Maybe you’re considering having a late night wedding and unsure how that would impact you and your guests.
A late night wedding typically ends after 12am. Often I’ve seen couples who want to host an after party, have their wedding end well after 1am. Someone has to keep the party going right?
The biggest reason most people opt for a late night wedding is:
- Their wedding will last all weekend
- Most times you don’t get enough time on the dance floor
- You have a special performance and need more time
- You’ve spent a good chunk of money and want to make sure it last as long as possible
Does any of these sound like you?
The secret to the perfect late night wedding is in
- Knowing what to consider as it may not be the same as regular weddings
- Developing a plan of action
- Putting everything into action
The right plan + using the correct methods = the perfect late night wedding that doesn’t miss a beat.
Now that you’ve grasped this, let me walk you through what it takes to plan your ideal wedding.
Before we get started I want to remind you that you have to follow these steps. Any attempt to jump the gun, may result in catastrophe, which wouldn’t be my fault.
You’ll need to
- Identify how you want to experience your late night wedding
- Ensure vendors and venues are on board and accept your late night wedding
- Communicate your unique wedding concept to your guests
- Plan effectively
- Always add your personality to the mix
Photo: Alvin Mahmudov
Identify how you want to experience your late night wedding
Before you can start any wedding planning, it’s important to identify what you want to see at your wedding. By creating a wedding plan, this helps you to determine what your wedding budget needs to cover.
Throughout my experience as a Wedding Planner, I’ve seen both the benefits of having a wedding plan and what happens when couples bypass this altogether. Trust me when I say you’ll want a wedding plan.
Well Andrew what does a wedding plan consist of and how will it help me achieve my wedding goals?
A wedding plan will help you:
- Identify what your budget is
- What you want to see at your wedding
- How to compromise
- Where your wedding will be
- Who do you both agree to invite
Chances are, when you have a wedding plan in place you won’t have to worry about going over budget or forget what’s the most important parts of your special day.
Ensure vendors and venues are on board and accept your late night wedding
I will tell you this is probably one of the most overlooked parts of planning a late night wedding. Most couples are not aware of what I am about to tell you.
Are you sure you’re ready for these juicy details?
Consider These Late Night Wedding Tips
Most wedding venues may require approval of a late night wedding. Why? They have to ensure they have enough people on staff or switch teams to ensure your wedding has the proper staff.
If your wedding takes place outside, it’s important to see if there is a noise ordinance. That may immediately damper your goal to have a wedding go past a certain time. If it’s in a residential area, you can count on a noise ordinance requiring you to lower or turn off the music around 10pm.
Not only does your venue need to clear your extended hour wedding, but your vendors need to as well.
Remember most of your vendors like your Wedding Planner, Photographer and even DJ are the ones who spend the most amount of time at your wedding. Planners are up early that day dealing with timelines and decorating your space(s).
By midnight, everyone is half past dead. Depending on how long your wedding will last will determine if extra people need to come on board to replace others. You will have to factor in overtime pay.
Photo: One Zone Studio
Communicate your unique wedding concept to your guests
Guests need to know if this will be an extended wedding. If they live far away, give them the option of booking a hotel room. It’s extremely dangerous to provide alcohol at a wedding and then have people drive long hours to make it back home.
You’ll always have someone who over drinks and will need a place to crash after your wedding. All of your gusts are your responsibility.
If guests do live close by, but are not able to drive home, make sure you use Uber Events or some form of service that can get them home safely. Also make sure the venue will allow cars to be left until the morning.
If you have a nearby hotel where everyone is staying, ask if they have a shuttle that you can book for your guests. This allows them to leave their cars at the hotel and not have to worry about driving.
Lastly, don’t forget to tell your guests what type of attire to have. Most evening weddings are very formal. However, if you are going into the early morning, maybe guests want to bring a pair of comfy flats or shoes to dance in.
It’s better to give guests options than to remove them for them.
Plan effectively
Having a clear cut plan as your blueprint will be a life saver.
At the beginning it’s going to be a lot of work, but once you put it into action it should make everything run smoothly.
One thing couples tend to forget are photos. Are you ok with your photos being at night? There’s something amazing about a wedding in natural light over one that has commercial lighting.
Did you want photos before sunset? For a late night wedding, you might not be able to.
If your wedding is outdoors, will your wedding photographer have enough lighting to capture all of the moments? Are they familiar with shooting evening weddings?
Here are some other things to consider for wedding plans
- Is your wedding dress heavy? If so, are you ok wearing it all night?
- For guests with children, are you offering childcare?
- Will you have a late night snack bar for guests who get hungry?
Photo: Settphen
Always add your personality to the mix
Now that you have considered all of these things, it’s important to add your personality to the mix.
People are ready to attend your wedding. All of the RSVPs are in and you are excited.
Don’t let your guests down by having a boring wedding. If your wedding is going into the early morning, give guests a reason to stay. It would be horrible if you spent money for late night food, bar and anything else and people leave early.
Infuse your personality into your wedding. What activities will keep them on the dance floor?
Customizing your wedding around your personality is what will set you apart from any other wedding.
There you have it!!
My top things to consider for late night weddings.
Hey do me a favor and Pin The Below Graphic so others can read these tips.
Before I let you go, what is one tip you think could be added to this blog post?
