BAM ladies: Post Wedding Survey

Type of Bar: Open bar with fun menu of 8 "signature" drinks (we renamed some common drinks with things relevant to us or our guests)

Kids at wedding?: Yep.

Unplugged?: Nope.

Seating Chart: None. ETA: We set up the tables as a giant U so everyone sat at the same table. No assignment needed.

Videographer?: Nope.

Favors?: Nope.

Bridal Party Sizes: 5 on my side, 6 on his

Ceremony Length: 15 minutes?

Gap Length: None. The ceremony was steps away from the cocktail hour area and the reception.

Reception Length: 6 1/2 hours

How many bride dresses: 1 (although I changed into a maxi dress at the end of the night because we stayed at the house where the wedding took place)

Plus One Philosophy: I invited all significant others and gave a plus one to single people who had to travel.

STDs? ( yes? how early): We sent them about 11 months out because it was a destination wedding.

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 100ish invited, 68 attended (it was a destination wedding in Hawaii)

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Nope. I think the garter toss is gross and there was only one single lady.

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): None. A lot of us were staying at the venue so we just went to bed afterward.

Where you registered: BBB and Target

ETA Length of Engagement: 13 months

ETA type of dinner: Buffet

ETA first look?: Nope. I'm a traditionalist.

And just for fun, share a picture

Type of Bar: limited. beer, sangria, vodka lemonade, champagne

Kids at wedding?: DH's 2 sons, little sister and one baby

Unplugged?: no, i enjoyed getting the pictures back early and looking at them in bed with DH that night.

Seating Chart: yes

Videographer?: no. we did have the officiant wear a gopro for the ceremony though.

Favors?: sweet boxes for the buffet

Bridal Party Sizes: 3 on each side.

Ceremony Length: like 20 minutes?

Gap Length: no gap. about 45-60 min for cocktails & pictures.

Reception Length: 4 hrs.

How many bride dresses: just 1.

Plus One Philosophy: if you got invited, you got a plus one, unless you got invited with your SO.

STDs? ( yes? how early): nope

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 41:38 (the baby made the odd number)

Garter/Bouquet Toss: tossed the bouquet (MOH caught it) didnt toss garter

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): we had sparklers and the car waiting at the end of the sparklers.

Where you registered: target

ETA Length of Engagement: 1 year, 3 months

ETA type of dinner: bbq chicken & pulled pork, mac & cheese, green bean casserole, rolls, salad, etc

ETA first look?: no first look. DH wouldnt have it.

And just for fun, share a pictur

Type of Bar: Wine/Beer, Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, screwdrivers (brunch theme)

Kids at wedding?: Yes, lots. It was super fun, they really added to our day!

Unplugged?: we tried; we made a sign. didn't work. didn't care, turned out fine.

Seating Chart: Yes (table assignments).

Videographer?: Just a go pro attached to a seat in the front row for ceremony.

Favors: make your own lego minifigs. they were a HUGE hit.

Bridal Party Sizes: 3 on each side. plus flower girl, and my dog was ring bearer.

Ceremony Length: Gosh, I actually have no idea. 25 min?

Gap Length: an hour (cocktail hour--ceremony & reception were at same place)

Reception Length: 3.5 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Everyone got one.

STDs? ( yes? how early): Yup, 6 months. My friends/family had to travel so it was necessary.

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 120 invited ~95 RSVPd yes, ~90 came

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Nope

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): Bubble exit

Where you registered: Amazon

Length of Engagement: 10 months

type of dinner: Brunch buffet. The food was amazing! Our "theme" was Sunday Brunch, and everything worked out so well!

first look?: Yup, and it turned out perfectly, and made it so we got to enjoy some of our cocktail hour.

Too shy to post a pic of me, so here's my venue.

Type of Bar: Beer, Wine, local cider, with various baby bottles of jager/bourbon passed around care of my SIL

Kids at wedding?: About 20 kids including 2 under 4mo. All amazingly well behaved with no extra activities/attention provided by me.

Unplugged?: Nope. Was planning on it but glad i didnt. Love all the different angles my guests captured.

Seating Chart: Yes - set tables but let the guests figure out their place within the table.

