No reception...

[Deleted User]

We are getting married at the MGM in Sept, and just having a ceremony, but no reception. This is due to the cost. We would be willing to go out to dinner with everyone who wants to (will probably be about 40-50 people in all), but a couple questions: (1) If we pick a restaurant to go eat at, and let anyone who wants to, join us, I want to make sure that everyone knows they are paying their own way. How do we do this without seeming cheap? (2) What restaurant would be a good choice to do this at? (3) Or should we just choose a bar/restaurant to all hang out at afterwards? If so, any suggestions for places that would be large enough for a group of this size?

thesepinkdays

Are your guests flying in? Or are you local?

missmo14

What time of day is your wedding ceremony? Maybe you could have a casual 'reception'ie some heavy apps at a bar where you and FI shout the first round perhaps. Im not sure what your budget will allow for but perhaps something like that.

EmiliaC01

I know that paying for meals can get quite expensive, but if this is a destination wedding and people are traveling in, I would recommend having something small afterwards. If your ceremony isn't around meal time, perhaps have a cake reception or some appetizers? Are you staying in a suite at all? If so, with that many people or less, perhaps you can invite them up to your suite and have it there for relatively inexpensive.

vegasgroom

The purpose of the reception is to thank your guests for coming to your wedding.  I'm just going to be blunt and say it's not particularly gracious to have your guests spend what won't be a small amount of money in travel to Vegas, staying there, food, purchasing what will likely be a wedding gift, etc. and not having any sort of reception.  Check out some buffets or things like that; you can throw an event that won't cost that much.

justplucky

If you invite someone to your wedding and don't host some sort of reception, you will look cheap no matter what else you do. How about renting a suite and hosting a cake/champagne/sparkling cider reception at the very least? $1000 will buy buffet for 40 slightly off-Strip.

grizzlyrick

I am also not having a dinner. It was going to be us and two friends that went to Vegas to get married and before I knew it, 26 other people booked, not like I have a problem with them going, it's just everyone knew we were having a party at out house when we get back, dj, pig roast chickens etc. I feel horrible not being able to take everyone out to dinner but our ceremony is at 7 and the double decker is pickin us up at 7:30 and were getting the drinks and paying for that.

thesepinkdays

In Response to Re:No reception...:[QUOTE]I am also not having a dinner. It was going to be us and two friends that went to Vegas to get married and before I knew it, 26 other people booked, not like I have a problem with them going, it's just everyone knew we were having a party at out house when we get back, dj, pig roast chickens etc. I feel horrible not being able to take everyone out to dinner but our ceremony is at 7 and the double decker is pickin us up at 7:30 and were getting the drinks and paying for that. Posted by grizzlyrick[/QUOTE]

That is totally reasonable for your situation!!!! I do not think you should feel horrible!!

chrisandmeg2013

Yeah, you really can't have a wedding and not host some sort of get-together after. Like Vegasgroom said: your guests are putting a lot of time and money into seeing you get married and you need to thank them. I think that for that size guest list, and in-suite reception would be the cheapest option. You don't have to be super fancy about it....if you wanted to keep it really inexpensive, pizza and beer/wine would be better than nothing. If you have even a couple hundred, you could have a caterer do appetizers or sandwiches (try Jason's Deli)....and you could buy a lot of it yourself (salad, chips/dip, crackers and cheese) for pretty cheap too.

Best of luck to you!

Starlight811

Have you thought about appetizers maybe?? if you can't afford a whole meal what about a cake and champagne reception? It's not right to have a destination wedding & invite everyone and not thank them for coming but expect them to eat with you but pay. Its very expensive to travel and you want to thank your guests for being there. I know if money is tight you have no room for a full dinner but try and research cake and champagne or appetizers and maybe throw in a bus tour?? Something to thank them for traveling.

fablove

I know this might be easier said than done, but cutting down your guest count to something you could actually afford would make a huge difference as well. That's what we had to do when planning. We knew we couldn't afford a lot of people and only invited 15 and with that, we are able to have our wedding reception dinner at a restauant with still being able to afford all the other things we wanted to include.

