Hotel 'music finish' time

adocholiday

Hi all,

My fiance and I are looking at a beautiful venue for our wedding. We love it and I think it would be absolutely perfect except that they said that the music must stop at 1.30. Now I've never been at a wedding where it all winds down at 1.30. She said that the bar will remain open after that though.

This would be a deal breaker for us because the venue is an hour and 15 mins from the church so to expect our guests to make a long journey and then pack it in at half 1 seems a lot to ask.

I'm just wondering what other venues are like in this regard? Would they be strict on that finishing time or is that like 'pub closing time' in Ireland where officially the bar closes at 11.30 but you'll continue getting drink until 1 :P

Pistachios & cream

Are there bedrooms over the hotels ballroom? Some hotels are pretty rigid with this policy if they have bedrooms over the ballroom as otherwise guests complain. I stayed in a hotel bedroom that was over the ballroom once and it was a nightmare. My boyfriend rang down to reception and was told it would be 1:30. When it didn't end at 1:30 he rang again and it finally stopped. We didn't know there was a wedding that night and the hotel never told us we were above the ballroom so we were not very happy.

lazygal

Most venues we looked at had that or similar as a finish time. Most people will probably be tired after such a long day and drive anyway, I've never made it to a resident bar for the sing song, I'm ready for bed long before.

jlm29

I remember weddings going on til 5 or 6 in the morning, but in more recent years, they seem to end earlier. 1.30-2 am. Tbh, I've usually had enough by then, and am ready for my bed. It's such a long day!

BizzyC

1.30 - 2am seems normal for music to end.

Just make sure there's a guitar for the residents bar and you'll be sorted.

adocholiday

ahayes84 wrote: »

Are there bedrooms over the hotels ballroom?

Fortunately no, the ballroom is actually in a separate part of the hotel so that's not a concern.

I get what people are saying about being fit for bed at that stage anyway, but many of our guests are mad for dancing and drinking until the very early hours (I've been at weddings on both sides and they were late late nights!) so it would be great to have the option at least for the DJ to continue.

The singsong in the residents bar is a definite anyway, I just don't want people coming away from our wedding feeling a bit short changed is all.

clint_silver

Most venues are 2am and dont mind if you go over 5-10 minutes. Staff costs and hotel residents are the reason for this.

A select few are 2:30 or have a nominal 2am and "keep playing if everyone is up, we dont mind" attitude.

A very select few are open til whenever, likes of ballymagarvey as theyre self contained venues with no music end licence. no residents to annoy other than wedding guests.

A very select few are 1am. this is always because of nearby residents. bouncers or managers are on top of you at 12:59am to stop playing.

also note, Ive seen guitars coming out at 2:15 and bouncers telling them to stop. If you want a sing song clarify it beforehand that instruments are ok, no point in having a confrontation on the night.

Gatica

Ours was relatively strict 2am finish time. I'm sure the DJ was happy to take off at that time anyway, so whether hotel would've allowed it to continue or not (only wedding guests staying at the hotel), there probably wouldn't be anyone there to play anyway.
Check with your music supplier about what time they're finishing at, you want to get best use of your investment.
If it's a deal-breaker for you, just cut it now. Don't sit there pondering and breaking your head over it, it'll only pull at your heart-strings as it sounds like you like the venue. If finishing time is that important to you, just make the decision and look elsewhere.

sweetie

I find the 1-1.30 am finishes awkward as often times I may have only started playing at 12.30-1 due to various delays throughout the day. Some venues let you play a bit longer to make up for it others won't. One has to bear in mind that staff will often have to bear the brunt of the extra time without getting the extra wages. I find it's good to have a set finish time to aim towards. I've done a few of the 'ballymagarvey' type gigs where as good fun as they are people naturally get tired and drift away leaving you with a dwindling dancelfoor and no real conclusion to the night. I find it best now to provisionally agree a time and revise it as the night progresses.

Miaireland

The 1.30am limit could also be in place so the hotel can clean and reset the room for a function the next day. If that is the case the hotel may not be willing to change. If it is a deal breaker for you look elsewhere. However in my experience at that time most people drift off to bed of the resident bar.

Ms2011

I've a 1am finish time as there are rooms above us. That's fine with me, I've often found that some of the best craic is had after the music has stopped for the night & banter starts