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Wedding Etiquette Forum
Lackluster Short Wedding Reception For A DW Dilemma
We're having a DW in Las Vegas with a guest count of 18 people not including us. Our ceremony would be at 11:30AM and we will be having a 2-hour brunch reception at 12:30PM at a hotel buffet (Wicked Spoon). That's literally 3 hours and I feel horrible, because who want to go to a DW for that short amount of time? Not to mention that it is a DW, but we are actually pretty nontraditional when it comes to reception activities as well since we're not doing any dancing and no toasts. We just wanted to at least give our guests a meal that they could choose whatever food they wanted to eat and how much they wanted to eat with the hotel buffet. Not to mention, Wicked Spoon is actually one of the top buffets in Las Vegas so it's not too shabby.
After reception, he and I are going on a 2 hour photo shoot tour on the Las Vegas Strip. I didn't want our guests waiting forever while we got our personal photo shoot done especially if they had to get up early for our wedding.
We're planning having an optional 'after-party' that would start at 5:30PM for all of guests to make up for our short reception. We would be taking them to a pizza joint (Flour & Barley) on the Linq Promenade for a 2-hour group reservation (we are paying) and then we would take them on 3.5 hour Vegas Strip tour via limo coach to see and explore some of the light shows like the Bellagio Fountains light show, the Fremont experience, and the Las Vegas sign. We would actually be able to get out and check out the places during the tour.
I guess what I'm trying to get to is that I know this doesn't actually follow proper etiquette for a wedding timeline, but would this be a bad add on for a lackluster short reception since it doesn't have the usual reception activities?
There's a couple of things I wanted to address: time and food/beverage.
1) TIME.
There will be a 3 hour gap between reception and the after party. I will be including 'Things To Do' ideas for timeframe if they didn't wish to go back to their hotels to freshen up, relax, and maybe get ready for the night. Wicked Spoon is at The Cosmopolitan and The Bellagio is next to it (15 min walk). They can hit up the casino at The Bellagio and the Flour & Barley is in the Linq promenade that has the Linq and Flamingo close by, where there are casinos there in both hotels. The Linq promenade is a shopping area with the High Roller and bowling as attractions.
2) FOOD/BEVERAGES
We can only afford to do the minimum food and beverage package (which means no alcohol, but they'll get unlimited non-alcoholic beverages) for both the Wicked Spoon and Flour & Barley if all 20 of us happen to attend. There are 2-hour bottomless beverage that we will let people know about if they wish to drink, but we don't mind that there is much alcohol involved. We will be having champagne in the limo tour though.
Feedback and input would be nice. Thanks!
After reception, he and I are going on a 2 hour photo shoot tour on the Las Vegas Strip. I didn't want our guests waiting forever while we got our personal photo shoot done especially if they had to get up early for our wedding.
We're planning having an optional 'after-party' that would start at 5:30PM for all of guests to make up for our short reception. We would be taking them to a pizza joint (Flour & Barley) on the Linq Promenade for a 2-hour group reservation (we are paying) and then we would take them on 3.5 hour Vegas Strip tour via limo coach to see and explore some of the light shows like the Bellagio Fountains light show, the Fremont experience, and the Las Vegas sign. We would actually be able to get out and check out the places during the tour.
I guess what I'm trying to get to is that I know this doesn't actually follow proper etiquette for a wedding timeline, but would this be a bad add on for a lackluster short reception since it doesn't have the usual reception activities?
There's a couple of things I wanted to address: time and food/beverage.
1) TIME.
There will be a 3 hour gap between reception and the after party. I will be including 'Things To Do' ideas for timeframe if they didn't wish to go back to their hotels to freshen up, relax, and maybe get ready for the night. Wicked Spoon is at The Cosmopolitan and The Bellagio is next to it (15 min walk). They can hit up the casino at The Bellagio and the Flour & Barley is in the Linq promenade that has the Linq and Flamingo close by, where there are casinos there in both hotels. The Linq promenade is a shopping area with the High Roller and bowling as attractions.
