At home reception?????

[pdcbride09]

Hey guys..just wondering if you guys spent more on your destination invitations or you AHR invites? I did a do it yourself invite for the destination..and now I look at them being rather cheap looking. ( So..just deciding on what to send out for the AHR. Did you guys use the same ones or something different??

[nibsmom]

I'm going back and forth about this. We haven't planned these yet, but really need to get on the ball.

 

For our save the dates, we got mini passport invites made by anaderoux (she's a forum member, and the website is passportinvitations.com), and they were absolutely gorgeous and we got a TON of compliments...and they were only a dollar each. I may do the same thing again for our AHR invites. I can't recommend her enough.

 

But, if we decide to keep it to family who couldn't attend, I probably will just call everyone and invite them personally. Like I said, need to get on the ball with planning!!!

[rachelannmartin]

Thanks for the recommendation Nibsmom. I'm definitely gonna check out her website for invites!

[klopez]

We spent a little more on our AHR invites...the DW invites we made ourselves.

[SunBride]

I wrote a review of our AHR, which you would probably find very helpful. Not many people review their AHR, so I did, and I was really detailed. I talk a lot about how I felt about the whole thing and whether it was worth it or not, and what I would do differently. The review is long, but it has lots of info about the planning and how it went and how much everything cost and a whole lot more.

 

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t27927

[Sensatori Bride]

Hi ladies,

 

So I had a random thought and wanted some opinions on it. Do you guys think it would be tacky to have a pre-wedding bash/going away party/wedding shower instead of the AHR? I have been so stressed and I just want this whole thing to be over with! Sounds bad I know but I am going crazy!

 

I just thought it would be fun to have a party before hand so that when we return I can relax and enjoy being married instead of planning another party! Thoughts??

 

Mesita

[prairiegirl]

sensatori bride...

 

good idea!! i guess it depends on if planning is a pain?? or planning is fun!! for me once the wedding is done.. so it the stress and the reception is an all out party.. and so there isn' too much that will stress me out the day of the AHR... I'm excited about the first party as man and wife... and the extention of the wedding day.. and the on going party!!

[kennynicole]

We are on an extremely small budget and are footing the bill for the AHR along with travel and wedding cost. Here is our plan……..

We are going to have a casual AHR actually at our home. We are getting married at the end of Nov. so plan to make it Christmas themed (this cuts back on décor since I already have all the stuff to decorate for Christmas). We are going to have it catered but will only be providing appetizers and non alcoholic beverages (I know it’s bad to not have alcohol but we just can’t swing it). By only providing passed appetizers it will keep us from having to set up enough tables and chairs to for everyone. We will have our usual tables and a few extra chairs set out along with living room furniture so those who need to sit should be able to. I plan to wear my dress and have my FI wear his wedding day outfit as well. We will have a picture DVD playing on our T.V. during the party so guest can see all that went on during the trip. A videographer is included in our wedding package so we will also play our wedding video for those who missed it. Just something at home, comfy, and casual! I’m thinking about doing evites for the AHR and calling older family members that are not computer savvy to presonaly invite them to AHR. This is still in the works I have some time so I am not locked on that aspect. Something else I am unsure of is……………………

Should I invite guest that attending the DW along with those who did not the wedding to the AHR, or is it ok to just invite those who did not attend the DW to the AHR. If I invited both I am guessing that we will have around 100 guest (that’s a lot and will get pricey) if I just invite guest that did not attend the wedding we will have around 50 or so. What are you doing?

[Ashley0802]

Thanks for the AHR wording, I have been trying to come up with something and these will help a lot!

[happygilmore]

For the question about invites...

 

We did our destination wedding ones (well FI did them) and we sent 60 and probably cost us about $60 to make and send

 

For our AHR 200 invites are going out.....we used a company called www.seal-n-send.com and chose the Bonita style. They fold in on themselves and guest tear off a response card which is post card size, so you spend less shipping wise will only require a 42 cent stamp and a post card stamp. We got 125 invites, we asked for colored lettering which was $6/extra and an email proof which was $15 and after shipping we were at $178. We were going to do them ourselves but doing that many is time consuming and I am sure after buying the kit, gettting the ink, and paying the extra postage for a regular response card and invitation I am sure we'll come out even.

 

Also, I had to share this...............I am trying to convince FI that this is the card box we need for the AHR...totally practical afterwards!!! I am going to get a scratched and dent verious which saves us $$ and all that it might have is a tiny scratch that can be painted over!

 

http://www.theperfectcardbox.com/photoalbum.html