Destination Weddings Discussions

How many of you are having an AHR?

Originally we weren't planning on it, but now that things are starting to come together I'm almost as excited for the AHR as I am for the wedding. Each for different reasons, but it will be a good time with good people :)

Are you doing an AHR? How soon after the wedding? If not, why not?

I meant to add another option saying 'haven't decided yet'.... so if that's the case just come in and say so :D

Re: How many of you are having an AHR?

  • We aren't doing an AHR. We are inviting 120 people to our DW and are expecting 80-90 people so most people we want there will be at our actual wedding ceremony and reception so we didn't think it was necessary:)
  • We aren't having one either.  We invited 105 and only have 26 coming.  We are paying for a wedding and reception in St Lucia.  We are not paying for one at home too.  It might sound kind of b!tchy but we are spending a lot of money and for the most part our friends have the means to take a trip like this so.... yeah I'm a little bitter. :)
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-theme-boards_destination-weddings_many-of-having-ahr?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Theme%20BoardsForum:54Discussion:0440d1a2-5f28-4a76-946a-8d663d709b07Post:6080c93b-8268-45ef-a56d-bd626325a366">Re: How many of you are having an AHR?</a>:
    [QUOTE]We aren't having one either.  We invited 105 and only have 26 coming.  We are paying for a wedding and reception in St Lucia.  We are not paying for one at home too.  It might sound kind of b!tchy but we are spending a lot of money and for the most part<strong> our friends have the means to take a trip like this so.... yeah I'm a little bitter.</strong> :)
    Posted by aukelly[/QUOTE]
    Haha I feel like you have every right to be a little bitter. In our case, the friends of ours that can afford it have young children and wouldn't be able to easily just up and leave for a week. Also, only one of our grandparents is able-bodied to the point that she could travel that far, the rest are lucky to be able to go grocery shopping, so the AHR is really for them since they can't make it and we want to be able to celebrate with them.
  • edited April 2011
    We're having one, but mainly because MIL offered to pay for it. Otherwise we probably wouldnt be. We had 30 people with us in Cancun and it was amazing.  Ours is 2 days shy of a month after our cancun wedding.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-theme-boards_destination-weddings_many-of-having-ahr?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Theme%20BoardsForum:54Discussion:0440d1a2-5f28-4a76-946a-8d663d709b07Post:dbb5c16b-36d9-4883-92bd-7f089758c743">Re: How many of you are having an AHR?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: How many of you are having an AHR? : Haha I feel like you have every right to be a little bitter. In our case, the friends of ours that can afford it have young children and wouldn't be able to easily just up and leave for a week. Also, only one of our grandparents is able-bodied to the point that she could travel that far, the rest are lucky to be able to go grocery shopping, so the AHR is really for them since they can't make it and we want to be able to celebrate with them.
    Posted by breaness[/QUOTE]

    <div>HAHA!  But one of the reasons we chose Friday instead of Sat was so people could go Thurs to Sun and just make it a long weekend if they wanted.  Even though that is a long way for such a short trip.  Anyhoo I'll stop venting in your post. :)</div>
  • We are having one.  4 weeks after the wedding in Mexico. 

    We knew going in that there would be lots of family (mostly his side) that would not travel for our wedding.  We invited about 70 people to the wedding - 15 are coming.

    We decided to increase the invite list for the AHR so we are inviting about 150 people.  Hoping to get about 120-130 to attend that.

    My AHR budget is about equal to the wedding budget. 
  • Were like 95% sure were doing a casual bbq AHR at our house 2 weeks after we get home from the honeymoon. Id do it 6 weeks after but the weather will be nasty by then. We'll have about 30 at the Dw and maybe like 75 at the Ahr?
  • edited April 2011
    We are not having an AHR.  The reason we chose a DW besides wanting the sand between our toes was the simplicity of a DW and saving money.  Both FI and I felt to have an AHR was against the reason we chose to have a DW to begin with.  We will be inviting almost 150 people to Mexico with us (The same list we would use if we were getting married in a traditional ceremony).  We aren't pressuring anyone to go, but if they can make it--GREAT!  If not, we understand and we'll be okay with it.  We have our parents going and our closest friends, which is most important.

    ETA:: With the 150 invited, we are thinking about 60ish will attend, mostly FI's family.  My family doesn't have much money and doesn't travel.  If we had an AHR it would be here in Carolina and my family would still have to travel.  Also, we have discussed the AHR twice now since July and have determined that it would be a drinking fest for our friends (which we're okay with) mixed with the "old" people that can't travel...and we didn't want just an old people party---sounds bratty, but it's what we want!
  • In Response to Re: How many of you are having an AHR?:

    We are not having one. We are primarily paying for the wedding in Aruba ourselves and definitely can not swing an AHR too. I kinda feel the same way as Kelly, we invited everyone we wanted/needed to and if they couldn't come, then so be it. My pseudo mom (close friend of mine who is older and considers me like her daughter) offered to have a little party in August for us, but that would be in CT and we have family and friends all over the place so not sure what that would be like or who would come.

