Weddings have a lot of traditions and formality attached to them. Something that can get lost in all the customs and conventions of a typical ceremony and reception is actually enjoying the company of all the people that have come together to celebrate your relationship.
That’s why welcome parties have become an increasingly popular option to kick off wedding weekends. The most popular wedding welcome party ideas focus on creating an informal atmosphere where guests can mingle and get to know one another: leading to a less segmented crowd during your cocktail hour and reception.
A wedding welcome party doesn’t have to be a big event. It can be as small or large as the soon-to-be-married couple prefers. These parties are great for traveling guests because it helps them get more time to hang out with the people they came to support.
Basically, a wedding weekend welcome party can be whatever a couple wants it to be. It can be formal, informal, at the reception venue, connected to the rehearsal dinner, an independent event, or any number of other options. The common denominator of successful welcome parties is that the event is easy to attend for guests and easy to host.
What is a wedding welcome party, and do you actually need one?
A wedding welcome party is a gathering of guests at the start of a wedding weekend. Often more informal, with fewer long-standing traditions than a typical reception. When planning one, basically any pre wedding party ideas you might have are on the table. There is no tradition to buck against, so you can make the party unique to you and your guests easily.
Many couples will make welcome party wedding ideas for guests if there are quite a few that needed to travel for the big weekend. It helps those guests get more time around the happy couple than they would otherwise be able to enjoy — helping to make those plane tickets and hotel reservations a little more worth the price.
It can also provide a respite for the bride and groom in the leadup to the big event. It is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of a wedding. A welcome party lets people take a breath and just enjoy a few hours with friends and family.
But a welcome party is by no means a requirement! If there is not room in the budget, if you can’t secure a venue for it, if the timing of your wedding day preparations make it unfeasible, or if it isn’t something you want to do, just don’t have one. It’s ok!
Wedding Welcome Party vs Rehearsal Dinner: What Is the Difference?
You may be thinking to yourself, “There is already a pre-wedding event. It’s the rehearsal dinner!” But there are several differences between a rehearsal dinner and welcome party. Let’s go over a few of them.
A rehearsal dinner is typically tied to a walk-through of the wedding ceremony itself. It is usually an event reserved for the wedding party and immediate family, as well as the officiant. This is a time that the wedding couple can give gifts to their groomsmen and bridesmaids and thank them for all of their help while preparing for the events of the next day.
In order to save some money, it isn’t unheard of to combine a welcome party and rehearsal dinner. But if you decide to do that, make sure to create enough separation between the two so that your welcome party guests aren’t sitting around during your rehearsal.
If you make up a wedding welcome party guest list of the people that have traveled for your wedding or just don’t get to see you that often and it isn’t that much longer than your list of rehearsal dinner attendees, that’s a great sign that combining the events would make sense.
But if a casual wedding welcome party would give a large number of your guests an opportunity to interact with you and get to know people from other friend circles that they may not otherwise have encountered before, then by all means, throw that welcome party!
Why Welcome Parties Work Especially Well for Downtown Minneapolis Weddings
When you are putting together wedding welcome event ideas, bringing your guests to downtown Minneapolis is a huge bonus. There are lots of hotels in the area and there are lots of restaurants and attractions within walking distance.
It’s also an easy place for locals to get to. Downtown Minneapolis has a lot of parking, plenty of public transit options like the light rail or bus lines, park and ride hubs for Uber and Lyft, and on and on.
If you are working with The Lumber Exchange as your venue, you may be able to use a more intimate space for your welcome party to give a different vibe to the reception room. Or you could go really informal and have a pub crawl starting at The Pourhouse and moving from spot to spot. There is so much to do downtown that it can support pretty much any wedding welcome party ideas you might have.
Wedding Welcome Party Ideas That Actually Work
When you know where you want to have your party and you’ve figured out who to invite to the wedding welcome party night, you get to actually plan out what you want your welcome event to look like.
Wedding welcome event ideas can take a lot of different forms. Here are a few examples of things that work really well to welcome your guests to your big weekend:
- Work with your venue to create some wedding welcome drinks ideas like custom cocktails or curated beer flights
- Serve some light fare, like appetizers and desserts with drinks
- Throw an open-house to allow people to come and go as they please
- Take your wedding eve party ideas to late-night with a party specifically for your younger, more active guests
- Have an intimate dinner that then expands to a cocktail hour for anyone who wishes to attend
How to Choose the Right Welcome Party Format for Your Guests and Budget
The first thing you should do once you decide to have a pre-ceremony soiree is decide if you want to have an intimate wedding welcome party or throw an event with a more expansive guest list. It may go without saying, but the number of people you invite is the biggest factor in your budget.
Think about how many people are traveling for you, how many are family members that you want to see (and didn’t invite out of obligation), how formal or informal you want things to be, and whether or not you want a meal, finger foods, or only drinks.
When you factor all of that in, see if the costs fit your ideal wedding welcome party budget. If your ideas come in under your budget ceiling, you are good to go! If you aren’t comfortable with the cost of what you would want, try scaling back either the menu or the guest list.
You can also simply choose not to have a welcome party and direct that budget to other parts of your wedding if the party does not fit your preferences. No one can force you to throw one of these get-togethers.
