day-after gatherings???

LeenR44

What are you doing the next morning?  I just don't think I can possible organize another event, though I do want my out-of-town family to have a chance to see me before they leave.!   Is it OK just to tell everyone we will be at X Restaurant at X time, meet us there if you like?

ohwhynot

The hotel we booked for out of towners offered a fairly decent breakfast buffet offered with the room fee, so most of our guests were there when we came down for breakfast.  It was very nice to be able to chat a bit before people left for home.

I think it gets a bit trickier if you're at a restaurant where, at some point, someone is going to pay a bill:  people may be expecting you to pay.  Also, once you finish your meal, you really can't stay around for latecomers without getting the side-eye from waitstaff.   

Maybe you could go to a park or something for a few hours and let people know where you'll be if they want to stop by?  Or brew some coffee at home and offer coffee and juice to anyone who wants to stop by? 

[Deleted User]

Well, we left for our HM the next day, so this wasn't really an issue for us. I wish we could have done a brunch or something, but that kinda of thing really isn't common in our family/friend circle. Plus we only had 2 wks for wedding & HM (we live out of state & had to travel home) so we had to leave for the HM the next day.

LeenR44

We are actually choosing to stay in our house on our wedding night, but were thinking aobut meeting our friends/my parents at the hotel where they will be staying.  This way they would not have to pay, just us.  Or, we considered ordering pasteries/coffee from a local place and having it at our reception site where we will be cleaning up.  I just don't want people to think that is a ploy for us to get free labor!

npasquale16

I agree with OWN.  The last wedding we went to, we were the OOT guests.  Everyone just met downstairs for the breakfast the hotel offered and the B&G had a chance to talk to all of us before everyone left.  It was very nice and we're planning on doing the same, since most of our guests will be OOT.

andy71781

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_day-after-gatherings?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:69315a8f-bfd4-4dab-b59e-bd3e6cfa6304Post:8cca0c46-e7c3-4b7b-bec6-1eb050af73c7">Re: day-after gatherings???</a>:
[QUOTE]We are actually choosing to stay in our house on our wedding night, but were thinking aobut meeting our friends/my parents at the hotel where they will be staying.  This way they would not have to pay, just us.  Or, we considered ordering pasteries/coffee from a local place and having it at our reception site where we will be cleaning up.  I just don't want people to think that is a ploy for us to get free labor!
Posted by LeenR44[/QUOTE]
I think if people were around the place when you were cleaning up they would feel obligated to help.  If you did it before you cleaned up it might be a little nast.  If you can clean up before then you should do that.  Check out craigslist - maybe you could hire somebody to help?

j&n3

At the inn we are staying at, there will be breakfast and mimosa's the next morning for all that stay there... it's simple and easy, and the ones that will come will be the ones that are there already. 

andy71781

We had a horrible time figuring out what to do.  We didn't want to have at a restaurant because we wanted people to be able to chat.  our hotel didn't have a breakfast like that and people stayed all of the city.

One of my besties has a nice house and she offered to let us use her space.  We ordered a bunch of food (Ann Sather - Chicago - amazing!) and I paid a woman to help serve and clean up.  I didn't want my friend to have to lift a finger and I didn't want to have to clean up either.  Total cost?  $500 for brunch for 40 and tons of left over food.

angel2210

Most of the OOTs are staying in one hotel, but the ones who aren't are still RIGHTTHERE because all the nice hotels in my hometown are seriously a stone's throw from each other. We're staying at a different hotel from family but we're all meeting at tehris for breakfast before we leave.

apple_green

We're having a very casual BBQ the next day. It's a DW so we wanted to do something additional as another "thank you" for making the trip. Luckily, my parents volunteered to take care of everything, & my aunt offered to make a few side dishes. Basically my dad just has to BBQ some hot dogs & hamburgers.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Well, Fi's mom mentioned possibly hosting a brunch, which we would probably do at the hotel. If not, I was thinking about getting some bagels/yogurt/fruit and setting it up in a conference room, then letting people know they can stop by and chat for a bit.

cat1121

I feel like I'm in a tricky place with this. Thanks for posting.

We are having a DW  in the moutains 2 hours away from our home. Everyone will be travelling to some degree, but we are still close enough that some people are just making a day trip out of it.

Our venue offers a buffet that's around $15 a head. I'd lke to be able to pay for it but it's probably another 1k and I think that might be a bit much.

Our venue coordinator said she often has couples just be in their if people want to come in and they pay themselves.

Undecided.

katiewhompus

Dh's family was staying in the same hotel we were, so we all met for the free breakfast together and hung out from 10am until about noon. Then we went to my parent's house and spent time with our friends and my family from 1pm until about 3pm. We just had some fruit, sandwiches, crackers, etc.

Then Sunday Scott and I joined my parents and dad's relatives to go on a tour of DC. Grandma still talks about it (over a year since the wedding) and how wonderful it was that we spent the weekend with them.

Meagan78

For FSIL's wedding, we (her brother and I) hosted a brunch for OOT guests at our house.  Mimosas, egg casseroles, fresh fruit.  It was very relaxed and a great way to catch up with all who attended.  FSIL and her new husband stopped by for a while and then left for the airport.  We anticipate that they will do something similar for us.

vlevitt

DH's parents hosted a simple brunch at their place the morning after.  it was super casual.  just fruit, begels, cream cheese, muffins and tea/coffee.

it was nice to see everyone the next day, and i'm glad we did it because it was a nice send off for us and out OOT guests, but honestly - i was exhausted.  being at yet another social event after a friday night dinner, saturday morning event, saturday evening event and all day wedding nearly killed me.

v.

squirrly

We had originally planned to have a brunch the next day for basically the RD crowd, but flight times changed, and we really just couldn't manage it.  The hotel offered a breakfast, and most everybody ate there.  We just wandered down and visited with folks. 

We actually ended up taking my H's family down to my grandparents farm for part of the afternoon to see the baby horses that were born the night before our wedding.  We had leftover bbq from the welcome dinner on Friday night that my parents brought down, and we had that for lunch.  It was a bit hectic getting it pulled off last minute, but everybody enjoyed it. 

My grandfather decided to get the show horse out and have me ride, though.  In flip-flops.  And the clothes I needed to board the plane to France in.  So, that was interesting. 

JenO24

We're getting married at the beach and my Mom rented a house which she'll stay at before the wedding and we'll use the rest of the week for our honeymoon.
We'll go over there the morning after for brunch w/ whatever OOT guests show up.  Many of our OOT guests have quite a drive so it'll mainly be WP and immediate family for the brunch, which is OK w/ us!