You might be surprised to hear that celebrating your and your fiancé’s love doesn’t start and end with the wedding. There are actually lots of ways you can keep the celebration going before, during, and after your big day!

If you’re someone who loves to keep the party going, you’ll be interested to learn about all the options you have.

For example, you might consider hosting a bridal shower, engagement party, or goodbye brunch! Especially if you have friends and family coming from out of town, these events could serve as a super fun and really special way for everyone to come together to support you and your partner.

Let’s chat about each type of celebration you could host in addition to your wedding day!

Bachelorette or bachelor parties

Bachelorette parties or bachelor parties are a classic part of many wedding celebrations. In fact, 81% of couples report hosting a bachelorette/bachelor party according to Zola. These parties are a great chance to let loose a little bit and have some fun with your closest friends before your big day. And there are so many fun things to do — especially living in Florida.

We often see our couples choose a theme for their bach parties as well, to create a cohesive look when out celebrating! Some awesome themes we’ve seen our couples do are:

• Flying to Nashville and hosting a Western theme
• Sailor theme and going on a cruise
• Disney theme and celebrating at Disney World
• Fly to Mexico for a fiesta theme

And the list goes on!

Pro-tip: Use Pinterest to gather ideas for themes, DIY decor, party favors, and overall tips and tricks to make your bachelorette or bachelor party memorable.

Rehearsal dinners

A rehearsal dinner is a celebratory meal typically hosted by the groom’s family a night or two before the wedding. It’s a great opportunity to bring both sides of the family, the bridal party, and the groom’s party together to enjoy some food, celebrate your love, and learn more about your plans for the next day.

It’s also a chance for people who don’t know each other to meet each other and get comfortable before your wedding day!

Rehearsal dinners tend to be more casual than your wedding, so your invitees can come in whatever they feel comfortable in or you can suggest a theme.

If most guests are coming out of town, it’s common to hold a “Welcome party,” which is similar but instead of limiting to a select number of people, all of your guests are welcome to attend. Welcome parties are also a wonderful place for everyone to break the ice.

Bridal showers

Bridal showers are a great tradition in which friends and family gather to celebrate the bride-to-be. In the past, bridal showers are for ladies only, but it’s becoming more common to have co-ed showers so the groom can participate. We love bridal showers because it’s a fun way to gather people together, celebrate, and connect! There could be games, gifts, drinks, and all sorts of activities involved.

Bridal showers are typically hosted by friends or family of the bride, but there really are no rules when it comes to your own bridal shower. Just have fun with it!

Reception after-parties

After the wedding, you might want to consider hosting a reception after party where friends and family can continue celebrating! After parties are becoming more popular these days because typical receptions last about 4 hours and this isn’t always enough time for the couple and their guests.

By hosting a reception after-party, you’re able to complete your wedding timeline and people can go home if they’d like. But the after-party is there for anyone who wants to keep dancing the night away. You could also consider providing late-night bites (always a great idea!) before ending the night.

Goodbye brunches

Goodbye brunches are a nice way to end a big celebration with the people you love. They’re typically held the morning after the big event, which makes them great if most of your guests are coming from out of town. It’s a nice wrap-up to the whole event, especially if they traveled far to spend the weekend celebrating with you.

Engagement parties

This is typically the first celebration out of all the ones we’ve listed! You can think of your engagement party as like a kick-off party before the planning begins. It’s a really fun way to ride the high of a new engagement! We absolutely encourage engagement parties for our couples because it’s such a fun way to set the tone for the rest of the engagement and really revel in those newly-engaged-butterflies feelings!

Now it’s time to plan your own wedding celebrations!

Celebrating your love and upcoming marriage not only provides you with an opportunity to have a wicked fun celebration on your wedding day, but it also allows you to connect with your loved ones and build memories that will last a lifetime in the days leading up to and after your main event!

What kinds of celebrations you and your partner decide to host are really up to you and what feels best for the two of you. As you saw, there are lots of ways to gather your favorite people together to just have fun!

And hey, when you’re ready to start planning your wedding day, we’d love to guide you through the process so you can continue enjoying your engagement to the fullest. Get in touch today!

Photography credit: @KristenWeaverPhoto