LPinVegas

You're in a tough spot if you don't have the budget as I agree with the previous posters regarding guest coming to Vegas for your wedding. We had guests coming from out of town (we're locals), spending money on travel, hotels, meals etc. and the general consensus was we needed to host them the night of our wedding to thank them for coming (we also did no gifts), also we wanted to.

If you don't have the budget you don't have the budget, I get that. However, have you considered looking off strip? We looked at both and found a place off strip that was quite reasonable and everyone ended-up having a grand time. For 40 guest, 5 hour (wedding and reception), open beer and wine bar for 4 hours, great buffet meal, DJ we paid around $2,000 including taxes and gratuities.  If we would have done this on the strip, it would have cost us minimum twice as much. My point is, if you do have a little budget available, look off strip, you can find some pretty good deals out there.

As someone above mentioned you could do pizza and beer in-suite too. We also looked at Jason's for in-suite and they were quite affordable.

SnowWhiteMontreal

Well, I think quite the opposite of most people here. If you can't afford the reception, just don't have one. If your family and friends go to Vegas to attend your wedding and already know about your financial restrictions, I think they will understand. If they find it rude, they just have to stay at home. I don't think struggling into debts is the best solution.

If they travel to Vegas, they expect to spend money on meals and entertainment. It's not one paid meal that will change something in the end. You could, though, offer them a little surprise like  a Strip Tour on a DDB which would cost you less than $400 and last longer than a meal and bring memories that will also last longer than the fact that you paid them a meal.

Just tell your guests that actually they aren't guests. They are invited to join you on this magic day. Guest means that you pay for everybody. Just invite them to join your party and it's not rude to say you cannot afford everything. People who love you probably would prefer you to be honest and let them pay a meal than getting into debts pretending you could afford it all.

mbenoit03

your in a tough spot, cus these guests invited themselves. but i agree with the others, proper etiquette is to at least have cake and champagne back in your suite. you can do this for about $200. Or is it possible to postpone your date so you can save more for these guests who love you and want to be part of your big day? if this is a destination wedding you should be very happy friends and family are willing to travel and attend your big day. you do need to show them you are both thankful. 

Kris10bixler

I agree with others, if people are coming all the way to Vegas I feel like the least I could do is provide dinner. Buffets can be pretty budget friendly. Or like another suggested, cut down on your guest list.

SnowWhiteMontreal

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:e79b7da8-6550-4da3-be4a-a51e429e0e65">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]Are they aware of the fact you are not having a reception? I would send out an email to let them know it's pay your own way. 
Posted by ccavness[/QUOTE]

Yeah, following what I replied, you HAVE to let them know in advance, like in the invitation at best. :)

vegasgroom

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:919884a0-27d1-4464-9d1f-5fcbcefb61ac">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]Well, I think quite the opposite of most people here. If you can't afford the reception, just don't have one. If your family and friends go to Vegas to attend your wedding and already know about your financial restrictions, I think they will understand. If they find it rude, they just have to stay at home. I don't think struggling into debts is the best solution.

If they travel to Vegas, they expect to spend money on meals and entertainment. It's not one paid meal that will change something in the end.
Posted by SnowWhiteMontreal[/QUOTE]

I can't agree with that; for two reasons.  First, they shouldn't have to share their financial issues with anyone, and making the assumption that they don't choose to tell everyone they know that they're in bad financial shape, that means people will be surprised there's no reception.  I'm sure if they know in advance the guests will still go, but if a family member invited me to a destination wedding and said ther'ed be no reception, I'd judge...   Second, my opinion is that if you're in such a dire financial situation that you don't have an extra $1k to throw a reception for your wedding guests, well, then to be blunt, you should not be traveling to Vegas to get married in the first place.

Travel is not cheap, hotels are not cheap, dining out is not cheap, honeymoons are not cheap, and if someone is in such a situation, spending even more money on flying off to get married somewhere is just financially irresponsible. 

