Night-Before-Wedding Gathering

laurebkraft

Whoops, I first posted this on "Illinois" and not "Chicago."

Hey there,

The FI and I would like to throw a small gathering the night before our wedding for out-of-town guests, family and attendants. The IL's are uninterested in throwing a rehearsal dinner, and (surprise, surprise!) we're already way overbudget on the actual wedding.

Does anyone have a low-cost suggestion for how the FI and I could throw a little pre-wedding shindig without digging too far into our already over-budget wedding fund?

(Quick details: Wedding party + close family and out-of-town guests is about 30-40 people; wedding is June 2011 in the West Loop. All guests are staying at The Sax.)

Longer details:
The FI and I are getting married in Chicago, where we live, but our family and friends live either on the East coast or in the far suburbs. Despite the IL's disinterest in a rehearsal dinner, we'd still like everyone to have a chance to meet and enjoy each other before the big wedding. (Essentially, we can't have a party a few weeks ahead of time because of distance ... )

Pequod's is a special place for us, but at $30 a head, we're looking at at least $1K for just the family and wedding party.

Is it weird to have a pizza party at our house the night before? We don't want anyone to have to cab too far into the city for a cheaper place ...
Any other ideas?

Help!

Thanks ladies!

Sorry if there were a lot of details, but I know how annoying it can be when the bride posts too few details.

debi1941

When i was married the first time, many years ago..(22) we had a pizza party the night before and it was a blast! it was downtown at Giordanno's.....we did the rehearsal, then all the out of towners met up with us.....

This time around , we are not having a rehearsal.....but we do have a lot of out of towners, so we are having a get together the eve before at a Gurnee Local estaurant called Saluto's......i am pretty sure we are going to do pasta, pizza and salad's.....and liquor of course...

over budget and spending more...we are in the same boat!

debi1941

Also, haveing a get together at your house is not weird, but makes for an intimate more relaxed evening...BUT...beware...yiu cannot get up and leave when you are ready.....and it is sometimeshard to "kick people out"....then you have clean up.....

we are having an early wedding the next morning...so, the idea of late stayers and then having to straighten was not worth it to me to save the few dollars....

convenience = money.......in this case, our case, wil be well spent...LOL

Golfer09

How about having a private party at one of the many bars in Chicago.  You can set an open tab for a certain amount and after it hits go to a cash bar.  Or many bars will strike a deal where it's X dollars per person all you can drink. 

I know with Glascotts in Lincoln Park you can get a private room and get catering done by the Athenian Room restaurant next door (fabulous reasonable Greek food) or any other restaurant - you can bring in your own food.  I had a friend do this for his birthday and it worked out really well.

http://www.glascotts.com/index.php?section=10

If you want to go to the West Loop/Greek town, I believe Dugan's also has a private room and you can bring in your own food.

http://dugansonhalsted.com/private-parties/

TEA&Co

To echo previous comments, I think that a pizza party would be the opposite of weird--I would love to go to a pizza get-together!  We wanted to do one for our rehearsal dinner but IL's are hosting and they nixed this

Debi brings up a good point about you hosting at your house though--who knows how long people will stay and there is a clean-up factor involved, even if you do disposable plates/cups/utensils.  What about just hosting at a pizza place--Gino's, Lou's, etc.?  I can't imagine that it would be crazy expensive and that way you'd get the casual vibe but without the stress of planning and hosting. 

Good luck and congratulations!

laurebkraft

Thanks guys! It sounds like pizza is the way to go! I appreciate the feedback.

HannasMOH

I think pizza is great, who doesn't like pizza?  I do agree that if you are staying at your house that night you might want to ask a friend or someone else to host so you are not up all night.  We had our rehearsal in Milwaukee and rented out a park pavilion in the marina, the view was amazing and it was CHEAP since we did a taco bar we put together ourselves.  I did way too much though and should have asked for help ... not good the night before the wedding.  My friend did the same thing but had a coordinator (Tailored Engagements) set up and clean up and that went a lot better.  It was included in her wedding package too.  Anyway, I say go for the pizza and good luck!!

aimers1525

I think a pizza party is a great idea--especially for OOT people! I like less formal rehearsal dinners--my MOH had a bbq at a park for hers, but had the food catered so no one had to cook or anything.  We're probably having something a little more formal at a sit down restaurant but it will just be for immediate family and the wedding party.