What to Serve at a Wedding Welcome Party
We’ve looked at a few wedding welcome party food ideas, but there is room to get more specific. In general, you should tailor your menu to the kind of party you want to throw. Different food options fit different kinds of parties.
If you want a more formal and structured event, providing a full meal would be a great idea. If you want the feeling of a casual mixer, a dessert-only menu, passed appetizers and/or cocktails can keep people happy while they get to know each other.
If you want to split the difference, setting up food stations or having buffet options available can work. Having more than one food option can help break the ice because people can talk about what they have and haven’t sampled. Just be sure that the food you are offering is tailored to the event — you don’t want to make this a second reception, after all.
Custom wedding welcome party drinks are also a great way to offer a unique experience. If you are working with the bar service at your venue, go over flavors you like so that they can put both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options together that suit your taste and personality exactly. And if you really like those drinks, you’ll still be able to get them at your reception.
One thing that you probably want to avoid at a welcome party is a full, open bar. Because this event is likely taking place very near to your ceremony, you probably don’t want to open the temptation for your guests to party too hard. After all, you want them in good shape and spirits for the actual wedding.
How Long Should a Wedding Welcome Party Last?
Because we are talking about pre wedding events for guests, it is important that timing is taken into account. While a welcome party is a less formal event, you don’t want it to throw off the timing of the key events of the weekend that follows.
Set a clear start and end time. Give enough of a window for people to have fun, but leave wiggle room so that you and your guests will be able to rest up and look your best for all of the important events and photos to come.
In general, it’s a good idea to keep your welcome party to around three hours. That gives plenty of time for people to arrive, food and drinks to be served, conversations to be had, and toasts from people outside the wedding party to be offered without burning everybody out.
Who Should Be Invited to a Wedding Welcome Party?
The short answer to this question is “however many people you feel like inviting.” But looking at wedding welcome party etiquette and taking your goals for the event into account, there are some guidelines you can consider.
It’s good form to have an invited out-of-town guests welcome party because they have spent a lot of money to see you get married, and it would be nice if there was a time they could actually talk to you outside of the receiving line.
It’s also good to include your wedding party and close family. If you tie your rehearsal dinner into your welcome party, this will be easy because they can just stick around after the rehearsal is done.
Keep in mind, though, that you do not have to invite everyone. You can limit your party to specific people or open it up to anyone who wants to drop in. That’s up to you and what fits your budget.
Use Your Welcome Party to Ease Stress, Not Make It Worse
We can look at modern wedding welcome party ideas for hours, but the key thing to remember is that they are meant to offer a bit of respite and connection with loved ones to kick off the best weekend of your life.
To keep everything running smoothly, be sure to communicate with your venue and your guests clearly. For the venue, be specific about what you want served, how many people will be attending, and the time frame of the party. For your guests, be sure you schedule events so that the people you want to attend will be able to, be clear about the dress code and level of formality.
Having a Minneapolis wedding welcome party with the help of the team at The Lumber Exchange Event Center can make the whole enterprise a breeze. You can schedule a space for your party, plan food and drinks with the on-site catering and bar staff, get a list of preferred vendors for music or special events you want at the party, and more.
LXMPLS offers wedding planning assistance, has great relationships with nearby hotels and parking ramps that can help save your guests some money, and all the services you need to make your relaxing, delightful wedding welcome party ideas a blissful reality.
FAQ
What is a wedding welcome party?
A get-together to allow people to relax and spend time together at the start of a wedding weekend.
Is a wedding welcome party the same as a rehearsal dinner?
No. A rehearsal dinner is tied to a run-through of the wedding ceremony and has certain traditional requirements. A welcome party is just a party.
Who should be invited to a wedding welcome party?
Out-of-town guests, close family, and the wedding party are pretty standard, but the guest list is ultimately up to the wedding couple.
Do you have to serve dinner at a wedding welcome party?
No. Because they are usually much less formal, the menu for a welcome party will often be lighter fare like passed appetizers or a dessert menu. However, the food and drinks served at the party is up to the wedding couple, so they may want to serve dinner and that is just fine.
How long should a wedding welcome party last?
Because a welcome party takes place before the wedding itself, it is wise to keep it to a reasonable length. Two to three hours, depending on the type of party being thrown, will usually be plenty.
Can you combine a rehearsal dinner and a wedding welcome party?
Yes. Just be sure to make a clear line of demarcation between the two events so that everything that needs to happen at your rehearsal is taken care of before you kick back and party.
Is a welcome party worth it for a local wedding?
It can be. It gives people from different social circles an opportunity to meet and interact before the reception, easing any awkward introductions on your actual wedding day.
What are some simple welcome party ideas?
A relaxing cocktail hour, an all-dessert menu, customized beer flights, food stations, and passed appetizers can all help your guests relax and enjoy themselves.
How do you keep a wedding welcome party affordable?
The key is to keep it simple. Your welcome party should not be a full reception.
What is the best timing for a wedding welcome party?
The best time for a welcome party is the start of your wedding weekend. Take the arrival times of your traveling guests into account as well as the requirements and events of the following day. When you know that, you can establish a few hours for everyone to relax and get into the mood for a great wedding weekend.