Formal AHR?

We are having a formal AHR as well as the DW. The DW is set honestly now Im working hard on the AHR as i see that we will have about 150 guests from FI side alone! This is our catering hall for the AHR They pretty much do almost everything but i still want it to be perfect to the T as a lot of the people attending will NOT be attending our wedding and we want them to get as much as they can out of what went on. So we are planning to show the DVD of our wedding pictures(as Ive heard a few ppl intend to do as well here) throughout the night. We are having a first dance and everything all in all for the people who weren't able to make it to the DW its going to be a true wedding reception. My FMIL insisted on it being as formal as it could be, she has been quite helpful as well with all the planning due to the fact that Im currently settling things in PR still =)

We'll be having a formal AHR also. It's going to be the exact same reception back home that we would have had if we had gotten married there, complete with decorations,dinner, drinks, cake, dancing, etc. I'm even going to wear my dress and the wedding party will be in their wedding attire as well. We'll also show our wedding video from the DW as well as pictures. Only about 20-30 people will be coming to the DW and about 300 will be at the AHR. My FI family are Catholics so they were kind of weary at first about us not being married in a church with all of our family there so we made a deal that we'd have a big reception back home afterwords for everyone who couldn't make it. I love the fact that we get to keep celebrating the wedding even when we get back! I'm trying to make it as DIY as possible to save money because we really want to buy a house soon after the wedding! We also lucked out because there is a restaurant nearby our AHR venue that caters delicious food for extremely cheap!

The thing that I love the most about the AHR is that not only do you get to have a wedding reception with the guests that were unable to attend the DW along with the guests who were there, is that you get to make your special time last longer.

We too will be wearing our wedding attire at the reception, having a slide show and having a great party.

At the DW although we are having a reception, it won't be the same as an AHR. Therefore, we are trying to ensure that we keep on track for the planning of the AHR.

Right now we are trying to gather some pictures for the slide show. As well as showing pictures of the wedding, we are trying to get pictures of each of the guests. I think the guests will enjoy the slide show more if there are pictures that include themselves. It will be a lot of work but if we start now, it should be okay. The only problem that we have is that the AHR was supposed to be two weeks after we returned from the DW but FI surprised me and has booked an additional week at the resort to have some alone time. This will mean that the AHR will now take place the Saturday after we return. So it will be very rushed.

We are having a semi formal AHR in my home town. My mother wanted to have something at home for everyone who couldn't attend as well as because I am the baby & they want to celebrate. She is completely in charge of everything because I didn't want to have to worry about it while planning the DW. She planned a dinner, dj, drinks, cake, all the traditions. We are showing our DVD & a slideshow of the wedding as well as wearing our wedding attire. I would not have had an AHR if it wasn't for my mother & her planning everything. It has been great to not have to worry about any of the details!

I wish our pre-wedding AHR wasn't as formal as it is - though i'm sure it's going to be tons of fun. My fiance is from Canada and so his family is planning us a reception there next month then we get married in February. My fiance didn't really want anything at all and I would have been find if it had been grilling burgers in the backyard. However, they've planned a 6pm dinner reception on a Saturday night with DJ, bar and the works. Haha. It's been fun but I feel like we're partially defeating the reason I wanted a DW to start with. I've been getting so wrapped up in tiny details and making sure it's not going to look cheap or tacky. It helps that they're planning most of it though. Our post-wedding AHR with my family in Colorado will be much more relaxed and casual. I'm really trying to talk my fiance into having it at Dave and Busters....

But to each his own...I just wanted to focus on enjoying the whole experience and not having the stress of planning something big at home.

I wish our pre-wedding AHR wasn't as formal as it is - though i'm sure it's going to be tons of fun. My fiance is from Canada and so his family is planning us a reception there next month then we get married in February. My fiance didn't really want anything at all and I would have been find if it had been grilling burgers in the backyard. However, they've planned a 6pm dinner reception on a Saturday night with DJ, bar and the works. Haha. It's been fun but I feel like we're partially defeating the reason I wanted a DW to start with. I've been getting so wrapped up in tiny details and making sure it's not going to look cheap or tacky. It helps that they're planning most of it though. Our post-wedding AHR with my family in Colorado will be much more relaxed and casual. I'm really trying to talk my fiance into having it at Dave and Busters....

But to each his own...I just wanted to focus on enjoying the whole experience and not having the stress of planning something big at home.

I am so glad I am not alone,

so far I have booked the venue, caterer, and bakery. Right now I am on a photographer hunt.

I am also having a pretty formal AHR at a golf course near my place w/about 200 guests. We only have about 30 guests coming to our wedding (sibling, parents and close friends). None of our other family members are going which is the main reason we're having this. Plus, it's like having 2 weddings!! We're doing cocktail hour w/apps, sit down dinner, DJ and the works. The wedding party will be wearing their attire and I'll hire a photographer for a few hours.

We aren't having a DJ for our wedding in Mexico...just an ipod. We still plan on doing a first dance and father/daughter in Mexico. For those of you having big AHR....are you planning on repeating the whole first dance thing I won't do the bouquet toss, etc. but thought it would be nice to do the dance again. What is everyone else doing? Thanks!