Invitation reception only

THAT is a great way to word it!

Thank you for your help Georgie!! I really appreciate the advice and different ways I could word things! Super helpful

What a unique idea!

I would definitely avoid calling it the "reception", as that usually means dinner and would create some confusion You could call it your Late Night Wedding Gala; Wedding After-Party; Soiree; or something similar.

Please join us for our

"Wedding After-Party"

7:30pm

Light refreshments & dancing

Oh Boy! Pavlova is soooooo good! I'm jealous

Ooops I accidentally clicked reply before I was done! I meant to say that flavour isn't one of our options on the list we were given! But we have a strawberry pavlova for after dinner as one of our dessert options which is like a meringue with a strawberry topping and whipped cream on it! Nice and light and tasty

That sounds delicious! Unfortunately that isn't one of the opti

We will be having 3 different flavours for the cupcakes! We havn't decided which 3 we want though. The salted caramel is going to be on for sure! But my fiance isn't big on sweets so he hasn't helped out in the cupcake flavour aspect of the wedding!

Hi Chelsea

That's great!! I really like the poutine and pizza bar idea!! I'm sure your guests will love it!

Will your cupcakes all be the same flavour?

Thank you! I appreciate the tips on what to include on them! We are inviting abour 20-30 extra people. They will be there for the cupcakes (we have one tier cake for us to cut, cupcakes for the guests), cash bar, and a late night lunch (poutine and pizza bar)

Hi Chelsea

I think you can totally invite people just to the reception, but as Valerie and Melissa mentionned, it is important to word that clearly in your invitations.

Make sure to explain clearly at what time people can arrive, that you would like to see them and this is an occasion for you to celebrate your happiness with them. Important aspects to include: Will drinks be included? Will food be served? What activities will there be? Will they be invited to eat the cake?

I think the most important is to make your guests feel included and part of the party!

Here are more tips for general invitations:

Everything You MUST Include on a Wedding Invitation

How to phrase your wedding invitations in 4 steps

I'd love to read your invitations once yoou chose on your wording! That way, we could all give you feedback too

How many late-night guests will you invite to your reception?

The elegant/royal look is what we are going for but we chose these specific invites because our colour scheme is purple with gold accents and it has been harder to find gold items so wherever we can fit in the gold, we try! Also our original invitation idea, my cousin ended up using those invitation's as she is getting married about 3 weeks after me and we didn't want the same ones!

No problem!

Let me know what/ if you add to the invites! Something like "we would love for you to join us for Dancing and light refershments at 8pm (or whatever time)" might work?

The design you posted looks almost 20's style glamourous- is that the style you are going for?

Thank you Melissa! I appreciate your help

Hi Chelsea,

We are doing something similar perhaps- we are having a small ceremony and meal with family, and a cocktail reception/ dance party late in the evening that friends and extended family are invited to....it is a bit different than your order of events, but I get what you are going for!

We are serving apps and having a late night pasta bar, but we are making it clear that this is an after dinner party, so "light" refreshments and lots of booze are what to expect....Maybe mention that apps will be available? That way you aren't saying "no meal" but it is easier to draw the conclusion that a full meal won't be included.

You of course do want to be clear, and maybe talk to those guests ahead of time (sounds like you already have), because this is a bit unconverntional- so you can avoid hungry people! I would suggest adding a little more detail to those invites, just to be safe.

Don't get too caught up in the "rules and regulations of weddings"- be clear with your guests that you want them there, but budget is limited, and hope that they understand. If they don't, they can say no to the invite. Do this your way, you'll only do it once

Hi Chelsea,
I read that it is considered proper etiquette that of your invite your guest to ceremony to also invite them to the reception. I had this discussion with my fiancé and we both agreed to invite all to both the ceremony and reception. Hope this helps.

Like I said, I don't think you meant it that way, but it still is what it is. I would love to invite many more people to come celebrate with us, but I unfortunately just can't afford to host them all, so they won't be invited. It's an unfortunate part of wedding planning. I'm not trying to tear you down or call you rude, I’m just giving you some very honest feedback (even if it’s not what you might like to hear). I have definitely not heard that it is a popular option at all, and just because it’s popular does not mean it’s a great idea or not rude.

If you still want to only invite people to a small portion, I would forgo a formal invitation and just go with word of mouth. Tell them the date, what time they can come and the location. If you REALLY want something written down, I’d go with

Please come celebrate with us

Dancing

7:30pm

[Location]

This isn't meant to be rude; hence why I was asking for help on how to word it properly.... The people coming to the dance only, already know as they are co-workers and they understand that we can't afford to pay for a HUGE wedding and pay for everyone to eat as we are not rich but we do want to see them. Anyone who actually knows me, knows I could care less if I get money or a big gift from them and that I wouldn't expect that from the people coming to the dance only. Also I have heard from a lot of friends, family and a lot of my vendors that this is becoming a more popular thing nowadays so I would completely disagree that it is rude.

Hi Chelsea,

I’m sorry, but it is usually considered quite rude to only invite guests to a portion of your wedding (be in ceremony only or dancing only). It comes across as, you want them to come and bring a gift… (you might not mean it that way, but weddings are gift giving occasions and people will feel obligated) but that they aren’t important enough to pay for their dinner.

If you are set on doing things this way and cannot be swayed, please make it clear on the invitation that it is dancing only (your current mock up would lead me to believe, as a guest, that there will be dinner served), so that your 2nd tier guests aren’t under the assumption that they will be getting a meal (so they should eat before they come)