Videographer?: No, not a priority for me

Favors?: No, not a NZ thing

Bridal Party Sizes: 3 on each side, 2 FGs, 1 RB, 2 PBs

Ceremony Length: half hour, which I felt was perfect.

Gap Length: No real gap, ceremony held on lawn with hors devours/drinks served straight away, then after an hour started reception

Reception Length: about 5 hours

How many bride dresses: 1! Any more would have caused me to have grey hairs by the wedding day.

Plus One Philosophy: Plus ones for people in relationships or who didn't know any other guests.

STDs? ( yes? how early): Yes, 1 year early (destination wedding for many)

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 170 invited, 120 attended (this was expected due to the location/travel)

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Bouquet only, was fun!

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): No exit, when the reception ended we all got on a ferry back to an after party at our house.

Where you registered: No registry. Received a mixture of cash and presents, which suited us perfectly. We won't have anything when we arrive back in NZ next year to settle, so was great to get a lot of the basics!

Length of Engagement: 1.5 years

type of dinner: Buffet, got a lot of comments on how yummy it was.

first look?: No time, glad we didnt. Loved the walk down the aisle.

And just for fun, share a picture

Dang I wish my reception was going to be longer! It's only about 3 1/2 hours...but we're doing an after party!

Type of Bar: Open

Kids at wedding?: Only children who were family (there were only two)

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: Yes - we assigned tables

Videographer?: Yes (worth every penny)

Favors?: Yes (cake in personalized boxes. We had cheesecake and bread pudding for dessert)

Bridal Party Sizes: 2

Ceremony Length: 20 minutes

Gap Length: None

Reception Length: 4 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Everyone we invited was married and/or engaged so we didn't have to think about it

STDs? ( yes? how early): Yes, 5 months before

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 50 invited/45 attended

Garter/Bouquet Toss: No (we did have a first dance & a father/daughter dance)

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): Ribbon Wands

Where you registered: Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel

Length of Engagement: 7 months

Type of dinner: Sit-down/Formal

First look?: No

Love this post! Following.

Loving this idea! I'm desperately seeking advice from you wiser, married ladies!

How about..

- destination/local?

- online or paper RSVP (on the fence with this one big time and want to hear how it's actually working for people rather than plans; recent posts are limited)

- something you shouldn't have overlooked or something you should have (aka what did you care about before the big day that ended up not mattering or vice versa)

This is so helpful! Following!

Type of Bar: Full open bar

Kids at wedding?” Yes

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: Yes

Videographer?: No

Favors?: No

Bridal Party Sizes: 3 on each side

Ceremony Length: Felt like 10 minutes

Gap Length: 1 hour cocktail hour

Reception Length: 4 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Yes

STDs? ( yes? how early): No

# of people invited vs # of people attended: About 75 / 55

Garter/Bouquet Toss: No, but the garter was worn and then given to a groomsman later. He "won it" with his enthusiasm for being there and being dressed in a tuxe even at the after party at the hotel...haha.

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): We were helping clean up And I had a DOC that was great, just went with a DIY venue at a beautiful state park and there was a lot to do.

Where you registered: Bed Bath and Beyond and Williams-Sonoma. All of it came from BBB, and I put 2 electric hand mixers on it by accident. I ended up with 2 electric hand mixers! Oops!

Length of Engagement: 2 years and 5 months

type of dinner: Italian buffet

first look?: No, but I saw him from the window where I was getting ready upstairs...heehee.

Such a good idea! following!

Bump in case some other oldies are on today

Type of Bar: Hosted Cocktail for an hour (Very Common in Boston, because Open Bar is a High cost)

Kids at wedding?: Only the Flower Girl

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: Yes

Videographer?: Yes (I decided last minute after all of the forum talk)

Favors?: Photobooth frames and Lindt Chocolates

Bridal Party Sizes: 5 BM's 5Gm's

Ceremony Length: 20min

Gap Length: Cocktail hour than reception

Reception Length: 4 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Everyone got one

STDs? ( yes? how early): No, but I had a few people ask where they were

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 150 invited, 135 showed up

Garter/Bouquet Toss: No

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): None

Where you registered: Amazon and Macy's

ETA Length of Engagement: 2 yrs, 3 months

ETA type of dinner: Stations offering multiple options

ETA first look?: No

And just for fun, share a picture

Type of Bar: Open bar – guests could choose from 2 red wines and 2 white wines and we are able to order any type of cocktail or beer.

