hour for around 100 guests. 150 people would take about 1 hour 15 minutes. Toasts – These should be between 2 and 5 minutes per person speaking.

If you're planning a Friday wedding, the ceremony and reception should begin in the early evening hours (e.g., 6:30 p.m. ceremony, with a 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. reception) so that your guests have time to leave work, change clothes, and drive to the ceremony site.

A wedding with 100 guests is not necessarily too small. Whether a wedding is considered “small” or “large” is a matter of personal preference.

Balliet says most wedding ceremonies last around 20 to 30 minutes, but religious celebrations generally require more time. Xanath Banuelos, the owner and lead planner of XB Destination Weddings & Events, says that non-denominational weddings tend to be around 30 to 40 minutes.

There's no “one size fits all” scale when it comes to a wedding guest list—different amounts of attendees will feel right to different people based on family makeup, friend groups, culture, religion, etc. Mason considers 75 to 150 guests to be an “average” size wedding, and anything over 150 to be a “large” wedding.

Planning a wedding in 3 months can seem like an impossible task, but with the right planning it is not only possible, but also really fun and get almost everything you want!

A small wedding typically consists of 30 to 50 guests, with invitations being extended only to close friends and family. A good length of time for planning a small wedding is six months to a year.

The staff suggests that if a wedding is taking place at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., you should wear something that easily transitions from day to night; any ceremony after 6 p.m. should be strictly co*cktail.

What is the world's shortest marriage? A Kuwaiti couple takes the crown for the shortest marriage in history lasting only 3 minutes. How long was the shortest celebrity marriage? 55 hours.