Worried that our wedding will be... boring :(

I think that sounds lovely though! I'm sure everyone will mingle and get chatting. If you're still a little worried, you can get some ice braking games which can go sown well

If you are still worried, put a bottle of vodka on each table, that will get the conversation flowing ?

I honestly think your day will be what you make of it, if your that bothered by the number of guests why dont you try joining some groups in your area and meet new people? I'm sure once your mum is there and get into the swing of things will not leave early. How many younger people have you got going?

I don't think it sounds boring I think it sounds relaxed and refined!

The most important thing is that you are having the day that you and your OH want and you enjoy yourselves surrounded by the people who you care about.

It sounds lovely (not boring at all), were getting married in cyprus in a couple of weeks and only have 30 guests coming with us, some are old and some are young but we are still having a reception, first dance and dance floor ? Dont worry about what people will think, it will be what you make it. xxx

How about getting your friends together and going out for a group meal with them so that they can get to know each other and break the ice? Then you can sit them together at the wedding.

Does your wedding venue have more than one room? If so, keep one room for the olds with the piano and perhaps get your friends and the younger people to play some drinking / party games in the bar to liven things up a bit?

Are you planning on leaving the hotel at a particular time?If so perhaps you could move on to a nice pub/bar or something with the people who you do think would like to continue the celebrations with you?

I went to a wedding where the evening reception was a river cruise which finished at 9pm, and the bride and groom didn't arrange anything else for after that: they simply told their guests that they were heading to X bar for a few more drinks and that anyone who wanted to join them would be very welcome. Many of the guests went home at that point, and around a dozen people went to the bar- it seemed to work well, giving the early birds the perfect opportunity to leave without feeling bad.

Given what you have said about your guests, the day you have planned so far is more likely to be well suited to them rather than a disappointment. If you feel that it will be a disappointment to you two, then it might be worth thinking about adding something else in like the above to make you feel happier.

To be honest I'm not bothered by the number of people, and we can't afford more anyway (no contributions from my family and I just lost my job! Great!)

Young people make up about 35%.

I've seen a lot of ice breaker games like wedding quizzes etc but I just know that my parents/siblings/aunts/uncles/grandparents are just going to be groaning and cringing.

And how do we explain to people that there isn't any more to come? I mean the younger contingent are going to be expecting to move rooms later or something, they'll be waiting around when there's nothing else happening!

And, sorry - another thought, we're not planning on doing any more food, but if people eat the breakfast at 3:30ish they're going to want more food later aren't they?

I think Nicky's suggestion of moving on to another bar is a good one. That way the older rellies can go home without cringing at any ice breaking games and you and your friends can party a bit more.

x x

Yeah that's quite a good idea actually - the hotel bar is nice, and they've put up a dividing wall and there's a door into our room so in essence we've got half the bar to ourselves, it's a good idea to have that area as the space for young people to hang out. The hotel isn't exactly in town and we're all staying there (at least I assume our friends will be staying there) so it would nice to just hang out in the bar afterwards. That way I don't have to take my dress off!

Hiya

Just a suggestion but how about putting an itinery in your invites? I done that for mine as I wanted guests to know we wont be having a sit down meal! Everyone knows they got to have something substantial before our ceremony at 4pm!

Also, if your hotel is ok with it how about downloading a load of tunes onto an ipod and playing that in the hotel bar instead of a DJ?

Lucy

I think it sounds great we are having something similarly low key in the evening i prefer just to sit around with a few drinks and a bit of background music...If i were going out on a night out i would usually be sitting in a bar with background music until 11/12 then maybe hit a club so it will be the same as a normal night out minus the club.

I think it sounds fine, at weddings more people like to sit drink and chat then anything anyway. My second wedding we went to a carvery and sat around the table them in the bar all afternoon. We enjoyed it as much as anything.

Just wondered though why you think the older section will want something sedate. My FIL had a Karioke for his 80th and his friends were really wild. My mum is 76 and loves a disco or a band although she is past dancing. My Hs 86 year old aunt was up and dancing at FILs party. Getting older doesn't necessarily mean you just want peace and quiet.

Yeah I know my family and they're definitely not the partying type. I think if I brought out a Karaoke machine they'd all leave! They really are very reserved and quiet and don't like any of that sort of thing. (to be honest I hate Karaoke myself too!)

My main concern is meeting all the guest's expectations. That's the problem, people see weddings on TV or they've been to bigger "do's" than ours so are expecting the works... i feel like I need to write a disclaimer to them all before they turn up so they're not disappointed!! It's ridiculous really. It's their own fault if they're going to come with expectations of grandeur.

The one thing I am pretty sad about is that we won't get to have a "first dance" seeing as we're not having a disco or band/dancefloor :-(

Does the bar have a sound system?

Could you ask them to play your first dance song at a certain time and just dance in the middle of the bar anyway?!

Sounds nice and chilled out to me!

The bar is tiny, it's a little carpeted area with some sofas and big windows looking out onto the terrace. No space to dance anywhere! Not sure there's a sound system in there either.

Could you do like the americans do and have it during the wedding breakfast?

Is there room for that somewhere?

I've never heard that before. There'll be quite a few Americans there actually! (including my MOH) How do they do it then??

You'll have to forgive me as my knowledge of american weddings consists solely of popular culture but as far as I'm aware they have some dancing between the courses.

They often have a pianist or something that plays the couples first dance then other people can get up too for a few dances (normally formal dinner dancing rather than the funky chicken obviously).

I may be completely wrong and I know there are a few americans on here who may be able to help further, but even if I'm not right it may still be a nice way to get that first dance?