Money is one of the most common, if not THE most common, cause of arguments in marriage, and ultimately failures of the marriage.  Spending money you don't have to get married in an expensive tourist destination, going into a marriage in bad financial shape, etc. is just asking for trouble down the line.  Can't tell you how many friends I know who 'moved in together to save money' or got married to 'save money' are, well, no longer married.

FrankensteinsGirl

I'm on a crazy tight budget for our wedding.  I planned far in advance and found options that fit our budget. 

We're eating burgers instead of 'wedding food' and instead of dj/dancing we opted for the DDB tour and drinks there.  I wasn't even planning on doing drinks at the restuarant because of money (only on the bus because we buy those fromt he store and the cost was mush less than in a bar) but after saving and cutting costs every where possible we're able to offer drinks with dinner

We picked the cheapest ceremony package.  It only comes with one phoro print but my friends/family know we're counting on them to take lots of photos.  We booked a photographer for two hours before the wedding so we'll have pictures regardless. 

We're staying for 5 nights for under $300- is it the nicest hotel, no.  But it'll do  
After all is said and done our wedding will be approx 5,000 and that includes our attire and rings, gifts, hotel, alcohol, food, cake etc etc. It doesn't include our spending money while in Vegas.

chipperbride

I am one of the odd balls that not only AGREE with no "reception dinner" but I am doing it myself.  I understand both sides of the debate, and this is how we explained it to everyone:

WE ARE ELOPING, BUT IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN CELEBRATING WITH US, PLEASE DO!

So it's not a classic "wedding" that has all the expenses of a reception.  Me and my FI are getting hitched, and we don't need anyone there, but if our friends and family want to come down with us, we'd be delighted.

What I did was booked a ceremony at the Excalibur, which was cheap and looks decent for the price.  And I booked my wedding on a Sunday so that hotel rooms are cheap, and I booked the Skyline Terrace Suite at MGM for $700.

As a group we'll go pick up pizza (who doesn't like pizza?) and BYOB, and let's partyyy!!

As much as the tradition of the reception means to many brides, I truly don't think it is the most important part of the day.

A wedding is about two people who love each other and want to get married.  And the day is for THEM, so whatever works for the two of you is exactly what you SHOULD do!

I cancelled my traditional wedding, and we changed plans.  We let everyone know where we would be and when, and it's up to them if they want to pay the money to come down.  no pressure.  PLUS.. you get a DVD of the ceremony with most packages, so you could have a big BBQ back home and watch it together as a group for anyone who can't afford it.

Best of Luck.  Just do what makes you happy!! That's what it's all about!

SnowWhiteMontreal

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:85c0d830-d923-4f8e-bdda-c530898b9656">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: No reception... : I Second, my opinion is that if you're in such a dire financial situation that you don't have an extra $1k to throw a reception for your wedding guests, well, then to be blunt, you should not be traveling to Vegas to get married in the first place. Posted by vegasgroom[/QUOTE]

Actually, depending on where you live, getting married can be a lot cheaper, including the travel, than having a traditionnal wedding. I know. That is one of the reason why I decided to get married in Vegas because this wedding (with the travel expenses and the hotel for a whole week) PLUS another honeymoon at Walt Disney World is going to cost me about $10K. If I had gotten married the traditionnal way at home, it would have cost me a minimum of $10K ONLY for the wedding day. The good thing about Vegas is that everybody in the wedding industry is so in competition with each other because Vegas is the ultimate and most popular place in the world to get married at. For example, here in Montreal, I couldn't find a good photographer below $3000 and they don't even provide the DVD... In vegas I'm gonna have Joey Allen for half the price along with the DVD!

So I do think that going to Vegas to get hitched is a good way to save money. Of course you can get married the rich way at Bellagio for $30K if you want. But you can also have a little very charming wedding for a few hundreds as well. At home, the only thing you can have for a few hundreds if getting married at Cityhall and have a BBQ at home (one of my friend did that.. $200 but no magic at all)

*****************************

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:16fa89d0-f4d9-48df-9b4c-abffc5051c7b">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]IWE ARE ELOPING, BUT IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN CELEBRATING WITH US, PLEASE DO! So it's not a classic "wedding" that has all the expenses of a reception.  Me and my FI are getting hitched, and we don't need anyone there, but if our friends and family want to come down with us, we'd be delighted. Posted by chipperbride [/QUOTE]

THIS. E-X-A-C-T-L-Y THIS.

