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With time flying by, we are rushing to get all the details for our wedding day lined up and in order. At this point, we are still trying to figure out what we want to do after the reception. We will be making our grand exit around 10:30, so it won’t be too late. At this point, we have no set plans for a day-after brunch and we won’t be leaving for our honeymoon until the following week. Taking all this in to consideration, I’m wondering how tired we are going to be, and whether we want to hang out with each other or enjoy the company of our friends and family from out of town. Then, if we do plan a little “after party”, where do we have it?
Mr. Beagle and I are pretty laid back, so I think we can pretty much agree that the downtown scene is out, but I wouldn’t mind have a little gathering at our home or the neighborhood bar. A casual, relaxed atmosphere seems fitting.
Then, today, I read this excerpt from A Practical Wedding, about the pros of having a morning wedding:
Afterwards. The strange thing is that when people voice concern about morning weddings, they normally ask you, “Well, what did you do afterwards?” Here is the scoop. Afterwards is *the best part.* We drove away from our venue, waving like crazy, at 2:45 pm. You know what we did? We went back to the hotel room we’d splurged on. We lounged around. We talked about the wedding. We giggled. We looked at our wedding rings. We blissed out. We went shopping at a used bookstore and bought books for our honeymoon flight. We went out to a really nice dinner, and I wore my wedding hair flower. We drank mojitos. We went to sleep. We woke up not-hung over. The after-the-wedding is the best part of getting married in the morning. Think about it this way: you’re marrying your partner because you like spending time with them. Morning weddings give you lots of time to hang out together, married, on your wedding day. And then you wake up sober and happy. What could feel better than that?
Although we won’t be having a morning wedding, I’m torn between continuing the festivities with our loved ones and spending time with my husband 
on our wedding day, the day that only comes once. Hmph.
Are you having an “after party” or are you leaving the party to hang out with your new Hubby/Wife? Newlyweds, what did you do, and do you regret it?
I’ll share specifics during my recaps, but our original after plans had to change somewhat. We still managed to grab a few drinks with friends, and then had a family-focused brunch the next morning. I loved BOTH so much and wouldn’t change a thing (except for the part we couldn’t really control — but again, no REAL complaints!).
Ours is going until about 11:00, but we’re going to after party with everybody. We get to see so many of our friends so rarely since college that it’s just impossible to resist! Our friends recently got married and did it the same way — it was just so fun to maximize the time we all spent together.
minneapolitan…we are doing the same thing! I love the thought of getting married in the morning!
What a wonderful description of post-wedding awesomeness. That was exactly what my FH and I had in mind when we booked our wedding for noon with the reception to immediately follow. We’ll be scott free at 5PM, and I’m looking forward to enjoying a few more hours of daylight on my wedding day to “bliss out”!
Meg is a wise lady. We’re having an evening wedding that will go late, but I really want to enjoy some alone time with my Lamb Man as husband and wife for a little bit that night 
We did the same thing you’re doing - We planned our Grand Exit for around 10:30 (ended up being more like 11pm) and it was perfect. We went to our honeymoon suite and took in the day, with all intentions of meeting our friends and family out at the restaurant bar to party the night away. But once in the room, we were pooped and excited and spent an hour opening cards and eating snacks before passing out. Our friends however, partied until 4am!
My advice, don’t plan an official after party. You will be exhausted and as much as you want to spend time with your friends and family, this is your one moment to truly embrace the newness of being married. By winging it, you can still meet up with your friends if you have the energy but won’t disappoint or feel obligated to hang out if you don’t.
Enjoy it!
Our wedding also ends around 10:30 and we are planning to go a bar down the street. I sort of agree that I want to be with my husband but I also think it would be fun to keep celebrating. I think we may spend an horu at the after party and then head home while everyone else parties all night.
I get the rest of my life for our married time… we’ll be having a lot of out of town guests so I’d like to spend as much time with them as possible. I think leaving your night “open” will be the best. Let your friends make after party plans and make sure your driver knows that your plans aren’t set in stone. This way, you can go home if you’re super pooped or party till 5 if you feel like it!
