Separate Reception

[offcourse]

I will be getting married in late September, and I'm at a loss at how to plan our reception/celebration. (It will probably be at a small rented place or my parents house & backyard.) If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

1. Our wedding will be in Hawaii (only my immediate family in attendance), and our reception will be in our home

Comments

[roseofjuly]

1. I think you can do this however you want. You can just say that it's a celebration of your recent marriage, and it can be anything from "is what the reception would've been had I gotten married in the lower 48" to "just a big fun party in our honor." Wear a style that matches the occasion's formality. You can wear a white sheath for a more formal event; there are more retailers selling short white dresses now (Allure, Alfred Angelo & David's Bridal have some styles). Or you can just wear your favorite color. Whether or not you make a registry, I think, depends on your people and how son the reception is after the wedding. Is it the week after you come back? You may want to make one. Is it 6 months later? Maybe not. Are your friends and family the type that are gonna want to buy you gifts even if they aren't at the ceremony, or will they think you're grubby

[karnerblue]

I have a friend who did this (except she got married in Jamaica). They threw a party after they got back, like a reception, with dinner and cake, but they didn't have dancing, either -- instead, they had entertainment, a puppet show and a flea circus. She did wear her wedding dress (might as well get more use out of it), but she changed partway through the night into jeans.

[unboundvoice]

My cousin did this and she wore her wedding dress and a pair of cowgirl boots to the reception. Really cute!

[leideigh]

i'm doing the exact same thing you are!

my fiance and i are planning on getting married in hawaii, small family deal. we are then planning on a reception in los angeles a few months later, friends only.

we are still considering specifics, such as when and where, but as far as the friends reception i think i'll be wearing my dress again... why not, right? i love your idea of having wedding pictures on display. i also read that if it's outdoors it might be fun to set up yard games. idk about a registry, i wasn't planning on a second one, just want my friends there... was planning on a shuttle from a major hotel though.

glad to know someone is in the same boat as me!

[blessedrelease]

I sort of did this. I got married in San Diego, but my husband's family all lives in the UK so a lot of them couldn't make it. So we just had a party, basically. We had a registry mainly because his Aunt required it, but we only gave it out if someone asked. I was actually surprised by how many people did ask, actually. Anyways, we basically had a hog roast, drinks, and music. As far as I know, everyone had a good time and needed no special entertainment. However, if your friends are more low key I think board games or something like that would be a lot of fun. Also, I did wear my wedding dress because his Nan wanted to see me in it.