2) FOOD/BEVERAGES
We can only afford to do the minimum food and beverage package (which means no alcohol, but they'll get unlimited non-alcoholic beverages) for both the Wicked Spoon and Flour & Barley if all 20 of us happen to attend. There are 2-hour bottomless beverage that we will let people know about if they wish to drink, but we don't mind that there is much alcohol involved. We will be having champagne in the limo tour though.
Feedback and input would be nice. Thanks!
Re: Lackluster Short Wedding Reception For A DW Dilemma
A wedding invitation is not a court summons. Your guests can choose whether or not they want to attend your wedding.
A reception is where the couple greets their guests and thanks them for coming to their wedding ceremony. That is all. You are providing plenty of food and drink. Alcohol is not required, especially in the early afternoon. There is no reason for you to feel bad about your plans. Forty years ago, it was unusual to have dancing at a wedding reception - especially an afternoon one! The customs of dancing, bouquet tossing, speeches, etc. are COMPLETELY OPTIONAL!
Your afterparty plans are not a part of your wedding. Some guests might choose to return home early and skip it, but I doubt it. Sounds like fun!
Have a lovely wedding. You have planned it well.
I agree though, if it's possible to shuffle some of the budget around, providing alcohol for at least the reception would be a good idea. We've always said that B&Gs aren't required to provide alcohol/pay for after parties, so the fact that they are covering a portion of it is generous.
I wouldn't apologize, you're plans sound fine to me other than the covering alcohol unless you're having a dry event.
Seriously, your plans sound awesome! Best wishes and congratulations!
The one thing is that you shouldn't mention the 2 hour cocktails if you aren't paying for them. If your guests go to the bar, which they probably will, you should pretend not to notice.
However I do think the paying for drinks sounds like a cash bar situation. Maybe I’m reading the plans wrong (if so I apologize) but if sounds like you’re going to have the options to drink available, then to properly host people you should pay for these, or arrange it so they are not available. There is nothing wrong with a dry reception, but if that’s the case then it shouldn’t be available for the guests. It just seems like partial hosting to me.
The Flour & Barley place does have a meal enhancement of $14 per guest would be 2 glasses of either wine or beer. Their open beer and wine would be $36 per person for 2 hours, which is a little steep for us on top of the meal. We can definitely do the meal enhancement though.
We were originally going to have our wedding reception at the Canaletto in The Venetian in a private room then set off on the limo tour. Canaletto and The Venetian are gorgeous and beautiful atmosphere. The menu selection we choose was steep, but we figured that it was one 3-4 course plated meal that we were covering. Then the reality kicked in: the wedding itself just wasn't us. Our personalities were not even in our wedding anymore. We would never go to a fancy restaurant unless we were asked to go. We would go to the buffet or pizza (hence our selections now). Who were we trying to impress?
That's why everything shifted to a late morning wedding. No offense I wanted to wedding jitters and prewedding chaos to be over with so we could just enjoy our wedding day. I love breakfast so I thought brunch reception would be great, because the buffet would provide breakfast and lunch (for everyone who isn't a fan of breakfast). We're using the money we would've used for the Canaletto for the brunch reception and the afterparty meal. I guess I'm just thankful that it doesn't seem strange. I guess I didn't want lose ourselves in the process. The wedding is finally about us. I just want to thank you for putting my heart and mind at ease with the events of our day.
No I know, to clarify, I don't think she needs to host alcohol at the after party.
Basically, I just think it's a bit odd to offer your guests drinks at noon, and then expect them all to party with you at 5pm with no drinks.
OP is providing champagne for the limo, which is a nice extra touch.
To be honest, we added on the original after party events so our guests wouldn't feel cheated coming all this way for a DW that will be 3 hours long including ceremony and reception. Funny enough our wedding cake won't actually be at our reception but our after party. The only reason is that Wicked Spoon is a buffet and will have plenty of dessert options. We didn't want to take away from that experience.
OP, I think your plans sound amazing and like so much fun! I'm sure you, your FI, and your guests are going to have a great time.
I agree with your reasoning on having the cake later, for the after party. Many desserts to chose from at the buffet...and then wedding cake later that night...yee-haw!