Reception must haves

I'm with you on that priority list!!!!

YES! Great food, open bar, friends & family! Some kind of music is nice but dancing is optional for me. Been to several small (under 50 guests) weddings which were so much fun, like loud social dinner parties.

Cost, space, parking, food.

in the area i live in, all the venues are in plazas with terrible parking and i am on a budget but yet have a rather large wedding so space and cost coincided. however for space, i really also mean how spacious it feels and the overall vibe.

Food all the way, always

We've only been to maybe 10 weddings in our lifetime, but I'd say the MOST important is DJ & guest list & seating chart 1st and foremost. Even if a wedding is cash bar/dry, we always have a way better time than when we go to an open bar wedding but with guests that are older or quiet or just don't dance. Then I'd say the bar being open is a great factor. Then great dinner and appetizers! We always uber so parking isn't super important, we tend to plan on spending $100-$200 per night for a hotel regardless, and we are usually dancing too much to notice dessert if it's later. I also really like personalized ceremonies.

Our most important for the reception is: food, music, fun!! We want it to be a party vibe! We want our guests to have a great time!! So, we're putting most of our money into the food and the music (in the form of an awesome DJ!) People will remember a great time, and a great meal. We just want to celebrate the happiest day of our lives, with as many of our friends and family as we can get!

Secondary to all of this is decor, centerpieces, stuff like that. A month later, nobody's going to be like "wow, I still can't get over those amazing centerpieces at Mike and Cristy's wedding! Fabulous!!" LMAO! Nope. Not going to happen. So, that's why we're only putting a small part of our budget towards decor.

I went to a reception on Saturday night that was at the Boat Basin Cafe in New York City. It was very low key. It was a sectioned of part of the dining area, an alcohol station with bartenders, and a buffet of appetizers. Since the cafe is outdoors, it was still open to the public. We could still go to the full bars of we wanted to, but would have to pay at those. There was no music other whatever was playing already, but you weren't paying attention to that anyway. It was loud and crowded, but it was exactly what the couple wanted. The bride told me that for the duration of their relationship, they told their families that they did not want a traditional wedding. The bride used to work for the judge that married them at City Hall the day before.

View Quoted Comment I agree. We scored on a beautiful beach house! It over sees the water and the outside is full of tropical flowers & a waterfall. I love nature and wanted the guests to unwind and enjoy the day. Food, booze, and music was my priority.

View Quoted Comment Great and cost affective! I myself am getting married through City Hall. The wedding approaching is for family and friends and pictures!!

Food. That's it. Nobody cares about anything except food really. 🤣

Great food, open bar, welcoming vibe. Quality!

OPEN BAR!!

Yes, I totally agree with your priority list. If you have those, nothing else will matter.

View Quoted Comment I am not a dancer but both of my sisters had not great DJa. So a good DJ was up high for me.

I 100% agree with your list.

Food, drinks, music, family, fun

I think you summed it up perfectly!

Thank you ladies! I really love the community here.