Reception question

[kmigrrrl]

I will be getting married on May 9th on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. Up until today my fiance and I were going to be happy with either of the 2 receptions that are 1 hour in length. We are not sure how many guests we will be having as of yet so we weren't sure which reception we were going to have. But now it seems family members on his side think a 1 hour reception is not a long enough time for guests. Some also don't think we should be going with just the hordevour/cocktail reception, claiming it won't be enough food. As me and my fiance were discussing this, I tried to remind him that this is OUR wedding and what we decide to do should be because it is what WE want, which is the reason we decided on a cruise wedding to begin with. ANYWAY... if anyone has any input on whether a 1 hour reception is indeed too short and it would be worthwhile for us to do the 2 hour one. Now that we are in the real planning stages I am sure I am going to have a zillion more questions so any advice or sugggestions are more then welcome, especially from anyone who may have already gone thru this process!!!

[briseis23]

Kim, after looking at your wedding website I figured out that you have non-sailing guests, which changes things a bit. A 1 hour reception will fly by before you know it. If you can afford to do 2 hours and it will fit into your schedule, then you should do it. Another factor to consider is if your guests have to travel far to come to your wedding. If they all pretty much live in or near where you are departing from and you see them on a regular basis, then a longer reception may not be as important.

 

My situation is a bit different because we are getting married on one of the islands, so most of our guests are cruising with us. However, we have 8 guests who are flying to Jamaica, and we are only planning a 1 hour mini reception on the island. Due to time constraints, that's all we could really fit into the agenda (though we are continuing with an evening reception on the ship).

 

Since our time is so limited with our non-sailing guests, those people will get our attention during the island reception. The way I see it, they did have an opportunity to spend more time with us by going on the cruise, and instead they are choosing to spend 5 days on the island as opposed to on a ship with us. We did point out to them that they would probably be flying a long way to only see us for 2 hours, and they seem to understand that.

 

I would HOPE that your guests are more concerned about seeing you exchange your marriage vows than being served a full meal at the reception. Also, if the ceremony is at 1pm, then people will likely have had lunch prior. Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails should be what is expected at that time of day.

 

Sorry if I'm all over the place. Our wedding is one month from today, it's late, and I am tired but so excited about getting things done that I can't go to sleep! :) Best of luck. May 9th will be here before you can blink!

[dna32]

Hi...we just had RCI's hor de orv reception..and it was enough time..plenty of food..they kept bringing more out when they needed to...and i wouldn't change anything!...my non sailing guest loved the ship and had fun beor and after the wedding..we were on the ship by around 11:30 and they left at 3pm...some of them even ate while waiting for the wedding to start..so they will have time to enjoy everyone...but the bride! I was in my cabin until the wedding which was at 1pm...

 

oh by the way...the drinks were flowing...we didn't have to keep asking for more stuff.the two waiters were on top of everyones drinks and it was A+ service...

 

Diana

[sas80]

I concur with briseis23's response. Do take into consideration the length your guests will be traveling to attend the affair.

 

Also, are you planning on having pictures done immediately following the ceremony? Or later? If immediately following then you might miss out on your reception all together!

 

I think that an extra hour of cocktails is about half (or less) of what the original per person charge is, so , depending on your budget, it isn't too pricey.

 

There will be enough food. No worries about that.

 

If you can afford it then I say do it. Everyone will stay, and have a good time, and it will fly by.

[kmigrrrl]

The more my fiance and I thought about it, the more we realized that going with a 2 hour reception would be better for everyone, considering we have guests who will be traveling, and people needing to take off from work just to attend. We just need to figure out how many people will be attending so we know which reception we should book. The cocktail reception is only up to 50 people maximum. We will have somewhere around that # so we may just go with the lunch buffet to play it safe. Now I'm just trying to figure out music, cake, favors, pictures, all that fun stuff.:)

[sas80]

The more my fiance and I thought about it, the more we realized that going with a 2 hour reception would be better for everyone, considering we have guests who will be traveling, and people needing to take off from work just to attend. We just need to figure out how many people will be attending so we know which reception we should book. The cocktail reception is only up to 50 people maximum. We will have somewhere around that # so we may just go with the lunch buffet to play it safe. Now I'm just trying to figure out music, cake, favors, pictures, all that fun stuff.:)

 

They will let you go over the max peeps allowed if you need to, but only by a few (5 ish) extra people. Just ask sweetly!

 

If you want music, bring your iPod and downloaded stuff, in the prder you want, and put your brother, or best man, etc., in charge of overseeing the musical selections (i.e. pushing play on the iPod)

 

Pay for the extra hour of photos. Also, buy the package that includes the CD of pics.