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Nevada-Las Vegas
No reception...
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?
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Re: No reception...
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.
Can't wait to say 'I do' on April 14, 2014 - Planning Bio
Married in Vegas - June 2011
That is totally reasonable for your situation!!!! I do not think you should feel horrible!!
Best of luck to you!
Engaged: June 16, 2011 @ Bellagio fountains
Ceremony: Planet Hollywood
Reception: Margaritaville
May 26, 2013
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.
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.
[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. :)
[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.
Married in Vegas - June 2011
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.
http://frankenstiensgirl.weebly.com
April 2013 Siggy Challenge: Save The Dates
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!
[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)
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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.
[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.
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[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>
[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.