After party opinions

If any of this helps with decision making:

-We're 25, we'll be 26 at the wedding.

-His friends are all coming in from out of town (West Virginia) so they might want to go out in Philly.

-My parents and their friends will definitely partake in the after party so "older" guests will be included.

ETA: the reception will end at 10:30

Well, option 1 just seems like a lot of unnecessary time, effort, and money. If you are still considering the venue with unhosted parking, I think the guests would appreciate you paying for the parking more than an after party.

I'm leaning toward option 2 but if your reception ends really early, then bar hopping may be a good option.

My reception ended at 10:30. We went back to the hotel bar for like maybe 1 drink and then went to bed. We were drained and drunk lol.

If you can afford it, option 1 sounds awesome. No one has to worry about cabbing to another location or getting lost, they get free drinks and food... I would love that.

I think a bar crawl might be a little too adventurous for your "older" guests who might not want to tramp around the city late at night. If you can afford the hosted party I'd go for that. It's convenient for guest and sounds like a great time. If you can't afford it then I'd go for option 2.

@Elyse it's still the venue with un hosted parking, so that's a good point. Thanks! Also I forgot to include that pretty important detail, the reception will end at 10:30.

I think the best part of a wedding after party is the spontaneity. I don't think they should be so planned. What if you're exhausted and you just want to go home? You may feel obligated to stay because you planned and payed for things. What if you plan for one place but everyone wants to go to a different place?

The only planning I'm doing is putting a more comfortable pair of shoes in the car and having a few places in mind if we decide to continue the party later.

I vote option 2. After a full day of wedding stuff, a bar crawl would be exhausting. Option 1 sounds interesting if you're willing to put the money and work into it, but not necessary. Plus, center city is fun, I'd be into moving to a new spot to party after.

Ok with the additional info I'd vote option 2 and use the funds to cover parking.

I vote option 2. Stick to one bar so people don't get lost bar hopping. Plus you have already hosted these people for 5-6 hours, do you really need to add on more $ for booze and food for all of them, again. And then have to worry about music, the booze being moved, bar tender fees, etc.? We had an after party at Margaritas that was attached to the hotel. We did supply people with some food, it ran out and people ordered more. They also paid for their own drinks.

@SwoleMates that's all true, but I'm worried it'll be 10:30 on 1.21.17 and we have no idea where we should even start. Maybe we'll just have ideas for bars if we go with options 2 or 3. You make a good point about feeling obligated especially if we already put money out for it. This is why I need WW, I didn't even think about it like that.

@Jac we'd definitely go somewhere walkable, there are a ton of places within a block or two!

@kmess I think a bar crawl might be too much for "older" guests as well, but people can always head back to the hotel or home if/when we switch bars if they're ready to call it a night!

I'd vote option #2. That's probably what we're doing for ours - that way we don't have to front money (and have people potentially not show up) and it's more casual/less stressful!

We did option 2. Ours was at the closest bar to the venue that was good for groups. It was unhosted . . . we actually didn't even go. We told people we weren't planning on being there and they still wanted to hang out with each other, so really our only involvement was scoping out a decent place beforehand and having the DJ announce the bar at the end of the reception. I've heard that it turned into a bit of an option 3 toward the end of the night.

Because you're in a city with a lot of options, I would do some research into nearby bars that are good for big crowds and leave it at that. #1 seems like a bit of a headache.

Another vote for option #2!! I think option #3 could get really confusing, a lot of drunk people texting each other trying to find out where to go! Option #1 sounds really fun, but it will put more stress/planning/money on your plate.

Thanks for all of the feedback! Option 2 seems to be the popular choice and probably what we'll go with! I think that's what FH really wants anyway! I was leaning toward option 1, but you all bring up great points and now option 2 seems like the best choice. And if people want to turn it into option 3 by moving to other bars later in the night they can take the lead!

Our (unhosted) after-party was at a large, casual bar down the street from our venue. I made a facebook event the week of the wedding to let our guests know about the after-party.

Hosting the after-party is a really nice gesture if you can swing it, but totally not necessary.

ETA: we called the after-party venue a couple of weeks prior to the wedding to reserve a few tables for our group.

I'd do #2 bc #1 is extra expense and you have just as fun somewhere else. Plus it might be nice to go somewhere else after being there for hours. #3 is just an extension of #2, so if you want to keep the party going then add #3 crawl last minute.

We just went through this!!! Same concerns. We ended up having an "un-hosted" after party at our favorite club/bar/bowling alley and everybody had an amazing time. Since we'd had an open bar at our reception most people ordered a drink or two but not a single person minded that (and our friends are pretty vocal about that sort of thing)

The best part was how stress free it was. I had to do nothing (OKwe reserved 2 lanes a month in advance), we just showed up and partied. It was a really low-key, stress free, plan free way to extend our evening and I would definitely do that!!!

I'd go with option 2 though, as people can get lost during crawls and if you have OOTers that could end poorly, I also know a few people who went to their to hotel first before meeting us so if you're moving around people might not find you? Just some thoughts!!!

A wedding day is a long one for most guests. I can't imagine most people being up for a pub crawl.