At Home Reception Ideas Needed

[EDYTA]

I got married in Cabo and a month later had a AHR it was at the Toronto Park Hyatt on their rooftop and it was gorgeous. We only had 50 guests and it was more of a cocktail party...apps were served and cocktails, we rented lounge furniture it was awesome, had a dj, set up alot of candles and roses around the venue.

 

My only recommendation would be to find a venue that is cozy if you're only having 50 guests just because you still want to make it intimate.

[teresavigil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDYTA I got married in Cabo and a month later had a AHR it was at the Toronto Park Hyatt on their rooftop and it was gorgeous. We only had 50 guests and it was more of a cocktail party...apps were served and cocktails, we rented lounge furniture it was awesome, had a dj, set up alot of candles and roses around the venue. My only recommendation would be to find a venue that is cozy if you're only having 50 guests just because you still want to make it intimate.

do you have a budget for this type of thing, I would get a planner and do the above, you wont be sorry!

[MissyR]

Hi there;

 

We are actually having two AHRs cause my FI's spent the first 25 years of his life in Alberta - we are getting married in November 2008 and then having a reception (wine and cheese style) on a Sunday afternoon either in December or January. The following summer we are having our second one in Calgary!

 

Not sure if this helps or not!

[jmhein]

I'm so glad I found this thread! I am dealing with the same questions right now. Our wedding is in February and we are doing our AHR in April. (Better weather in Northern Alberta in April so more of a chance some people will travel a couple of hours to make it!) We just booked a hall for April 19th and we meet with the hall coordinators this Wednesday! AAGH! And I haven't put much thought into this!

We want to have a fun party for all of our friends who couldnt make it. I also want to wear my dress again (tee hee!) and show the DVD of our wedding. We plan on just doing a cold buffet at some point, showing the DVD, thanking everyone for coming, and then cranking the music and dancing the night away!

I dont have a clue what order to do things in, how do we ensure people come at the start? Do we serve the cold buffet at the beginning of the evening, and THEN show the DVD, and then dance? Or do we show the DVD, dance and have a midnight buffet? I dont know what will work best and I want everyone to just have a good time and be happy to be there! Any suggestions for timing of everything are welcome!

 

p.s. Dragonfly, I totally think you can do an AHR in December!! Let us know if you do!

[CluelessBride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmhein I'm so glad I found this thread! I am dealing with the same questions right now. Our wedding is in February and we are doing our AHR in April. (Better weather in Northern Alberta in April so more of a chance some people will travel a couple of hours to make it!) We just booked a hall for April 19th and we meet with the hall coordinators this Wednesday! AAGH! And I haven't put much thought into this! We want to have a fun party for all of our friends who couldnt make it. I also want to wear my dress again (tee hee!) and show the DVD of our wedding. We plan on just doing a cold buffet at some point, showing the DVD, thanking everyone for coming, and then cranking the music and dancing the night away! I dont have a clue what order to do things in, how do we ensure people come at the start? Do we serve the cold buffet at the beginning of the evening, and THEN show the DVD, and then dance? Or do we show the DVD, dance and have a midnight buffet? I dont know what will work best and I want everyone to just have a good time and be happy to be there! Any suggestions for timing of everything are welcome! p.s. Dragonfly, I totally think you can do an AHR in December!! Let us know if you do!

We have our reception site booked for only 3 hrs so I'm also worried about making sure everyone comes on time! I decided that I would have it at 8pm on a Saturday, because I figured if I say 7:30 people will be getting done with dinner (reception location is downtown and many people go out to dinner there and I have a feeling they will make it a date night or special evening) and would show up anywhere from 7:30-8pm. I know there's always late people but 8 seems to be a realistic time.

We'll have light food out probably right away for people to eat and get drinks while light music is playing. Then maybe 20 mins later our dj will announce us we'll get champagne going we'll thank everyone for coming, possibly at this point cut cake, then do our first dance thing real quick, and then get the dj to play somethin funky that'll make everyone get out on the dance floor and shake their thangs

We don't have any attendants, his parents are going to Mexico with us but won't make it to the reception since they live in Wisconsin, my parents don't approve of the marriage due to religious differences so we'll have a cousin of his and some crazy aunts, uncles, and cousins of mine and friends there to celebrate with. So most of the traditional reception stuff we'll bypass.

There are tvs placed in the corners of the room, so we're going to play a dvd slideshow of pictures of us (kinda sounds conceited huh haha), then after we're announced it'll go to pictures of the wedding and everything they hadn't seen of the actual wedding.

Ending with dancing is usually a good bet, but as far as your dvd goes, is it going to be something where everyone has to sit, watch and be quiet? That may be enjoyable to start after everyone's sat down with their food so they can watch and eat perhaps, or maybe as they're arriving? I personally am disappointed once the dancing and music stops so if I were somewhere and they stopped the fun to watch a dvd I'd be bummed.

I think basically you'll figure out what makes the most sense for you. I was overwhelmed thinking about it all myself.

Have fun!!

[CluelessBride]

um sorry I just wrote a book didn't I!!!

[bride2be]

You ladies have put some great ideas out there. I am stuck as to what to do for our AHR. First we weren't going to have one but now we that we have been getting back more "no" replies we feel that we better have an AHR. We live in a pretty small town that doesn't have much for venues to host at and my in-laws do not want a dance. I'm just not sure what else to do. Of course we will do the slideshow DVD thing and perhaps appetizers and drinks....but after that I am afraid everyone will leave and go opposite directions and still be early in the evening or that everyone will sit around and stare at each and have a horrible time.

[CluelessBride]

hmmm, that's interesting... are the in-laws paying for this so they have the ability to veto dancing? If that's something you guys enjoy and your guests/friends enjoy there's always the option of starting the dancing later in the evening so if the in-laws don't want to stick around for that time it's their choice. If it's a religious reason then I can understand honoring that completely. If dancing isn't an option at all... depending on how casual it is what about karaoke? or having someone you know perform a song like they would at a wedding, or maybe have a quiz at each table how well people know the couple... just some ideas that rumbled through my brain real quick. As you can tell I'm not the most classiest of class, I prefer fun over the tradition I guess. Good luck! Most of all have fun and enjoy this special time!

[newfiebride]

I am having a AHR too when we get back in our hometown. We are having a cocktail style party that will start at 8:00 at night so it can run into party time at the local Bar and Grill. It is a really nice place that is really new.

 

I am doing minimal decorating. Myabe just cover the tables with white cloths and putting my turquoise colored starish plates on them with a candle in it. I may also buy a few fake palm trees and add white lights to it because it will be at night so the candles and white lights will look nice. We are having the staff go around serving appetizers for a couple of hours while everyone is having a drink and mingling.

 

For entertainment we are going to have a video of the wedding playing on the projector style screen they have there and maybe a couple of words from a couple of people and a toast and just go around saying hi to everyone. By 10:00 we will let it be open to the public again (it is a small town so we know everyone anyways) and there will be a DJ or band starting to play around 10:00.

 

Hope this helps a little