How to make sure your welcome event doesn’t outshine your wedding
Photo: Harry Michael
Celebrations stretching over 3 day are fairly standard for Italian weddings - and bloody fantastic we must say!
Your welcome event is basically the warm-up act to the headliner - your wedding day! But how do you ensure the energy climaxes on the day you have been planning over the past year or more?
Photo: Benjamin Wheeler
Naturally guests will be hyped and ready to celebrate with you from the moment you see them! But let them settle in and acclimatise to the heat, the venue, the location and recover from their journey.
Time: An ideal welcome event is 5-7pm if you don’t want to feed guests; 7-10pm if you are providing substantial food
Communication: Be very clear what guests should expect i.e. Aperitivo from 6-8pm. By including restaurant recommendations here you are also empowering guests to sort themselves out around these times
Transport: Consider how off-site guests will arrive and whether you need to provide this for them. If your welcome is in a local town, do you need shuttles there and back? Be specific on times in the initial comms, on your wedding website and consider having a board at the event with the shuttle times on (multiple bus time questions really dampens the mood!)
The Fear: Going too hard on the first night!
You can’t stop guests from drinking, but serving different drinks at the welcome will make the event feel different to the wedding day.
Serve a choice of spritz and beer on the first night vs cocktails, Prosecco, beer and wine at the wedding
Do not serve spirits at the welcome and be clear on what food is being served so guests can plan to go to eat before or after if needed.
Timings are crucial to your budget i.e. 2 hours of aperitivo for guests is very different to a full evening of free flowing drinks and food.
Note, many venues do not offer a paid bar, so if you are planning for a guest paying vibe, make sure you check this is possible!
Save money and host at an external venue
Host at a local bar and pay for the first drink, guests pay for theirs thereafter
Have it at 5-7pm to allow guests to go out for dinner afterwards; thus saving you from serving food
Save your actual venue for the wedding day, making it that more special
Welcome guests at your venue
Make full use of your paid for venue but host at a different area i.e. poolside creating a more chilled atmosphere
Many venues don’t offer a paid bar option, so this will need to be factored into your budget
The Vibe
Dress-code: Introduce a style or theme, giving guests an opportunity to dress differently to the wedding day “La Dolce Vita”, “A White Party”
Music: Consider what you have for the wedding day and have something very different here. An Italian folkband? A modern violinist? A tenor?
Speeches: Break up your wedding day speeches and have a couple here. It is nice to hear from the bride and groom at this event officially welcoming everyone
Musicians: Fix the Music
For your welcome you don’t need to go over-board, people want to be together in a convenient location with the option to bow out early if they have had a long journey. Don’t forget in the madness that is wedding planning, your guests are your friends and family - they just want to celebrate this with you!
