Questions about Receptions

[WDWINJUNE!]

I was wondering if anyone (specifically intimate brides) had a home reception. Df and I are thinking about having one (on a very tight budget), just not sure when to have it. If our wedding is April 1, when would be an appropriate time to have the home reception? For those who have used Stan for video, about how long did it take to receive the video? We definitely want to show ours at our reception.

Did those of you who had home receptions, wear your wedding dress to it? Since we are on a budget, would it be ok to have only a cake and punch reception or something like that instead of a full meal? Any ideas on reasonable favors for the guests at the home reception?

For the intimate brides, I was wondering what accessories did you bring for your Disney cake reception? (did you bring toasting glasses, cake server, etc.) So far we have our personalized glasses. And were you able to give this stuff to your cordinator before the wedding?

Thanks for any advice/opinions!

Laura

 

[groomtb]

for on the budget planning, I think oriental trading is the best place for your decorating needs!

also if you're hosting a informal party, a regular party dress should do just fine. wedding dress might be bit over the top for home reception unless you're having it extremely formal. DF got a seperate light dress for the receptions.

cake, punch, and some platters to feed the hungry people should do just fine for the party too!

And personally I wouldn't want to have it past a month after the wedding. it'll kind of lose its flare.

hope that helps a little.

 

[princessblueeyzes]

Hi. We are getting married in December and are going to have a home reception sometime in the spring, for those who were not invited-couldn't make it to the wedding since I can't handel a ton of people on my actual wedding day. I wanted to wait a couple of months to unwind and relax with the new Mr. Most of the people that would be going to the home reception are friends, long lost family members and co-workers. My mom thought it would be nice to tell those that didn't know about the wedding that it was just a very intimate wedding-meaning grandparents, parents, niece and nephew and sibilings.

I think that a cake and punch and maybe a sandwich tray should be ok. as far as wearing your wedding gown I would not- I want my guests to be able to come in casual clothing and comfortable.

As far as party favors try Oriental Trading Co. and Whiteaisle.com you may even try e-bay or the custom M&M's.

I'm not too sure what we are going to bring for the cake cutting reception.

 

[terri01p]

Hello- I seen your thread and wanted to put my two cents worth in, I went to a home reception over the weekend, it was just lovely...she had it two months after they were married because they were waiting on the wedding video to come. She wore her beautiful wedding dress for all of us to see, everyone else just came as they wanted some were formal some people were casual. She served cake, chicken salad sandwiches ( cut by a cookie cutter in the shape of hearts ). Everything was in their colors, punch and chips. Very simple. They showed their wedding video and pictures. They opened gifts, and gave anyone that wanted a chance to talk about their wedding day ( an egg timer was set and they had two minutes, very funny ). It was just a great time to be able to see the dress in person ( they got married in Key West ) . The reception was at 2:00 so most people know it was just simple affair food, afterwards a large group of us went to dinner ( all dutch of course )the bride wearing her gown and we all just had the best time. Alot of picture taking too. Good luck and have fun .

 

[FutureAshleyDukes]

I was also wondering how long it takes Stan to finish the videos? Also I was hoping to have the picture Disc from Randy so we could have some sort of slideshow.

Can anyone fill us in?

 

[melmel]

We were married on Dec. 6th and our reception is the end of this month. With it being so close to Christmas and all we decided to wait a bit so it wouldn't be another thing people had to do in January type thing. We are doing Very informal, everyone's been told it's a jeans event. I am not wearing my dress, or any dress for that matter, it just doesn't fit the style. Had we done a BIG reception then I would have. We are having a cold cut plater, soup, bbq, and assorted sides, another wedding cake, and a bunch of other desserts. We just stated on the invites that it's an informal luncheon to celebrate our marriage. As for decorations, you may want to go this week and check out the v-day stuff. Most of the decorations I found I liked were for vday, I found very little in the wedding section at party city, that would work for a wedding 'reception' most was for showers or 25 or 50 anniversarys. Same with oriental trading, I found a bunch of vday stuff that will work wonderfly, but not much wedding. What little actual wedding day I did find was more geared to favors. The other good thing about having it almost 3 months after the wedding is I now have all my pictures and my discs from Randy. It took close to 2 months to get them, so it's good we didn't have it sooner (this was over Christmas though so obviously it took longer). We plan to set up a laptop to have the pictures rotate on, so people can take a look, with out my photos getting soda, and fingers on them.

