Afternoon wedding reception

I am planning an evening wedding for less than 50 people, ceremony start at about 6:30, cocktails, heavy apps etc...

We are having our ceremony at 4pm and a cocktail hour four our guests right after to allow us time to take some family photos

My sister in law did a ceremony at 3pm and then cocktails and dessert at 7:30pm
So all the guests had time to go get dinner then come for the reception!
The Ceremony and cocktails were at different locations so it made it easy to leave and go get dinner then head out to the cocktail reception It worked out really well! So at the reception they had speeches then people could go get dessert and then they did some more speeches and then by 8:00pm was the dance and they just did they’re cake cutting privately so nobody would stop dancing!

If you're trying to cut the cost of a full proper meal, I suggest starting your ceremony later in the afternoon, like at 2pm followed by a reception. This will indicate to all guests that a full meal is not to be expected. If you start at noon, you'll have to feed your guests a lunch as most people won't have time to eat due to having to get ready and travelling (especially if they're coming from far away).

Unless you have a ton of finger food that can make up a meal for all your guests, be prepared to have the party end early, like at around 5-6pm.

I think the most important thing is to be transparent. As long as you give your guests the proper info and expectations, they will plan accordingly.