Hello all,
I just wanted to run my general reception ideas by another group besides my mom, partner, and bridesmaids to see what people think. We're having a casual backyard wedding and BBQ complete with pig roast (a family tradition). We are inviting about 75 guests. The venue is my parents' farm - not your typical size yard - so we have plenty of space to spread out.
My main concern is that we're not having dancing - neither of us is big into dancing (though I will if I'm in the mood!) so besides our first dance and father/daughter dance we don't plan to have a dance floor or your typical dance music. Because of this, I want to have enough options that people can find something to do, but I don't want to overplan it, or have it to come off like a carnival, with 25 different games or activity stations. (Though I have heard of carnival-themed weddings and would love to attend one!)
When planning the party we thought, what kind of party do we like to go to? Honestly we just love sitting around a fire drinking beer listening to music. So we went with that as the backbone of our plan.
- With that in mind, we're having a live bluegrass band cover the 45-60 mins between ceremony and reception--cocktail hour in usual parlance though it seems weird to use that term for such a casual event haha (it is hosted - there will be alcohol and refreshments available during this time).
- I am thinking we could have lawn games like cornhole and horseshoes during this time.
- After dinner we plan to have a place for live music for those who want to sing and play - my family is all musical and we love to jam. We are inviting guests who play an instrument to bring it with them if they can do so safely. I don't know if this group will be mic'ed or just acoustic - I think acoustic.
- We will have a bonfire. Knowing my pyromaniac dad, this will probably be huge, so as a backup I plan to also have a smaller campfire-size fire, with s'mores!
- We will have an upbeat iPod playlist for those who are not interested in the jam session (no DJ but my friend, who is an entertainer, will emcee for announcements and such). I'm concerned about noise pollution between the iPod music and the people playing music - but with such a huge yard we should be able to separate the jammers from the general pop, I would think. I'm open to ideas on the logistics of this!
- I suppose the lawn games would still be out at this point though it may be getting dark by now - and I also plan to have at least 2 games, dominoes for the older folks and Cards Against Humanity for the younger ones (or hell, vice versa, you never know what cards my nanny might want to play in CAH!). If 2 isn't enough I am open to suggestions!!!
So to sum up - after dinner we would have bonfire, s'mores, music jamming, lawn games and regular games with iPod background music.
Oh, also at some point my partner and my brothers will be setting off fireworks... I won't go there haha.
But I want to make sure that's enough to give everyone options. As adults I assume if they are not interested in those options they will help themselves to a beer and sit under the tent and talk to people. And if they are truly bored, they will go home I guess? I don't know - is that rude?
So, with apologies to those who love nothing more than a big loud dance party, what do you think about the activities for our backyard BBQ shindig? Lame? Would you have fun? Any suggestions? Thank you!