after party

No one expects an after party, but they enjoy them if they happen. Honestly, our after party was a more or less improptu people just hanging out and having a few drinks in the hotel afterwards. You don't need to have anything "planned" other than maybe some chips/pizza to help soak up the alcohol.

It is totally up to you! Pre/post-wedding events are totally optional and not required or expected by any means. As a guest, I have never expected the couple to host an after party. If it's something that you genuinely want to do, I say go for it! However, if you think you'll be too tired, or if you're only doing it because you think some of your guests want you to plan one, then I'd skip it. If you really wanted to do something with your guests after the wedding, but think you'll be too tired that same night, you could always host a day-after brunch instead!

Post reception events are totally optional! Most of the time, I've seen the couple just tell people that they are going to a specific bar after the reception, and those that want to hang out just follow them there. Then there isnt any planning on your end!

After parties are semi-common in my circle, mostly because we live in a big city where bars/clubs are open late. Some have just been a "let's meet at the hotel bar!" thing.

If you're not down to plan, this is something that you can definitely make a game-time decision on. Don't mention it on invites or on your wedding website (if it's on the invites, it's expected you'll host it). Maybe do some research beforehand on fun bars nearby that'll be open late - I don't know if I'd accept an after party at mom's house... I'm getting flashbacks to neighbors calling the cops about late-night high school parties in residential neighborhoods.

If, around an hour before the reception ends, you're still feeling it, you can pass around the info by word of mouth to anyone who wants to join.

Weʻll probably just go bar-hopping with everyone in the area. Low-stress, no planning.

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Agree with Lisa! Totally up to you & what your preference/energy level is. For us, our reception ends at 10:30pm. We do have a lot of out of town guests coming so we decided to take the night to ourselves to not over stimulate & opted to go to brunch with everyone nice & refreshed the next morning.

Plan an awesome wedding event and skip the after party. At least that is what I would do. I don't need to plan for another 1-2 hours of socializing after a 6-8 hour wedding.

We have an AirBnB on site so if it naturally feels like we want to enjoy the company of some of our friends longer we will just transition there. I feel like after parties that naturally materialize are less stressful than planning another event. I wouldn't want to anticipate having to do another 1-2 hours if I wasn't up for it. You can do a bar crawl, have people go to a common space after, or whatever you want. If your mom offered something at her house, you can just get some extra alcohol (or bring what is leftover from the wedding, depending on rules) and maybe some non-perishable snacks and then invite people over IF you are in the mood after. You don't really need to plan much more than that, and by purchasing food/drinks that won't spoil, you won't feel like you wasted anything if you decide not to do an after party - those are all items that can be used for a different unrelated event later.