    I think AHR are a really nice idea for special people who can't make it to the wedding though. If we had the funds we would probably have a small one.
    Photobucket Anniversary
  • I think I may be the only one on here doing a mostly tradition wedding reception as my AHR.  Pretty much, I want my cake and eat it too.  I honestly don't know how many people were invited, we kept throwing together invites to send out more.  I think it's in the range of 275.  We're planning on 150-200 coming.  It is 2 days after we come back.  Like we get in at 10pm, have friday, then it's on sat.  This was probably not a good idea looking back...but I wanted to stay in HI as long as I could and I wanted it on the holiday weekend so my family had more time off to come in.

  • We are doing an AHR. And we're having it at a reception hall. The DW is held in September (we'll be in Jamaica for a week) then we're off to our honeymoon in DR (for a week). Once we get back we'll have two weeks in between to finish prepping for our AHR in October during Columbus Day weekend. For our DW we invited only our immediate family and close friends (because we knew not everyone could afford to go). When everyone found out we weren't doing anything at home (originally) a ton of friends and family were upset so we decided to throw an AHR for those that couldn't come to Jamaica with us.  So all in all from the time we say I do to the AHR is about a month.

    The reason for all this craziness is that you only get married once (hopefully). And I want to celebrate our love for as long as I can and an entire month sounds just right. Besides the AHR gives me another chance to wear my dress (wanna get my money worth out of it). We figured if you're going do it - go big!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • We are doing one.  It will be 6weeks after we get back from our honeymoon. We both have really big families so doing a full wedding with everyone would have been too expensive.  We are also paying for everything ourselves, didn't want to go into debt to have a wedding and didn't want it to rain on our wedding day so DW was decided to make it easier for us.  Our AHR will be a backyard luau at our house. Nothing fancy, but lots of fun.

  • We're not doing one.  I originally wanted to just elope and now it's turned into 100+ of our closest friends in Key West!  I do not want the stress of planning two events.  We're in Tampa though and all my family is here for the most part.  My FI's fam is in KY so it would be a DW to them even if we had it here.  It's a pretty easy trip for the most part... if you want to come see us get married, you're more than welcome!  If not, no hard feelings but the festivities will be over once we get home! :)  We wouldn't want to pay for it even if we had the funds...

    But again, ours is a pretty easy trip to make so people who really wanna be there will make it.  If I were going across the world, I may consider doing something small!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • We are having a AHR but the date is not set yet. We're hoping to have it a little less than a month after our DW. It was something that we talked about for a while and finally decided that we both love a good party so why not. Also, we have such big families (invite list is 400-500 people) and grandparents who are not able to travel. Plus, FI's mom can rent us a venue for $100! The plan is to just have snacks, drinks, and a DJ. No decorating or major planning involved.
  • We might do one but it will b casual backyard BBQ style. We r paying for mostly everything ourselves, so it's not feasible to have an elaborate AHR, but if we could afford I would do it, bc I spent like 1000 over my wedding dress budget and want to wear it as much as possible :-D
    ~Destin Bride~06/17/2012~
  • We aren't having a AHR.  Reason being is simply my wedding and reception is in Aruba.  We are already paying a good amount of money for the DW and we have 40 people coming.  It is motly close family and friends.  We initially wanted a AHR but we live in NY.  It is really expensive to have the simplest party and we felt like all our close friends and fam would be with us so why the fuss...And as I sit and put it all in retrospect...I could NOT imagine planning basically two weddings at the same time.  This planning process had gotten the best of me several times.  I would be a disaster if I were doing all this doubled...


  • We're doing one 2 weeks after we get back.  We needed to make sure it was after Thanksgiving and not too close to Christmas.  We are having it a our park's pavilion and they have a beautiful light display up during the holidays.  So we're having mainly all desserts, drinking and dancing.  Just a party to celebrate our marriage (and it's another excuse for me to wear my dress again!).  I think you just need to talk with your FI and see what you're comfortable with and what you two really want.
  • We might.

    Our DW is only immediate family and a few close friends. Guest list of 20. Our friends where we currently live want to celebrate with us, so if we have anything it will be held in the neighborhood bar where we met, with finger foods and cake. Low-key and relaxed.

    My folks mentioned having one in my hometown (several states away from where we currently live) with cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., but nothing more has been mentioned. I have two brothers getting married before we do (well, one for sure) and one with a baby on the way, so lots more to be focused on than us. =)
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