Kids at wedding?: Yes. Only had three kids there.

Unplugged?: Nope! Guests were pretty polite about this and it wasn’t a distraction or take away from the wedding. Yes, some guests had their cameras or phones out during the ceremony, but it was to snap a few shots and then they put them away.

Seating Chart: Kind of, had place cards and guests found their name. We only had 30 people and six tables so it wasn’t a hassle.

Videographer?: No. But my brother did install two go-pro cameras, one inside the gazebo and one outside on the ground in front of the gazebo. He also had a camera on a tripod and controlled that during the ceremony. He is compiling all three videos into one for us. I saw some of the raw footage and it is perfect.

Favors?: DH and I went to a strawberry farm picked a ton of strawberries and made jalapeno strawberry jam for our guests. We had made it in the past and it’s always been a highly requested item from friends and family, so it was perfect.

Bridal Party Sizes: 1 Best Man, 1 Matron of Honor, 1 Flower Girl, and nothing else!

Ceremony Length: 20 minutes though it felt like 5 minutes for DH and I.

Gap Length: 30 minutes to take family shots and bride and groom shots before the reception.

Reception Length: The dinner was 4+ and after the dinner it was another 3 hours. In total 7+. We didn’t plan for it to be that timeframe either. Everyone was socializing and enjoying themselves so we played it by ear.

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Didn’t matter. Everyone who attended our wedding was married or in a very serious relationship, so we automatically included everyone on the wedding invitations.

STDs? ( yes? how early): Nope!

# of people invited vs # of people attended: We invited 34 people and 30 people attended.

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Neither!

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): We released balloons.

Where you registered: Nope! The majority of our wedding gifts we received were cash/check and only received two actual gifts. Not bad for no registry, people got the idea.

ETA Length of Engagement: A little less than 4 months.

ETA type of dinner: Sit down dinner. Entrée choices for adults – 1. 8oz Filet 2. Pecan-Crusted Red Snapper 3. Chicken Oscar 4. Perry’s Famous Pork Chop. The sides were: Au gratin potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and grilled asparagus. Children’s entrée choices: 1. Chicken Fingers 2. Kids 6oz Filet Mignon 3. Fried Shrimp 4. Tomato Basil Pasta, Alfredo Pasta or Marinara Pasta (with option to add chicken, beef medallions or shrimp) 5. Butcher’s Blend Burger

ETA first look?: Nope!

Will include a picture when we receive our photos.

Type of Bar: Open

Kids at wedding?: Ended up being two at reception. Left after dinner

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: Yes

Videographer?: Yes. One of my good friend's gifted me with the videography

Favors?: Photo booth

Bridal Party Sizes: 4 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen

Ceremony Length: about 45 mins

Gap Length: about 2 hours

Reception Length: With cocktail hour, 6 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Only people in long-term relationships

STDs? ( yes? how early): Yes, 8 months out

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 151 invited. 60 at ceremony, 120 at reception

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Yes

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): Stayed the whole reception

Where you registered: Macy's, Target and Amazon

ETA Length of Engagement: almost 2 years

ETA type of dinner: Filet mignon and salmon duo

ETA first look?: No

And just for fun, share a picture - I'll share two

Type of Bar: Beer & wine, I had an afternoon wedding and it was more than enough. We bought Heineken and Corona to add variety and those still didn't go. People wont drink heavily during the day but we did have some people that got wasted at 12pm lol. Saved us a lot of money and we cut cost where we could since we paid for it ourselves.

Kids at wedding?: We have no kid rule. we had 2 older kids around 12 and that's about it. When we were making our guest list we realized we had 10+ kids just added on from our friends. It def saved us some money there too. Some people wont like it but who cares its your wedding.

Unplugged?: We did unplugged and even though It was written in the programs and the pastor said something people still pulled out their cellphones just in the beginning, no one listened lol.. but no pictures were ruined.

Seating Chart: Escort cards.. people weren't too happy where they were sitting, but its really hard to make everyone happy and some mix of people wont mix well with others.

Videographer?: Almost didn't get one and I'm so glad I did. I love that I can look at it and remember the day, since it was such a blur.

