Non traditional wedding reception

I could see that going fine. Just have the dinner, cake, and speeches. Then dance the night away! And when I say speeches it can be just you and your FH saying thank you to your guests. Nothing fancy.

Isn't that just called a party?

If there isn't some structure then guests won't know what to and it will end up being awkward. If you're not going to do the "traditional" things, then you need have very clear insrtuctions.

I think that's just called a party. Which is totally fine, but if your guests don't know each other well...no structure is kinda awkward.

Thank you ladies. What kind of "structure" could I do but still keep it non traditional?

Sounds great! Aren't all receptions parties anyways?

We're not having a "traditional" reception either, so for every "traditional" portion that we're excluding we repalced it with something else. For example we're not having dancing, so therefore no first dance. Instead we're playing the shoe game. We also have someone designated to give instructions to guests, so they always know what's going on.

My cousin did this a couple years ago, it was really fun.

Recently, I have been to my cousin's wedding, the reception was amazing. The venue location was itself very pretty, the banyan tree really makes a good statement in the courtyard. They have arranged the reception in a very simple, non traditional way, we had dinner and there was very slow music which was making the environment very romantic. I liked a lot.

Lots of my couples dispense with traditional stuff; bridal parties, processions, toasts. What makes it a wedding reception is..well...the wedding part....

Amanda I'm in your boat. Both Married before and just wanting to have a party. Our invitations invite people to an "end of summer cocktail party". At the very bottom we say we are getting married "after all these years".. (14 to be precise.) We are doing a cocktail party. Here's the timeline: 1 pm arrival. Wait staff circulates drinks and bar is open. Ceremony and we will thank people 1:15-1:30. We have no wedding party, just my Dogue who may not attend. A few stations (raw bar, cheese crackers fruit, mashed potini bar, beef tenderloin carving station etc) and appetizers are passed. This goes til 2:30-2:45. At 2:45 we will do a quick dance (he wants to) for 2:38. I timed it. Then the DJ is calling up a few people, by name, playing "Sugar" by Maroon 5 and the dancing begins. We may put out stationary apps at about 4 pm but I don't think it's necessary. We are not cutting the cake but will serve cake at 4:30 pm at which time I'm going to ask the DJ to announce that the bar closes in 15 minutes. So cake and "last call" then we are done at 5.

We are renting out a banquet room at our favorite restaurant. So it won't be your typical scheduled reception. It will be pretty relaxed atmosphere. We have both been married before and didn't want a big to do like our first wedding.

We started out the same as you - we just wanted to host our family and close friends for a nice dinner and cocktails to celebrate our marriage.

We ended up doing a mix of traditional and not. This will be second marriage for both of us. We both have grown children and he has grandchildren. My daughter is MOH and his son is BM. His granddaughters are flowergirls. We are having our ceremony and reception at the same venue with 40-50 guests. We are providing dinner, cocktails, and cake. We are not having dancing. A string trio will provide music during the ceremony and cocktails and our iPod will provide music during the dinner. We do have a timeline because it is important for guests to know what is going on - ceremony at 6:30, bar opens at 7:00, dinner served at 7:30, bar closes at 10:00. In there somewhere will be a few toasts and the cake cutting. We will all be in the same room so it will be easy to get everyone's attention to say "hey we are cutting the cake"

I think the key to make it non-traditional and still have some structure is keep it small and have a timeline so guests know what is going on.