The Art of the Welcome Party

By Elegante Weddings & Events By Elegante Weddings & Events | January 27, 2025

Photo: Nonfiction Love; Venue: Pendry Chicago

Gone are the days of one day weddings, and we are loving it! It has become increasingly important to couples to have a multi day experience for their guests for many reasons.

1. More and more guests are coming in from out of town to celebrate with couples. As couples go to school in different states, study abroad, live abroad, work in different cities and countries, and meet their future spouses who are also from different places the guest list naturally becomes more diversified of where people are coming from.

2. Couples are recognizing more and more that a wedding is a unique time where a completely personalized group of people come together, and they want to spend as much time as possible with their people.

3. The welcome party is an opportunity to break the ice with friends and family that haven't met each other, so the wedding day is even more fun.

4. There is a trend of leaning into a theme or color palette for the welcome party that guests and couples are embracing.

5. Less pressure! The wedding day has more pomp and circumstance to it, which is the fun of it, but the welcome party can be more relaxed and informal. We find that this helps the couple and their families be in more in the moment the entire weekend.

A welcome party has become a great way to create a fun vibe, while not needing to have a full, formal sit-down dinner. It allows people to meet and mingle, and be welcomed into the wedding celebration. We are loving our couples leaning into a theme with decor, dress codes for guests, immersive entertainment, signage, etc. Here are a few of favorite welcome celebrations:

16_(1).jpg Photo: Anna Roussos; Venue: Villa Geno; Theme: La Dolce Vita