reception send off

benmel31

our wedding will be over about 9 pm and we are not doing an after party or anything.  FI and I are going to a little B&B for the night.  is it necessary to do a send off?  how would this work?  would the DJ announce it?  also, i don't have anything special for guests to wave, throw, etc.  finally i am concerned that family members and/or BP members may forget to collect some of the things we brought to the venue.

suggestions, advice, and ideas are welcome!  thanks!

trix1223

I've never actually seen a reception send-off IRL.  At both of my kids' weddings, they were among the last to leave.  (They wanted to enjoy every minute of their receptions, and then there was clean-up, etc.)

I wouldn't worry about it.

jagore08

We did a send off and were staying at the same location as the wedding (the honeymoon cottage was actually about 10 steps away from our sendoff).  We were going to drive around the block but had car trouble just before the ceremony.  We had our guests blow bubbles and then we walked around the reception house.  It was fun and made for some good pictures.

If it's stressing you too much then just don't do one.  They're not necessary.  The only reason we did one is because we had a strict end time we needed to be out of the reception hall and it seemed like a good way to let guests know it was ending.

cschuma2

My husband, our parents, and I were the last to leave the reception.  I wanted to enjoy every minute of the reception that I could.  In addition, I didn't want to make our families work by cleaning up the centerpieces and other decor, taking home the leftover food, cake, and alcohol, packing up the gifts, etc.  While our parents stayed to help, I would have never demanded that they do so.

I've only seen one send off  IRL, and it didn't work too well.  Only about 1/4 of the guests went outside and waited for the bride and groom.  Everyone else went to their cars and left.

I really don't feel like I missed out on anything by skipping this.

mysticl

In some circles the send off is the sign that it is ok for the guests to leave (it was considered rude to leave before the bride and groom).  I went to one wedding where the bride and groom did a send off in the reception room.  Everyone lined up and cheered for them and a special song was played and they walked out of the doors.  This signaled their "official" departure so people could leave.  They walked right back into the reception and partied till it was over.  Most of the weddings i've been to as an adult the B&G stay till the end.  As far as things like bubbles, rice, bells, etc. for the departure I've seen them used more as the couple walks out of the church (then turns around and goes back in for photos) than after the reception. 

I plan to stay at my reception till the last minute.  We have a very strict departure time out of ours so about 15-20 minutes before the end I'l probably make some sort of thank you speech to everyone, ask them to  join us for the last dance and then start moving them towards the door.  Maybe station us at the door so we can say good-bye to everyone as they leave and get the family/wp to start herding them out. 

belgirl

Its funny---I have never been to a wedding where they DIDN'T have a send off..lol...I guess it really depends on the time of the day, if there is dancing at the wedding, how late the reception is etc.  We are doing sparklers at our send off which ends at around 10 PM.  We will have the MC announce when its time for everyone to start moving outside etc.  Its not required however, so like the previous poster said, if you are that stressed about it, you don't need to do one.  Although personally, I LOVE send offs. 

alithebride

i cannot understand, for the life of me, why anyone would want to leave their own party early!
stay until the end and then just go to your room. it's your day and your party. enjoy it all.

pokepoke27

I also think the send off is the que to leave, although I really want to stay after for the clean up. I'll probably skip it and just have an announcement saying it's over. As far as picture go, I can always just have people blowing bubbles at us as we leave our ceremony site.