Destination Wedding - Expected events?

[Inanna]

Hello

For those of you who''ve attended a destination wedding, what scheduled events other than the ceremony and reception do you expect or appreciate?

I think we''ll host a welcome cocktail reception from 7-9pm on the night before the wedding (after the rehearsal dinner). Do you think brunch the day after the wedding is also called for?

Since we''ll be in the Florida Keys we''ve also considered planning an outing such as snorkeling or a deep-water fishing trip, but these could get pretty expensive if we were actually hosting. How can you politely invite people on an outing and ask them to RSVP, but also put in the stipulation that it''ll cost $25-50 per person?

I''d really appreciate any ideas, thoughts, suggestions you ladies can come up with. Thanks in advance for looking!

 

[fieryred33143]

Where in the Keys?

Since we were at Key West, the bride made an announcement during the reception that she and her husband were going down to Mallory Square to watch the sunset, then head over to see the Pirate Parade, and then hang out on Duval for the rest of the night. All of the guests went (we didn''t...a whole other story). The night before was her rehearsal dinner and instead of it just being the bridal party, she invited everyone that wanted to go and she had a pretty good turnout.

I think the cocktail reception is a great idea if its within budget. The day after brunch isn''t totally necessary but I know your guests would appreciate it.

 

[Inanna]

The wedding is in Islamorada (between Key Largo and Marathon). We'll be there for 5 days and then we plan on going to Key West for a mini-honeymoon afterward for 4 days. I know several of our guests are making this into a vacation and will also be heading to Key West for a few days.

The cocktail reception is definitely within budget. The brunch probably is too, but I'm worried that we'll be exhausted by Sunday. A recreational outing in the afternoon sounds more appealing to me right now.

 

[panda08]

Hi Inanna,

I''ve been lurking but wanted to come out for a sec to respond.

I think what you have planned is very nice and that nothing else is really called for. Organizing an excursion is a fun idea. We included a small note card with the itinerary in our invites. We''re doing a welcome BBQ and we suggested two excursions. We''re hosting the BBQ but didn''t say on the card that we will be paying for everyone''s excursions and I don''t think that anyone expects us to, as several people have asked about the cost.

Maybe you can let your guests know that you plan on going on certain excursions, that they''re welcome to join you and to please RSVP if they''re planning on it? That way, it''ll be clear (at least to most people!) that you''re not hosting per se, but would be interested in doing something together.

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Hi Inanna-

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! We are having ours in the DR in 7 weeks (eek!)

Are you having Welcome bags? Because if you are, you can include the information in there. We sent out information packets with tons of stuff in them about excursions and costs. Our invitations include our itinerary (Golf, Hair&Makeup, Farewell Brunch, etc.) but we invited people to join or not as they saw fit.

If you don''t have welcome bags, how about just a welcome letter? Say something like: The bridal party will be out snorkeling on Sunday, xx, if anyone would like to join, we would love to have you! The cost is $xx per adult and $x per child (or whatever). Come out and continue the celebration!

 

[Inanna]

Hi Panda!

Thanks so much for coming out of lurkdom!

Your idea sounds great and I''ll likely do the same. I could also put the excursion information on our wedding website and include the associated costs.

How''s everything going with your planning? Hawaii! I bet you''re so excited!

 

[mrscushion]

The thing with the farewell brunch is, you and your guests may all be exhausted from the night before and it may turn into more of a chore than a treat. KWIM?

I like the idea of an activity better, and announcing the cost in the OOT bag program is a great way to indicate that while you won''t be footing the bill, you did organize the opportunity for everyone who wants to participate.

For what it''s worth, we are getting married overseas in Italy and will be having a number of events to show gratitude to our guests for attending. We''ll probably have a welcome cocktail with hors d''oevres, a rehearsal dinner, and the wedding. We''ll also have activities, but probably won''t be able to cover the full cost of all of them.

 

[Inanna]

wannaBMrsH - DR is going to be amazing - many congrats to you! I''m still on the fence with the idea of welcome bags. We''re flying in, so I don''t really want to travel with all of the goodies (esp. considering baggage weight restrictions) and I don''t know if I''ll have the time to buy and assemble everything down there. There''s also the issue that the hotel we''ve arranged a room block with will charge a $5 handling and delivery fee per gift bag

.

mscushion - I

Italy! Congratulations to you as well! I''m so glad you pointed out that guests may be too exhausted to really enjoy a farewell brunch. A casual activity later in the day sounds so much better and I''m sure some of my family members would prefer to just do nothing on Sunday, rather than host another event.

 

[panda08]

Date: 6/17/2009 12:46:41 PM
Author: Inanna
Hi Panda!

Thanks so much for coming out of lurkdom!

Your idea sounds great and I''ll likely do the same. I could also put the excursion information on our wedding website and include the associated costs.

How''s everything going with your planning? Hawaii! I bet you''re so excited!

I think putting the excusion info on your wedding website is great idea.

The planning is about 90% complete. I''m in the process of tying up loose ends and it seems like there are lots of them! We''re less than two months out...Yikes! As much as I''m a laid back bride, I must confess that I''ve had an anxiety dream or two where the photog doesn''t show and there are no flowers! LOL!

How is your planning going?

 

[cocolaw]

we are having a destination wedding, but people are only invited to the wedding. we are including things that they may do on their own in a welcome basket. there were many more people invited to the wedding than my fiance and i wanted for our wedding, so we are doing this in hopes of keeping the guestlist under control.