[QUOTE]
What I did was booked a ceremony at the Excalibur, which was cheap and looks decent for the price.  (...)  I cancelled my traditional wedding, and we changed plans.  We let everyone know where we would be and when, and it's up to them if they want to pay the money to come down.  no pressure.  PLUS.. you get a DVD of the ceremony with most packages, so you could have a big BBQ back home and watch it together as a group for anyone who can't afford it. Best of Luck.  Just do what makes you happy!! That's what it's all about!
Posted by chipperbride[/QUOTE]

Did the same thing and I too booked with Excalibur :) I too was supposed to get married the traditionnal way but when I realized how much it would cost here when I could have more for less in Vegas, FI and I decided to go there.

We too sent out invitation saying "Looking for a reason to visit Las Vegas? Attend the wedding of..." and with the invitation we explained that we are indeed eloping but if they want to join us, they are more than welcome but we cannot afford paying anything for them except a Strip Tour in a DDB (which we have booked even before sending the invitation and we would have kept it even if nobody came because WE wanted it... So we would have had fun the two of us with the photographer, that's it)!

For those who cannot come, we totally agree and we are planning on having a party at home once we get back so everybody can look at the pictures, the video and celebrate with us! :)

The wedding is about the bride and the groom first. And yes, it is allowed to think about ourselves first: it's our day.

[Deleted User]

I was originally planning on just going with my fiance and a couple family members and just going to get married there and then have a backyard pig roast when we get back. Well, it turned into lots of people wanting to go even though they knew we weren't doing anything other than getting married. It's all family and a few close friends, so I can't disinvite some. I've never wanted a big wedding, but everyone we are close to wants to be there for our actual wedding. I don't think we'll have funds to do even a suite reception, as it is very expensive even for that, as I have looked into it. Hence why we were planning on just doing it on our own with maybe 10 people tops, there with us (as we were planning a vacation there anyway).

[Deleted User]

Also, they all knew there was no reception before booking anything, and that we don't expect anyone to go. But they still want to. 

[Deleted User]

And I was thinking of doing the bar/apps thing, as some suggested, which we could afford. Just wasn't sure if that would be ok or not? We are all coming from out of town. Anyone local know of somewhere near MGM that we could do that, or even who I could contact in Vegas (other than a wedding planner) to set up something small?

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:74333ff3-a1b2-4da8-8112-8c0a66cf3466">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]You're in a tough spot if you don't have the budget as I agree with the previous posters regarding guest coming to Vegas for your wedding. We had guests coming from out of town (we're locals), spending money on travel, hotels, meals etc. and the general consensus was we needed to host them the night of our wedding to thank them for coming (we also did no gifts), also we wanted to. If you don't have the budget you don't have the budget, I get that. However, have you considered looking off strip? We looked at both and found a place off strip that was quite reasonable and everyone ended-up having a grand time. For 40 guest, 5 hour (wedding and reception), open beer and wine bar for 4 hours, great buffet meal, DJ we paid around $2,000 including taxes and gratuities.  If we would have done this on the strip, it would have cost us minimum twice as much. My point is, if you do have a little budget available, look off strip, you can find some pretty good deals out there. As someone above mentioned you could do pizza and beer in-suite too. We also looked at Jason's for in-suite and they were quite affordable.
Posted by LPinVegas[/QUOTE]<div>Where did you have it, if you don't mind my asking? It's not that I don't want to have something, but my fiance is a landscaper in WI, so obviously in winter he's not working. This was originally planned as just us wanting to get married while we were on vacation and before we knew it, everyone wanted to come. I'd be willing to look into something slightly more reasonable than the prices I've been quoted on the strip. 

