What Happens When the Wedding is Done?

For anyone planning their wedding reception it’s easy for one’s mind to become a cloudy mess swimming in wedding details. Yet, the end of the night is likely one aspect that hasn’t been given much thought. As the night winds down, the bar closes, and the epic hand-picked last song plays, there is some logistical work to be done to really call it a night.

Couples tend to have the usual concerns:
• Being sent off in a grand exit
• Trying to keep the party going by inviting family and friends out after the reception
• Getting to the airport or back to the hotel to anxiously wait out the time remaining until they can jet-set off to their honeymoon

Here is what many couples are not thinking about:
• How are their gifts and cards making it out of the reception?
• Who is taking the cake top home?
• Who’s picking up any décor rentals and when?
• Is the florist coming back tonight?
• Is your mom taking that or is mine?

All while you try to convince the band for just one more song, we are handling as much of those important pieces as possible so that our couples don’t have to worry about it when they are ready to leave. We are there to handle the logistical nuances like vendor pick-ups, packing up the car with gifts and the cake top, making sure the special heirloom vase used during the ceremony is safely tucked away to go home, and we are happy to do so.
During a couple’s planning meeting we like to hash out these details that might seem unnecessary at first, but are truly one of the keys to ending the night on a high note. We will ask who is going to be made responsible for the cake top, cards, gifts, and décor that the couple brought in. However, we don’t just simply ask who is going to be responsible – we make it as easy as possible for them to at the event by loading all of these items into the locked vehicle of the responsible person.

We recommend guests select a trustworthy relative that is going to a house after the reception so that cards, gifts, and other special items are put somewhere safe and secure, as opposed to a hotel parking garage. We also recommend this because if a couple is taking the top tier of their cake home with them, it will need to be refrigerated immediately after the wedding. Many couples don’t think about the end of the night, but much like having a plan to set up for the wedding there needs to be a plan in place to tear it down too.