After the Party ...
Couples engaged to be married often spend a year’s worth of planning for their special day, which often passes in a blink of a lovestruck eye. It’s no wonder more of them are extending the festivities to after parties. These post-nuptial shindigs are about ditching the formal wear, letting the hip DJ spin some loud grooves and perhaps scarfing down taco-truck grub with some of the couple’s closest friends.
“Basically, the schmoozing is over and now couples can get down and have fun with people closest to them,” said Paula Gild, owner of Gilded Events in Los Angeles. “Usually, there’s music, an element of junk food and maybe a bottle of champagne. It’s a more casual affair.”
The trend has heated up in the last year, Gild said, so etiquette rules are still in the works. Invitations aren’t necessary; couples can post party details on their blogs, Web sites, or even send an e-mail about the after-hours affair. Count on older wedding guests, such as parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, bowing out of the evening after the wedding. It’s the younger folk who are ready to rock when the hotel ballroom closes up at 11 p.m.
Venues for the after-parties vary from hanging out at the hotel suite to moving the celebration to the hotel bar to even going to a private residence. Food is essential to the late-night gathering to appease partygoers stricken with the munchies post-reception. Couples will order out for pizza or even hire an In-N-Out Cookout Trailer to serve burgers. Other touches may include cigars and whiskey, mojito bars and themed décor for uber-planners who aren’t burned out from deciding the logistics of their ceremonies and receptions.
If couples stick to tradition, most likely they’ll pay for the event. If the party shifts to a neighborhood bar, then guests may chip in for drinks and snacks. How elaborate or laid-back of an evening will determine the price. Party planner Paloma Rodarte, owner of Frostings Events in Tucson, Ariz., has organized after-party events that have cost from $3,000 to $12,000 at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa and the JW Marriott Starr Pass hotels in Tucson.
“We’ll do tents, create lounge settings and set up cocktail bars,” Rodarte said. “The reception may have ended, but couples still want to wow their guests and create a club scene.”
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