Hi, lovelies! We have a new Ask Emmaline question on how to end the wedding reception from bride-to-be Melissa and her fiancé, Joe. They write,
“Hi Emmaline! We are planning our wedding reception for this August and the end time is 11pm. If we stay longer, we will get charged an additional hour. We are already maxed out on our budget, so we really need to end the wedding reception on time. I guess our question is, how do we end the wedding reception without feeling like we’re kicking guests out?”
Great question! As all things must come to an end, the wedding reception eventually does, too. It can be expensive when the reception goes later than planned, even if guests are having a blast. And while you don’t really want the venue to resort to flashing the lights (or, you know, queuing Closing Time), there are some tactful ways to end the wedding reception without feeling like you’re pushing guests out to the parking lot. It’s important to stay on budget and on time, so we’re here to help with some advice.
How to End the Wedding Reception
So, how do you end the wedding reception with subtlety? We recommend planning a grand wedding exit.
How to Plan a Grand Wedding Exit
The easiest way to escort guests out of the venue on time is by making it part of the plan! A rand wedding exit is the best way to end the wedding reception with ease. Our favorite way to do this is by using wedding sparklers. Here’s how it works: ask your DJ to play the last song, followed by an announcement along the lines of, “please gather your belongings and meet the newlyweds outside for their wedding sparkler send-off“. With a start time of 10:30pm, this gives your guests plenty of time to mingle outside and say goodbye with a beautiful sparkler exit. Plus, it is a lot of fun! (You can buy sparklers for weddings in bulk to save some money!) Plus, the sparklers look amazing in wedding photos.
With a sparkler send off, you’re making the end of the night another fun part of the overall wedding reception plan of events.
Hope it helps!
xo
-E.
P.S. Do you have a wedding advice question? Just Ask Emmaline and your question may appear in an upcoming post!
