Reception before the wedding?

[mreed]

Hi brides,

 

Have a question my finace and I have been toying with. We are thinking about possibly having a reception before we have our wedding, most likely the weekend before we leave. It was my finace's idea and he has been calling it a "Bon Voyage" party or something along those lines. I wanted to get your thoughts on here about this.

 

At first I rejected the idea because I had the vision of coming back to have the reception at home afterward and the guests being able to view our pics/video that were not able to make it to the wedding. But have to admit that the "Bon Voyage" reception is growing on me...On a side note-we are getting married in December, and by the time we return it's Christmas, then New Years... so we couldnt have our party until middle of Jan or so anyway.

 

Thoughts? Like or dislike the "Bon Voyage" Party? Thanks for any feedback!!!

[carolina24]

i think it really depends on how you envisioned the AHR to be.

for example, we're just doing dinner and drinks along with pics/video of the wedding.

but some brides go all out for AHRs...they wear their dress, do special dances, cake cutting, centerpieces, etc.

if you wanted something like that, then i think you'd be dissapointed with a pre-wedding reception b/c you're not married yet and wouldn't want to do all those things before it's official.

if not i say go for it!! less to worry about when you get home...only food for thought is do you think your guests will feel "cheated" if they dont get to see wedding pics/video??

[mreed]

Thanks for the response! I didnt envision anything extravagent. It would be laid back, possibly at our home, even if we did it after we got back. No wedding dress, etc.

 

The only thing I am concerned about too was the guests wanting to see pics/video of the wedding. My finace suggested though that we make sure to forward out our album via email when we get back to all our guests instead, and also upload the video too. This way they can watch on their own time and still get to see everything. So that relieved my concerns a bit too with this.

[yumyum90]

I was considering this option as well. I thought of it as a BonVoyage type event and the people not going would be so excited to send us off. I didn't think about the picture aspect, I kind of forgot about that part. It would be a nice added feature, but if you did the reception before I'm sure it would still turn out great!

[mreed]

Thanks yumyum90! I believe we will follow through with the before party! I actually found a very cool place for us to have it too! It's a local brewery in my area that has very large banquet room. They also have a tropical themed menu! Which includes Jamaican Jerk Chicken as well as rum glazed beef tenderloin! How perfect is that!?! I feel the excitement will be high from our quests to send us off as well and that it will be a very fun event! Can't wait! Good luck if you decide to go with a Bon Voyage party!

[StephAli]

That sounds like a really neat idea! But now is the option to do an AHR not there? Would this be all you do? I've kinda been having issues deciding what to do because we are getting married at the end of November, so then ppl. have Christmas / New years, I didnt know if maybe doing something in January is pushing it....maybe I could do something before??....mmmm....thanks for the idea...

[mreed]

Yea, for us no AHR after the wedding. Since the wedding is right around the holidays though, we figured we can show family/close friends the pics and video when we see them for Christmas! This would be all that we do for our celebration at home with our friends and family. We just wanted to try to include everyone in something fun and exciting, especially for those who cant make it. Since having one in Jan I thought was kind of pushing it for us, plus people being tired of parties and celebrations by then! LOL.