Day-after party??

ldcf11206

My wedding is 10/16/10.  We leave for our honeymoon on 10/18/10.  I'm thinking of having a brunch "bon voyage" party on 10/17/10.  My grandparents live in a condo community that has a nice, upscale poolhouse that we have reserved for family parties in the past.  I'm thinking we could reserve that for the "bon voyage" party.  I'm thinking it could be an open-invitation kind of thing...whoever wants to join us can come.  I think it would be a fun thing to do the day after the wedding, because we will have several out of town guests.  Also, my family and my fiance's family have a great time together, so it would be another chance for them to hang out and have fun.  I'm also thinking it would be a good time to open our wedding gifts, and it would be fun to share it all with everyone.  Has anyone else done this?  Can I get some opinions...is this a good or bad idea?

Leah&Christian09

We did something like this.  Most of our guests were OOT, so our parents hosted a BBQ in their backyard the day after the wedding.  It was really laid back and gave everyone a chance to hang out before they left town.  It was a lot of fun, and worked well.  I'm really glad my parents handled it, though.  With the wedding and people in town and so much activity, we didn't have time to do anything besides show up.  There is no way we could have handled throwing something like that the next day.  If you are going to do this, you need to be really realistic about how much you can handle.  You are going to be exhausted that day.  If you need to rent seating or tents or anything, you'll want to handle it before the wedding.  For food, you'll want to have someone deliver food for everyone.  You won't have the time or energy to shop and cook for everyone.Also, skip the gift opening.  It's uncomfortable and boring, and your guests will appreciate it if you just open the gifts in private and send thank you notes.

SarahPLiz

ditto PP. I think its a fine idea except for the gift opening. No one needs to see all of that. You should do it in private to avoid boredome and potenital embarrassment as your guests mentally compare their gifts to one another..

aerinpegadrak

The morning after brunch is becoming pretty common.  Our wedding is in Vegas, so the plan is to take everyone to one of the buffets.  I would also skip the gift opening, it's my least favorite part of any party where gifts are involved.

jayasolo

I think this sounds like an awesome idea! What a great way to be able to relax and visit with people before you take off for your honeymoon, especially those out-of-town guests who came so far to see you. I'm sure everyone will appreciate this.

atlcatlover

We had a bowling party the day after our wedding and it was a blast.

bellebride116

We are hosting a breakfast the day after the wedding at our venue. I'm excited! It's fun for everyone to get together again and talk about what fun the wedding was the day before.

banana468

I think a day after event for the wedding guests can be fun.But please do the gift opening in private. 

jenn.daniel

as long as you do NOT open gifts there, it sounds great!