Welcome or Farewell Party

[SheilaHeartsDisney]

My FMIL wants to have either a welcome party or farewell party for all the guests of the wedding. She was thinking of getting an OKW 3 bedroom villa for one day and just invite everyone over whenever they get a moment. They would have food delivered or just cook it themselves. Has anyone ever tried doing this?? I am thinking we will have about 70 guests come to the wedding. Do you think this would even be necessary? Is it a stupid idea?? Next time we talk about it I want to have a better understanding if anyone has done this so I can pursuade her one way or another about the idea. Thanks!

 

[lurkyloo]

It's a great idea, and people do it all the time. It really helps control food costs and eliminates the hassle of searching for a private venue that can accommodate your whole group.

While I wouldn't say it is necessary to have a welcome/farewell party, if someone is offering to pay for it, go for it! It can be really nice to give guests a chance to meet before the big day or say farewell after the wedding, and it shows that you appreciate how far they had to travel to attend your wedding. On the other hand, some people don't like to feel obligated to attend a whole bunch of extra events that cut into park time. By holding a casual open house as your FMIL has suggested, it really takes the pressure off and allows your guests to drop in when they can (of course, your FMIL will be stuck there all day... ).

 

[MrsDuck]

We are planning on doing the same thing!! I think it's great way to be cost conscious but to also have a nice gathering.

 

[kharmagirl]

We had about 65 people. For my wedding, people were coming in and leaving at all different times. I had planned a brunch at 1900 Park Fair for the morning after the wedding since I knew a lot of people would be leaving that day. But at about 10:00 the night before we were all at the dessert party and you could tell people were tired. We ended up cancelling - and DH and I were so glad we did so we could sleep in a little. We saw several people that day just to say goodbye and everyone was wiped and just ready to pack and go home. If you know when people are coming and going then do either, but if people are leaving the day after the wedding then I would do a welcome party myself. We did Hoop Dee Doo Review two days before the wedding and had about 26 people come to that. It was a lot of fun and people were still excited and full of energy...

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

we are going to do a welcome event of some type possibly at the hoop de do review or something, we are also going to do a farewell breakfast followed by going to like magic kingdom or something like that. We are going to have people RSVP but also impress that attending these events is not mandatory but that their presence will be welcome.

Teresa

 

[Ash8716]

I think it sounds like a great idea. I would some how communicate this with all your guests before hand and maybe just pick a 3 or 4 hour period that people can drop by and get some food and mingle. I personally would do this as a welcome event because I'm sure you FMIL will not want to entertain the morning after your wedding.

We are doing a welcome dinner at EPCOT the night before our wedding. We figured since we have 80-90 guests flying from CT we should do something besides just the wedding day.

Good luck

 

[pima416]

We are doing a welcome dessert party the night before the wedding. I really wanted to do a dessert party but I thought that everyone would be too tired after the reception so I thought that instead of doing a rehearsal dinner that we would have the dessert party. I think it's a nice thing since so many people are flying down just for the wedding.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I like the idea of a Welcome party..breaks the ice and starts the wedding off with a bang

 

[erin.w]

We LOVED our welcome party! We paid for it ourselves, but it was worth every penny! My sister hosted a farewell brunch but it was more informal, and a nice closing to the wedding, so I enjoyed that as well. That doesn't help you decide I know but I'm all for the extra events!

 

[SheilaHeartsDisney]

At first I wasn't so sure but the more I read about how much you liked it the better it sounds. Thanks for the responses.