DP as part of wedding day vs. welcome event

[donald&daisy]

So, I was thinking about the schedule of the big day and I was reading a bunch of the "glad I did/wish I did" lists and it got me wishing that we were having some sort of welcome event. We are getting married on a Saturday at 2:30 at SBP and the reception is scheduled from 3:30 to 8:30 at LSS and then a DP from 9 to 10:30 at Sago Cay. I am worried it will be a long day and too much food for everyone.

I wonder if it would be better to have the DP the Thursday or Friday before the wedding? Granted I would have to pay for transportation again, but otherwise the cost would be the same. Plus, it would give us time to actually see the guests and for me to meet some of DF's family I've never even met before.

One of the main reasons I wanted a DP (aside from the wow factor) was to have pics of us in our formal attire with the fireworks. I could still do this even without a DP and it might even be easier because I wouldn't have to worry about ignoring our guests, etc while we take pics. What do you think? Would the DP work better as a welcome event?

 

[Jilian]

I think doing it as a welcome party is a great idea, that is what we had originally planned but now I'm not so sure it is in our budget. I really like the idea of having 2 seperate events to get together. On most of the PJs I read I hear people say that everyone was so stuffed by the time the dessert party rolled around that people barely ate. Also, it makes for a very long day. I think lots of people do it the same day to meet minimums though.

If you have it as a welcome party you could still wear a pretty dress and have a photographer come and take picutres, then you'd get two different sets of pictures

 

[princesswendy720]

We are doing a dessert party as a welcome event. I have read that when you do it immediately following the reception, a lot of the food goes to waste. Plus, we figure people are traveling so far, the least we can do is provide events outside of the wedding day. It kind of turns it into a wedding weekend rather than just the day of. And, you can greet/thank your guests for coming then and won't have to spend as much time doing it at your reception. I would do it the day before your wedding, if possible. I don't think most of our guests are planning on coming 2 days before the wedding.

I am going to be wearing a short white dress and am thinking about getting professional pictures.

 

[sambycat]

if it is in your budget, i think this is a fantastic way to make the whole trip even more of a fun event!

 

[goodmorningirl]

I have always wanted a dessert party and I am starting to think that going the way princesswendy720 is going, making it more of a wedding weekend since everyone is coming from NJ, would be better and also allow people to eat all of the food we are paying for.

 

[JenHeartWDW]

I had a welcome party for all guests in place of a typical "rehearsal dinner." It was held immediately following the wedding rehearsal, the day before my wedding. I loved having it this way because my actual wedding day was quite long (even though my ceremony was not until 5pm).

If I was a guest at a wedding, I would prefer to have it broken up into two events... especially if you are having guests with young children. Personally, I think the day is way too long if everything is held all at once.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[donald&daisy]

Thanks for all the advice! I also talked to my MOH about it because she was a bridesmaid in another DFTW and she agreed that having all three events on the same day makes for a very long day. I have an email in to my planner to see if Sago Cay or the Marina is available for the Friday before.

 

[jshora]

I really think it depends on the timing of your ceremony and reception. We are doing our dessert party the same day as the wedding because we are having a 10am ceremony and a 11am brunch reception. By the time 8:30pm comes around, I'm guessing my guests will be starting to get hungry again.

 

[Chilly]

I went straight from Reception to DP and no one ate anything at the DP.

After your reception you and your new DH could still go to the beach with a photographer to get photos of the fireworks in the background.

What about an Illuminations DP for the welcome party?

 

[girli565]

I had a DP as a welcome party the night before the wedding. It was lovely and a great way to meet with everyone before the wedding day. The wedding day was such a blur that I barely remember talking with everyone (I know I did but it was so rushed.).

There's pics of my DP in my PJ.

 

[ckpoodge]

We had our DP right after our reception, but we did not have any desserts at the reception, short of the wedding cake.

Our people DEVOURED the desserts, especially the apple slices with caramel.

We decided to have the DP right after our reception because we wanted pictures of us in our wedding attire during the fireworks, and we knew that people were only coming in for the weekend.

If you have the DP as a "Welcome" party, you have to make sure everyone that is important is there. That would not have worked for us, since my mother and her husband didn't get to Orlando until 10:00 the night before the wedding. That is something to think about.

We do wish that we would have had an earlier wedding, so we could have had more time at the reception, but there is NOTHING we would have changed about the timing of the DP. However, you do have a great situation since you will be in the LSS, so you will be close to the DP location. You don't have to account for the 1/2 hour of transportation.

Now, another thing to think about is if you want to have photography. We were not able to talk to any of our guests during the fireworks, because we were taking our photos. I did miss that, since 99% of our guests have never seen the fireworks. I would have liked to explain what was going in. We were off to the side, so we didn't get to talk to anyone until after. If you are looking for 1-on-1 time with your guests during the fireworks, maybe don't do the photography.

 

[donald&daisy]

I went straight from Reception to DP and no one ate anything at the DP.

After your reception you and your new DH could still go to the beach with a photographer to get photos of the fireworks in the background.

What about an Illuminations DP for the welcome party?

We just prefer the Wishes show a lot more than Illuminations. Its a personal preference (more sentimental value). I think that we will end doing just as you said and meeting with the photographer after the reception.