Charging Admission to the Reception??

Oh, and here is our inspiration. We're planning on having this exact same layout only a bigger stage for our country band & a pit fire for smores out back.

I think charging $25 would be great as long as you have some ribs there! You should have games there too like baseball or the 3 legged race!

poor piggy.......

I think a suggested donation, sure, but charging people never sounds like a good idea. If you were actually hosting a fundraising event, not a wedding, it would make perfect sense, but since it's a reception I think the best you can do is make a suggestion.

UNLESS it's a reception benefit.. haha.. that would be kind of cool.. you might even get someone to sponser the BBQ that way. hmmmm...

Is it an adults only reception? It can be a drunk 3 legged race. It would be more amusing and different. Everyone will be talking about it for ages!

Yes, charging admission to your reception is a Very Bad Idea. Have the reception you can afford, even if it is just an open house at home with tea and cake.

I would pay $30 for your reception.

It would only be for adults since I don't do well with children ... and I just can't even begin to fathom the idea of children running around my upscale event.

It wouldn't be a wedding reception since we'd be married for just about 6months. I just want to make guests pay since FH has a lot of really cheap friends.

@That one chick - love the idea of the drunk 3 legged race!!

I would totally pay to come to your reception.. As long as we have wine and alcohol present then I'm down.

Making people pay is like asking for cash gift, its not polite or a good idea. Its sad that some people would attend without bringing a gift or cash (ie cheap friends), but its not a requirement that someone give you a gift at your receptions. Gift are appreciated but not expected and esp. not demanded.

I'd raise it to $50pp with a cash bar! That way you can afford a better honeymoon!

I'll wait for my invite in the mail - just give me some notice so I can find one of your ex's to bring as one of my +1's (I will need 3 +1's in total, but no kids)

Kimi a lot of your stuff is a spoof post, is this a joke? You are considering charging admission to your reception?

It's great that it's for a charity, but I agree with 2d and Jan, still very tacky..are people still giving you gifts, are you registering? If not I'd say let it slide..but today with maybe even traveling a bit, getting a hotel I would feel put off to have a minimum donation..

A better idea would be if you explained to people about the charity, then they put their name in a box, then YOU would donate whatever they gave you as YOUR gift to the charity..that way it's not forced..Especially in today's economy..also some guests may feel that with paying for 300 people you could have just donated all that money right to the charity that you would have spent. SO indirectly it is like asking for them to pay for your reception since you would have put reception money amount to the charity perhaps.

Well since you aren't making them go to Key West for your wedding, it's the least they could do!

Or you could make one of those in lieu of favors signs, and donate money yourselves, or have an optional donation jar, making sure people know about that ahead of time..were you thinking that amount per household? Or each person? Who would collect the money? What if they forget the money, would they be kicked out or admitted, then others may here they got in for free..yes I do appreciate the fact that it's for charity..but not everyone thinks about these things on the same lines.

Hahaha make them pay because they're cheap! that's awesome!

I really like the look of ice, so I'm trying to talk with a few vendors to see if we can do a bar literally made of ice. I'm also planning on having a few ice luges full of cocktail shrimp around the room. Of COURSE it'll be an open bar!

To clarify: Guests will NOT be giving us gifts. We are NOT registering for them. The majority of guests are within driving distance and we will be paying for their valet parking so the streets don't get clogged. I thought a mandatory donation of $10-$25 would make sense to get in. There will be so much food, drinks & dancing it's no different than going to a club down town ...

That is very pretty! I would definitely charge $35 admission fee for them. They can at least celebrate your new life with you. Besides, they have until June to save up $35. They can do that.

Dude I'm totally down. You had me at ice luge. Can you make a Jager cake too?

Ooh, have a dress code too! Everyone should wear the same thing, but look different than you so you stand out!

Start it off with the drunk 3 legged race and make a pass when you make her fall down.