We’re headed out with our guests afteward. I want to be spend time with my mr, but I also want to see all the people that flew in from across the country to be with us. Plus, it gave me a reason to buy another dress
We’ll be leaving ours around 11 or so (they said we can stay later if we want, free of charge, so it’ll depend on the DJ and whatnot) but then we’ll probably get together with everyone back and the hotel and hang out for awhile. My thoughts are, we have the rest of our lives to spend together, and that whole night too….so why not spend as much time as possible with the people we love!
@Miss Lamb: I <3 Meg, she has really good posts.
@Miss Frozen Yogurt: I love a good excuse for dress shopping. I seem to be finding a lot more of them lately.
@Gator: I agree with the “open” night plan. I just fear that we’ll plan something and then wimp out because we’ll be exhausted.
We are most definatly going to be heading out with our guests for an after party! We will have the rest of our lifes to spend quality time together, but with friends all over the world, only once will they all be in one place at one time! We are getting married at one, with reception time ending aroudn 6, so plenty of time to get some alone time in before heading to another party. plus i get an excuse to buy a sexy little white dress!
it seems like i am one of the few with this view, but i think that the whole day is about showing our love for each other, so why would i rush out to be with other people? i think the author puts it a great way - spend time together, giggle with each other, relive the whole day - just the two of you because the rest of the day you’ll be hard pressed to find a moment where the two of you are alone. but that’s just me, to each their own!
Hi! We had a morning wedding, followed by a lunch reception, followed by a nap, followed by getting together with all our guests at a fun bar/lounge after dinner. It was GREAT. It allowed us some time alone in the afternoon to reflect and relax, and then we got to see everyone again and really catch up for a couple of hours (didn’t really have time to do this at the reception). I highly recommend it!
i’d love to do an afterparty. still remains to be seen what the boy thinks!
@ecomaha: Exactly, and I don’t think you’re alone on this viewpoint!!! Part of me thinks that really soaking in the marriage is impotant. Although, this is where my dilema begins. I know I can’t have my cake and eat it too, but I’ve just heard from other couples that they really weren’t ready to call it a night after their reception and wished they would have continued socializing with their guests. It’s just hard to devote quality time with all the people who mean so much to us (each other included) in one, single day.
this ‘after party’ idea is something really interesting to think about.
We’re having an after-party. I agree that the day is about you and your husband but we have our whole honeymoon to spend together! I literally have family and friends coming from all over the country (and the world) and I want to see as much of them as possible!
Our hotel is in a “downtown” area which can get a little crazy in the summer with partiers. So bars can have lines, be really crowded, etc. So we’re planning our after party in the hotel bar/lounge which overlooks downtown Albany. That way everyone can freshen up in their rooms before and go back whenever they feel like afterwards.
We had a morning wedding, and it was nice to be done by 3pm and then have a few hours to nap and just hang out until we met everyone later that night for some dinner and fun! An after party was the perfect way to end the night, as we then had actual time to hang out with a few friends and family that we usually don’t get to see. It’s too hard to get together for real time during a reception!
We have been to several weddings, and for us, we always feel like the afterparty is a let down after the fun of the day. So, we decided early on that if anyone was planning one after our wedding, we wouldn’t go. Our reception ended at 12 and we took the trolley back to the hotel with our guests. We went up to the honeymoon suite, laid on the bed in our wedding clothes and ate snacks from the vending machine while rehashing the day. Then we took a bath in our ginormous tub, followed by a shower for me to get all of the hairspray/makeup off. We didn’t get to sleep until almost 3. We both agree that it was absolutely the best decision for us. We were both so happy, and it is a really great memory!
But, I definitely see what other people are saying about spending as much time with guests as possible, and having your whole honeymoon (and life) to spend together, so you have to do what’s best for you!
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Mrs. Beagle, Austin Age and Occupation: 26, Electrical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Finance Engagement Date: July 12, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2009 Venue: Church Ceremony/Reception at The Waterford House About Me: I am a true, but rare, Austinite---I was born, raised, and continue to live in this great city! Although I am an engineer by day, I feed my inner creative side through crafting, sewing, and obsessing over Martha Stewart. I love coffee, my mister, NPR, and exploring all the nooks and crannies of Austin. I can't wait to share my adventures in DIY and wedding planning with all of you!
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