Fake send off

Send-offs are a sign for people to leave. I've never seen a fake-send off. I'm not trying to be rude, but if I heard the MC say that, I'd ask "Why"?

We didn't even have a send-off. We were the last ones to leave.

We get our venue for 12 hours and I will be using all 12 of those hours, lol. We are kind of doing a fake send off, but it's mostly for the bridal party to stay. And after talking to the bridal party they are totally looking forward to it. ETA: the Mc won't be making any announcement because those who are a part of the after party will know beforehand so there is no confusion.

It seems confusing. And if I were one of those older family members, I might feel like I got sent to bed or something if you guys weren't actually leaving also.

Just keep partying! People will leave when they want to leave.

See I'm fine with that too. I don't expect a lot to stay. Because I know a lot of people would be leaving anyway. We plan to leave around midnight. We have an early flight the next day. I just want our close friends to stay. And it give me an opportunity to get into a more comfy dress that I can dance in.

So is the issue that you want more people to be there for the send off? Is that why you want to do it earlier so more people are around?

ETA: I just noticed we're date twins!

Yes. I want my grandparents and some of others that are important to me to be a part of it. No one has to leave they are all invited to stay but it is a way for them to be part of the send off and an easy excuse for them to leave before it gets really late.

Maybe you could do something between the ceremony and reception? What kind of send off are you trying to do?

We were planning on doing sparklers and I wanted it to be dark for nice pictures. But I'm open to suggestions. The ceremony and reception are in different locations. Not sure how you do a send off between the two.

My son & DIL did a fake send off with sparklers. The DJ announced that it was fake so everyone could be in the pictures. Actually it was fun. Afterwards everyone went back in & continued with the reception. The elders pretty much left. The pictures were awesome!!

Never thought of announcing it as a fake send off. I just thought I would just use it as the end of the reception and the beginning of the after party

Is it really an after party if it's at the same location at the same time/immediately following? How is the afterparty at the same location different than the reception?

I didn't have an afterparty, btw - hence my questions.

Well the music style will change and also the bridal party will change into more comfortable clothes. It will be a more casual vibe while the reception will more elegant. I've only seen this done once and I barely remember it. That's why I want to see yalls opinion to see if sounds to weird or confusing.

I like Dak's idea of making it known that it's fake.

If you want the after party to be bridal party only, maybe keep it as an actual send off?

Okay guys thanks for ideas! I'm gonna keep that in mind whIle planning it. I'll update you guys on what I figure out and see what you think.

I couldn't figure out how to do one because I don't want to leave early. We're staying the night at the hotel where the reception is and we just thought it would be weird to have a big send off for us to go upstairs and then our guests are kind of on their own. But I always think send off photos are so cool!

This is more of a general comment /question. Aren't pictures supposed to capture important memories? And if you're doing a fake send off, aren't your capturing fake memories too? No one is actually sending you off anywhere at that time. I guess I'm just confused by the idea of doing something- especially something that involves guest participation- just for the photo op. I'm really not trying to be rude, I'm just puzzled.

There's no polite way to rid the room of the older guests. Believe me, they'll be ready to go when they've had enough (which will be earlier than you suspect). Try to remember that people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, have been to more weddings than they can remember. Any wedding could be their last (in terms of accepting via RSVP). You won't need a fake announcement to get rid of them.

Don't do a fake send-off...unless you want to be running around tapping people on the shoulders and telling them the send off was fake. It's a bad idea.

I personally don't get this but I also don't really get the whole send off idea. The last thing I want to do when the wedding is over is rush out without saying goodbye to everyone personally! Then again it seems like a lot of weddings are ending pretty early, like 11pm-12 so I guess if you are kind of saying it's over it makes sense. However if it's not really over then I just don't get the point. Just for pictures? Seems manufactured.

We didn't have a send off either. We were one of the last to leave. No one even questioned it. I feel like it's more for couples who need to leave earlier to catch flights to their honeymoons or something.

@Kristy just posted on another thread about how much of a pain in the ass the whole send off is. After reading her response I realized that it's a huge production and it rarely goes smoothly. Just skip it.