The only things we got for our Disney reception were we bought everyone Mickey etched glasses, that became their favors, and we had a cd player for our first dance. We also had rubbermaid containers so everyone could take leftover cake with them. We just put everything in the limo with my groom (first pick up) and he gave them to Jennifer when he arrived, then we didn't have to worry about it. She was great about having the glasses out, and making sure that everyone got the boxes after we were done for the glasses, and their doggy bags of cake too.

Hope this helps.

Melissa

 

[D&R love Disney]

We had a seperate reception back home about 6 weeks after the wedding. It was so much fun. DH wore nice pants and a silk shirt, I wore my dress because I loved it and everyone wanted to see me in it. We did the decorations ourselves, had a DJ and really only spent money on catering. We had a buffet and it was a bit pricey but everyone raved about the food so that made Dad get over the cost LOL!

 

[allisonswonderland]

That is a good question about pictures....how long would it take for Randy to get my cd? My reception is 2 weeks after my wedding.

 

[WDWINJUNE!]

Thanks everyone for the all of the replies...it really helps to hear what others have done.

As for our video, Stan wrote me back and said to allow time for me to proof it and mailing time. He says that 6 weeks should be a good estimate on when I'll get it. So I'm now planning on sometime in May.

Thanks again!
Laura

 

[samijam]

I had a home wedding 12 years ago in August. I was also on a tight budget and it worked out great. I rented a white tent because of the sun and rain concerns and I had a lot of older guest. The tent and the caterer were the 2 most expensive parts. I shopped around a bit for the caterer and found one that understood I was on a budget and respected it. ( He also let me use his wholesale credentials to purchase my flowers wholesale at auction saved 100"s on flowers.) the food was mostley appetizers a small luch spread roast beef, salad, roasted potatoes and asparagus. and a lovely dessert table and wedding cake of course. It was great I tend to do a lot of detail planning so my only caution would be it does take a lot of planning and organizing to pull it all together, but don't be afraid to ask for help.
My biggest concern at the time was it would feel like I was at a backyard party, but a few formal touches made the atmosphere perfect. 12 years later I still have family and friends tell me it was one of the nicest weddings, mainly because it was different.
Good luck with planning and best wishes on marriage!

 

[Codie]

We had our home reception the Friday we got back (we got back on Thursday)...I wanted everything done before I went back to work...however, if you have the luxury of taking more time off of work I would highly suggest it! Randy got us our pic cd before we left Florida!!! We showed the pictures as a slide show at the reception. The reception was styled as a cocktail reception...I found a great place (they had done my parents' wedding and I had done my parent's 25th anniversary there) that did "appetizers" in stations including two kinds of pastas and two kinds of meat, beer, wine, pop, and punch for $29 a head, plus they provided all the linens and centerpieces. Everyone was business casual--I wore my dress (how often does a bride get to wear her dress twice!!!) and my dh wore his own tux that he owns and three of my four girls wore their dresses again. My mom wore her dress and so did my dh's mom. Unfortunately my dh's dad had emergency surgery that day so he couldn't come But it was a good way for us to all wear our fancy wear again and the guests weren't uncomfortable by that--they loved it! We all went out afterwards for a drink at one of the local bars...the owner was so impressed that we chose to come to his establishment in our wedding gear that he picked up the tab! I have to admit we were a bit out of place but it made it more fun
You should do what you can and wear your dress if you want...it is still your day and you can do whichever/however you like and no one will fault you!