</div>

grizzlyrick

Another thing I did to cut costs is I'm getting married by the wedding wagon in front of bellagio fountains, it's only 129.00. All the reviews are great

grizzlyrick

I live in Wisconsin too by the way:

themrsJRD

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:981b0ff8-ae5d-4f6d-abd3-f50c95d645fe">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]And I was thinking of doing the bar/apps thing, as some suggested, which we could afford. Just wasn't sure if that would be ok or not? We are all coming from out of town. Anyone local know of somewhere near MGM that we could do that, or even who I could contact in Vegas (other than a wedding planner) to set up something small?
Posted by kimbfridl[/QUOTE]

<div>This would be totally acceptable. I don't have any suggestions on venue though, sorry. Check vegasgroom's site.</div><div>
</div><div>I would also like to add that we were on a VERY tight budget, and our in suite reception food was seriously pizza and wings from Pizza Hut. No one cared because they were all starving and hey, it was good. We also had lots of alcohol and a cake.</div>

LPinVegas

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_no-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:576ae3f2-ef90-42ff-97f2-fc0092d16c9ePost:7652184d-b536-4e71-b207-dfe42264e2f1">Re: No reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: No reception... : Where did you have it, if you don't mind my asking? It's not that I don't want to have something, but my fiance is a landscaper in WI, so obviously in winter he's not working. This was originally planned as just us wanting to get married while we were on vacation and before we knew it, everyone wanted to come. I'd be willing to look into something slightly more reasonable than the prices I've been quoted on the strip. 
Posted by kimbfridl[/QUOTE]
Don't mind you asking att all. We got married and had our reception at The Wedding Room. If you'd like I'd be more than happy to send you a link to our WedPics on-line guest wedding album and a link to the photo our photog took so you can see the venue for yourself. It's off strip, in kind of an odd building, however, once inside it's great, at least for us and our guests (even my mother who is quite picky) loved it. You can Private Message me with your email address or just list it here.

lc123456

themrsJRD, may I ask where you had your in-suite reception at?

sarjhawk

Interesting discussion!  I too am really trying to stay true to my budget.  Its easy to get carried away.  We have roughly 80 people coming (or that is our guess).  Does anyone konw of a place without a food minimum where we could do heavy apps in a casual atmosphere?  Anyone know of any places on the strip where you can bring in your own food/drinks?

KikiMira

SnowWhiteMontreal said:

In Response to Re: No reception...:

In Response to Re: No reception... : I Second, my opinion is that if you're in such a dire financial situation that you don't have an extra $1k to throw a reception for your wedding guests, well, then to be blunt, you should not be traveling to Vegas to get married in the first place. Posted by vegasgroom

Actually, depending on where you live, getting married can be a lot cheaper, including the travel, than having a traditionnal wedding. I know. That is one of the reason why I decided to get married in Vegas because this wedding (with the travel expenses and the hotel for a whole week) PLUS another honeymoon at Walt Disney World is going to cost me about $10K. If I had gotten married the traditionnal way at home, it would have cost me a minimum of $10K ONLY for the wedding day. The good thing about Vegas is that everybody in the wedding industry is so in competition with each other because Vegas is the ultimate and most popular place in the world to get married at. For example, here in Montreal, I couldn't find a good photographer below $3000 and they don't even provide the DVD... In vegas I'm gonna have Joey Allen for half the price along with the DVD!

So I do think that going to Vegas to get hitched is a good way to save money. Of course you can get married the rich way at Bellagio for $30K if you want. But you can also have a little very charming wedding for a few hundreds as well. At home, the only thing you can have for a few hundreds if getting married at Cityhall and have a BBQ at home (one of my friend did that.. $200 but no magic at all)

This! 

We picked Vegas because we priced out a wedding at home in Canada and it was going to be almost $40K.... Photographers alone were starting at $4500!! But instead I booked Todd Wilson for under $1000 for 8 hours! Most places wanted a 15K food and bev minimum. Our venue in vegas is $6500.  We have almost paid everything off and we are going to come in at $22K thats including everything with 5 nights/6 days and flight for 2 people.  Also doing a destination wedding allowed us to cut down our guest list by almost a 100 people.