How long do you allow for the wedding meal?

One venue i visited told me to allow 2.5 hours for the wedding breakfast, including speeches! i thought this sounded like a lot but i suppose this could include speeches etc.

We're allowing 2.5 hours including speeches.

Hi LilMissRed

It really depends on your venue and how many guests you're having. We've covered weddings where the wedding breakfast lasts an hour, some where it takes up to three. I'd say the average is one and a half to two hours. The best thing to do is to contact your venue to ask them ?

Edited to add: Also if you're having your wedding breakfast in the same room as your evening reception, your venue will need time to turn the room around as well.

Alison x

I have estimated upto two hours (I hope its not longer as the evening guests will arrive when we aren't ready for them haha).

The hotel have also estimated the same time, so thats good and I don't think the speeches will go on for too long as my Dad is cacking it, worrying about it and I'll be lucky if its a couple of sentences from him haha.

Best bet is to check with your venue as they've done it numerous times X

Your timings look fine but it depends on how many guests you have and how quick the food is served and cleared between each course (you don't want to rush your guests). We are planning on having our wedding meal at approx 4.30 and we are allowing 2 hours for meal and speeches as our evening guests arrive at 7pm. We aren't cutting the cake until the evening and are keeping speeches short and sweet so think that should be plenty of time for us, but we only have 60 guests. If we finish quicker it doesn't matter as our evening reception is in another room and guests can freshen up in their rooms and get a drink at the bar and make use of the photo booth.

The breakdown the venue has sent shows 2 hours for the meal. I think they have included the speeches in this though. So will work with 1.5 hours.

We are having about 107 adults and 20 children. I want the speeches to be done when the evening guests arrived. A few people who arent coming to the meal (we cant afford to have everyone) have said they really want to hear my Dad's speech (hes well known for them) and best mans speech.

Knowing some of my family if we put the reception starts at 7.30 they wont arrive till 8 anyway

Obviously it depends on the venue and their staffing, but that's a lot of people to get through a three course meal in an hour and a half. Don't forget you also need to allow time at the beginning for people to faff and find their seats etc. It depends on what sort of food you're having and how it's served; certain things are easier and quicker to serve than others (e.g. you can only carry two plates of soup at a time but can carry a whole tray of meat and serve it onto plates). Some people eat quicker than others, but you have to wait for all but the slowest eaters before clearing tables, and then wait again for everyone on your table to be served before starting the next course. FWIW, we had a 2 course afternoon tea and it still took well over 2 hours inc speeches.

Check with your venue what they think - if they think they can do it in 1 1/2 hours without speeches then great; but if they think it'll be longer you have to take that into account.

Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you and trusting them not to

Hmmm good points Helina. Maybe I will see if we can bring the service forward.

Will then be 2-3 service, 3-4 pictures, 4.30-5:30 arrival drinks, 5:30-7:30 dinner 7:30- speeches, first dance, cake cutting and reception.

Does that seem more realistic?

We had 120 people - weirdly almost exaclty the same breakdown as yours, and were told to allow 3 hours for the sit down meal.

Things that you'd have to consider include whether it is silver service, which will take longer, whether you want everyone in the room served at the same time or whether your happy for table 1 for example to be on the main while table 12 may still be getting served their starter.

I worked in a wedding venue (not doing the weddings side, I was an accountant) and the ladies say to allow 3 mins serving time per table - which was 2-3 staff members walking from the kitchen with the food, reading their plan as to where it needed to go, putting it down and walking back to the kitchen. Say there are 6 staff - that means you'd be looking at 15mins just to get the food out plus the top table - for each course, that's 45mins just to bring the food out, let alone clear it away and eating time. Again, the variables there are how far the food has to come from the kitchen, how well labelled the tables are as to the choices, and how many service staff there were.

If you venue are saying 2 hours, i'd definately allow at least that and remember that timing are on the assumption that you are exaclty ontime for everything (as someone said, seating 120 people will take time), but I'd also be inclined to ask how often they serve this kind of foods to that many people - as I assume a lot of wedding breakfasts are smaller - i'd ask this as I may even want to allow longer.

It depends on the type of pictures you want LMR.

Our timings were:

3-3:45pm - Service

3:45 - 4:30 - Group photo's

4:30 - 5:30 - Couples photo's

5:30 - 5:50 - Travel to the venue

5:50 - 6:10 - more photo's of us at the venue

6:10 - 6:20 - large group photo at venue

6:30 - formal entrance of us two, the speeches and then the first dance (A little odd, I know)

7:30 - Food service opened (we only had a fancy buffet here - we'd served afternoon tea to guests between 4:30 and 5:30).

9:00 - music started

Oh no, I'm even more confused now. Thanks for sharing your timings LM.

I'm thinking when guests have arrival drinks we will having the pics of OH and I. Don't want pictures to take too long. I will be hungry and therefore won't be able to smile (hahaha). we will have 2 photographers so hopefully that can speed things up. I.e the pics of me with our BM's and pic of OH and his ushers can be done before the service.

We've allowed 2.5 - 3 hrs including speeches. Ceremony is at 12 noon, wedding breakfast at 3:30 pm and evening guests start arriving at 6:30pm.

We're only having a few quick speeches; my uncle, the best man, and H2B - so we're allowing 2hrs all in for speeches and meal...I think *hope* that should be enough.

Our venue advised us to allow 2 hours for dinner and speeches.