Favors?: CAke pops, people loved them and ate them, weren't such a waste!

Bridal Party Sizes: 6 BM and 4 GM.. it was a little too big on the girls side, and it cost money but all in all I can't complain about them, they were amazing every step of the way.

Ceremony Length: 30 min, it was a church wedding, but it went by really fast.

Gap Length: 1 hr and a half.. It was a little much but all in all people found something to do. they drank at the bar next to the venue so no biggie.

Reception Length: 4 hours.. more than enough.. people left after the 3rd hour..

How many bride dresses: 1. I spent so much money on it I wanted to wear it forever. lol

Plus One Philosophy: anyone who was coming and didn't know anyone.. and couples.

STDs? ( yes? how early): 6 months before.. even though I procrastinated and sent them 4 months before.

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 115 invited.. 80 attended..

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Yes, it was meh but I the pictures are great! lol. I wish I would've done a game or something instead, I felt like this was so outdated but whatever.

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): We didn't set one up, we stayed at the reception with just are close friends who stuck around and that was fun. and when we were leaving my SIL got a group of people to throw flower petals lol, it was cute!

Where you registered: Macys, I think it was pricey hence why I didn't get a lot of things on the registry but we got all $ on our wedding day, and maybe 2 gifts.

Length of Engagement: 1 year 6 months (flew by!)

type of dinner: Ours was lunch, we had chicken francaise and Herb crusted Mahi, with potatoes and veggies and pasta station.

first look?: Nope, he insisted he didn't want one and wanted to be surprised

Type of Bar: None

Kids at wedding?: Yes

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: Yes.. unfortunately.. we didn't want it, but my mil did.

Videographer?: Yes

Favors?: Yes, s'mores in burlap bags and a doughnut bar

Bridal Party Sizes: 5 on each side

Ceremony Length:

Gap Length: 2 hours

Reception Length: 6-11

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Serious relationships

STDs? ( yes? how early): 7 months

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 464 invited to ceremony, 300 invited to the church

Garter/Bouquet Toss:

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers):

Where you registered:

ETA Length of Engagement: year and half

ETA type of dinner: buffet, family prepared foods, fried chicken.. the good stuff

ETA first look?: No way!

Type of Bar: We didn't have a bar at the wedding, but had an after party with alcohol

Kids at wedding?: Yes! I loved them and they were all adorable

Unplugged?: No

Seating Chart: No

Videographer?: No

Favors?: Candy buffet was our favor, it seemed to be enjoyed

Bridal Party Sizes: 4 on each side

Ceremony Length: eh maybe 10 minutes lol

Gap Length: no gap, people started dinner as we took pictures

Reception Length: about 2.5 hours

How many bride dresses: 1 and I still didn't want to take it off

Plus One Philosophy: Everyone got a plus one

STDs? ( yes? how early): Yes, far too early

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 150 people invited, 95 RSVPd yes, not sure how many showed

Garter/Bouquet Toss: Yes and both were fun

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): None

Where you registered: Target and Amazon

ETA Length of Engagement: Over 2 years

ETA type of dinner: Buffet

ETA first look?: Nope

And just for fun, share a picture

Haven't read through everything yet, but this us a great post! Very helpful!

Type of Bar: Cash (we decided to cover soft drinks instead of champagne)

Kids at wedding?: No little kids. RB was 8, FG was 12, youngest guest was 16-17.

Unplugged?: yes and I'm glad

Seating Chart: yes, assigned tables

Videographer?: yes

Favors?: custom M&Ms

Bridal Party Sizes: 6 on my side, 4 on his, plus RB and FG

Ceremony Length: 20-30 minutes

Gap Length: planned an hour, ended up adding 10-15 minutes

Reception Length: 4 hours

How many bride dresses: 1

Plus One Philosophy: Couples invited together, no plus ones for singles

STDs? ( yes? how early): No

# of people invited vs # of people attended: 155 invited, 102 RSVP'd yes, 99 showed up

Garter/Bouquet Toss: no garter toss, did bouquet toss

Type of Reception Exit (ex- sparklers): no formal exit, family members decorated the car

Where you registered: Target and Amazon

Length of Engagement: 2 1/2 years

type of dinner: Plated

first look: No

And a picture.