Celebrating the Ceremony - After the Reception

For years, the celebration has continuedafter the wedding ceremony and reception, whether with or without the couple. But these days, bridal couples are actually planning post-reception bashes.

The other day, I read a story on the homepage of Phoenix, Arizona about the rise of after-parties at weddings.

The article said:

"Last summer, Kelly Rix was in the midst of planning her wedding. She and her fiancé, André Foisy, arranged a traditional Catholic ceremony and an elegant reception at Wellington House, a historic mansion in Fayetteville, N.Y. They then rented inflatable sumo wrestling suits and a giant inflatable Twister board.

The unconventional rentals were not for the wedding itself, but for the after-party. When Rix and Foisy's reception ended at 5 p.m., a school bus shuttled guests to the home of the best man's mother, where a barbecue and a keg were waiting in the backyard."

Now most receptions I've been to last much longer than 5 p.m., but that hasn't stopped many brides and grooms from partying the night away. Many couples are now shutting down the reception site with the rest of their guests instead of leaving halfway through the event, and I've even heard of couples that have followed their crowd of guests out to the bars after the reception ended.

If you're one of the couples who expects to be participating in the celebration clear until the end, it might be fun to try to plan something exciting as an after-party. You could make sure food is ordered in at the end of the evening (think pizzas or sub sandwiches) or even rent out a room at a local establishment for a couple of hours after the reception.

I would steer clear of inviting your partying guests up to your wedding night suite, but making sure everyone has a good time until the celebration ends is becoming a huge trend these days and allows you to mingle and have fun with your guests, especially your close friends, the whole night through.