Being the bride at the end of a wedding means somehow balancing a desire to keep the party pumping with wanting to collapse from an extreme level of exhaustion. Don’t worry! You don’t have to be the last one standing. 

 

Photo by Weddingelation

All of a sudden toward the end of your wedding night, the exhaustion from months of planning and weeks of not sleeping is going to hit you like a runaway steam train. You probably think you’re going to want to party into the wee hours, but there will come a point in time when an ibuprofen and a huge glass of water never sounded so good. Hopefully, you’ll be having such a fantastic time that you won’t notice that pounding headache until you make it back to the wedding suite and sit down for the first time in hours, but with the week you’ve had, we wouldn’t be shocked if a few straggling guests were ready to keep the party going long after your bedtime. Lucky for you, the bride has a permanent pass card for the night, and excusing yourself at an appropriate time is more than acceptable.

 

When should the bride and groom leave the reception?
7% 1 hour before the reception is scheduled to end
2% 2 hours before the reception is scheduled to end
55% Stay till the very end
32% Stay till 30 minutes before the end
5% Other

 

The party won’t last long after the bride and groom leave. After all, you two are kind of the glue holding the whole operation together. So keep in mind that your departure in a way signals the end of the party to the rest of the guests. You’ve put plenty of time and money into planning this celebration, and you want them to enjoy every second. If you choose not to stay on the dance floor until the last song, which typically resembles a group rendition of “Piano Man” or anything by Frank Sinatra, then consider a formal send-off near the end of the evening, leaving guests to cap off the evening with 20 to 30 more minutes with the DJ and bar. Plus, this gives you an exit strategy to avoid any awkward questions from great aunts about wedding night ‘jitters’ or tipsy bridesmaids attempting to lure you to a local pub after the reception.

 

Photo by: Studio1250

 

Article Courtesy of: The Brides’s Katie Schroeder
Poll: Wedding Bee
Cover Photo: The Lovely Find