Hi! I just registered here and am using this for the first time. I would like your input on my wedding reception.

There is kind of a story that goes along with it, so bare with me =)

I got engaged at the beginning of November of last year. I started planning my April wedding, which would have taken place last month. I was fully on board with the planning and was ready to put the deposits down on everything I found out I was pregnant! This changed the wedding plans completely. I know everyone has their own ideas and opinions, but I couldn't see spending the $20k the wedding was going to cost when we had a baby on the way. With our priorities changed, my hubby and I wed in a small ceremony in December in the presence of our parents only. We planned to have a reception after the baby was born.


The original wedding was going to be very formal so I figured the reception in the fall should mock that. Originally, I figured we would do the reception formal/semi-formal, where we renewed our vows and had a formal wedding reception with ' the whole nine".

Well, we recently lost our little one at 4 1/2 months along. They don't know why it happened, but I'll save that for another forum :/

The reason for this post, is that a formal reception no longer appeals to me. I feel like we would be trying to imitate a wedding we weren't able to have and I'm not satisfied with that idea. I want to take a less serious approach to the reception.

My hubby and I came up with a fun idea. We want to have a fun, crazy reception. Like have a paintball fight, or a scavenger hunt or something. We want some kind of fun idea that can include everyone and get them involved.

Can you help give us some ideas? I have a few ideas, but I would like to hear them all. There would be a lot of people so it would have to entertain a large group (so obviously, like a board game or card game is out) There would probably be 125 people.
After the fun then we would do like the cake, and maybe renew our vows but have it done in a zany way.

Kind of different, I know. But that's what we're going for. I appreciate all input.

Hi April
Let me start off by saying how sorry I am for the loss of your baby. I can't imagine how difficult it is to go through something like that. A very close friend of mine just had her first child this past January....and then in February she found out her husband has been cheating off and on their entire relationship (8 years). And as if that wasn't enough, he's also been doing crack. I know this doesn't compare to losing a child, but take comfort in the fact that there are women out there, also dealing with heart breaking turmoil. My prayers are with you and your fiance'.
As for your wedding/party, I think a scavenger hunt would be cool. I'm not quite as crazy about the paintball fight, simply because that's something not everyone would be as enthusiastic about lol. Not everyone will love the idea of getting bruised at a party. And especially if you'll be having some elderly guests as well. Now a scavenger hunt, everyone could participate in. You can take it a step further and give it a theme too. Maybe have a pirate theme and send guests on a treasure hunt ~ can also make it a costume party too. If you're planning on having this party in the fall, maybe you could do some sort of autumn carnival. Have a popcorn machine, caramel apples, carnival type games, bobbing for apples, ect. For a summer bash, maybe you could do a pool party or a hawaiian party. If you're stuck indoors during the winter, maybe a murder mystery party. That may be a little harder to do with 125 guests. So, you could assign certain people to do the acting (kinda like the people that would have been in your wedding party) and then all the guests can sit back and enjoy the show.
I hope these ideas have helped. Let me know if there's anything else I can do and keep us posted!

First of all, I too would like to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. My FSIL lost her baby around the 3 month mark too for no reason. I think Mandy had some great suggestions. I really like the idea of a harvest festival type thing. I also like the scavenger hunt idea, if you were planning on having a renewal the church, you could keep the location of the reception a secret and send your guests on a scavenger hunt to find the location of the reception. I hope this helped you a little, we are here for whatever you need.