Sure, you close the bar during dinner.
We had 5 hours of open bar at our wedding. Without closing for dinner, we would have been over by 9. Closing for dinner gets you to ten.
the groom’s mom is of like mind. we had a nice talk about it last weekend. she said she specifically had the engagment party noon-3 for precisely that purpose. she knows his friends better than i do. i feel so blessed to have someone i am so compatible with, as an inlaw.