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Reception family-- after party adults only??

terbear_86terbear_86 member
First Comment
in Wedding Reception Forum
*Still very early in planning* We have been researching venues and trying to plan a budget and several of the places we are looking at offer discounts for earlier receptions. As there are LOTS of children in our families, (and I have a child who will be in the ceremony with us and wouldnt DREAM of leaving out of my reception) it is a given that it will be kid friendly. We were thinking of having a timeline kinda like this: 12 ceremony2 lunch family friendly reception (prolly about 3-4 hours looking at venues) then a couple hour break 9-10 ish renting out a bowling alley or hitting up a bar for adult only activities--Question (s) are these: Has anyone ever done something like this before? Should you put the after-party on the invitations? By doing it this way, we kinda want to keep our alcohol cost down for the reception (its a lot cheaper to buy a keg of beer and some pizzas at the bowling alley and let others fend for their liquor) and only serve minimal  (would prefer none) alcohol at the reception especially since its the time of day we are considering.
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Re: Reception family-- after party adults only??

  • mbcdefgmbcdefg member
    5 Love Its First Comment Combo Breaker
    How long would the ceremony be? If the lunch would start at 2, it seems like you'd probably have about an hour gap, right? (Unless you're doing a long church ceremony and there's maybe 30-45 minutes of travel time to the hall.) If possible, I'd really try to start the luncheon ASAP after the ceremony. I'd also think about where people are coming from, before you plan a gap between the end of the luncheon and the start of the after party. If most people live nearby or will be staying in a hotel, then it's probably fine to have a gap because they can change into jeans and freshen up a bit before going out to party. If they live too close to get a hotel but too far to go home in between, that's going to be a LONG day for them and they might skip the after-party. Just look at your guestlist and if this is the majority of your guests, then you may need a new gameplan. It's fine not to serve alcohol at the reception, as long as you have other drinks available (soda, punch, water, coffee). It's also fine to only serve pizza and beer at the bowling alley.
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  • hbquinnhbquinn
    First Comment
    I have never been to a wedding like this, but apparently it happens frequently as a newer friend of ours asked "What hotel is the after party in?' "Um, after the wedding, me and new husband leave and you can party anywhere" was my response because we are already having a night wedding, and I'm not accustomed to "after parties" where I'm from. I would think it would NOT go on the invite and just be word of mouth. But make sure to announce it at the lunch so in case someone never heard they don't feel left out if they are able to attend. I'd be down for it though if I was a guest at your wedding. Probably a bar, and not bowling though.
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  • hbquinnhbquinn
    First Comment
    Oh, and I would only have a toast at the lunch/reception thingy since it's so early in the day...you don't want people leaving and passing out before the after party starts.
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