Hi all,
I'm having a difficult time trying to determine a good timeline among other things. I am having an outdoor wedding and the pavilion is where I would like to host my vows & small cocktail party (50-75). I'm planning on signature cocktails, wine, beer & non-alcoholic beverages along with cold & hot hordourves. I would also like a small cake to cut along with a dessert table. My fiance wants a keg & karaoke for all of his friends that aren't invited to our wedding (probably another 100 guests). So our decision was to have a 2-3 hour cocktail reception and then have an "after party" at a local bar, reserving their tiki bar out back. We are going to have a dj & karaoke. We would also like to do the traditional dances including the dollar dance there. Then later in the evening provide pizza and/or sliders & fries around 10-11pm. We are planning on partying until 2am and the grill closes at midnight.
The questions I have are:
1. Would this still be considered an after-party even if we are planning on doing our traditional dances at the after party/tiki bar and the time we are thinking of starting it is at 8pm? Should it start at 9pm instead? Is that too late?
2. What time is appropriate for all of this? (My thoughts are wedding 3-4ish, cocktail hour from 4-6:30/7, after-party 8pm, late night snack 10-11pm, and partying until 2am+
3. Will the above timeline allow enough time for guests to grab a full meal on their own?
4. Should I sent out invites to the after-party to those guests that aren't invited to the wedding & cocktail reception? (Basically, this is the main reason we decided on this event, so my fiance could have his friends join in the celebration. He is also insistent on a dollar dance.)
5. Should I mention on a separate card within the wedding invite that there is an after-party with dancing & karaoke along with a late night snack (is it necessary to mention there will be a late night snack or not, I'm guessing not, but I'm not sure).
6. Do I need some seating arrangements at my outdoor cocktail reception?
7. If it's a planned "after-party" and since only hordourves & dessert were provided at the cocktail reception, the guests may want to grab a full meal on their own, if they do, would I still need to provide transportation to the "after-party"? (NOTE: there are lots of nice places to eat all in walking distance of where we are having our wedding/reception, even the hotel is in walking distance, but the tiki bar requires transportation).
8. One hotel is close to the wedding/reception and is very nice. The other hotel is close to the tiki bar after-party, not as nice but still decent and within walking distance. Should I set a time for a shuttle bus to pick guests up from the downtown hotel? Do I need round the clock shuttle service?
9. Do I give the guests an option of which hotel they want to stay at or do I just pick one?
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks everyone
K