Wedding After-Party: Extend the Celebration in Style

Marrying couples are catching on to something celebrities already know. An after-party is a great way to keep the revelry going well after the main event winds down. “It’s definitely a growing trend,” says Dawn Woodhouse, director of catering at Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas. Marc Kaufman, director of catering a The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, a Four Seasons Hotel, agrees. “Everybody asks about an after party, even if they don’t all do it,” he says.

Essentially an extension of a more formal event, the after-party offers an opportunity to shift the tone to a more relaxed, even playful mood. Often the party moves to a different space altogether, such as a smaller ballroom set up to evoke a lounge or nightclub, or outside to a terrace.

The after-party trend got a royal boost in April this year, when the press reported Prince Harry’s plans to host a post-reception bash for brother Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton, complete with a deejay, themed cocktails and home-style bacon sandwiches to help guests usher in the wee hours.

Specialty drinks and fun, casual foods are typically served. Kaufman says the Chicago hotel recently added some late-night bites to its catering menu, and its wedding specialists have obliged couples’ requests for city-inspired snacks, such as cheese-and-caramel popcorn and hot dogs.

At Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, sliders and fish tacos are midnight-hour favourites, as are sorbet cones. And depending on the hour, the hotel may also serve breakfast food.

How elaborate can the after-party get? It varies, Kaufman says, from couples who just want to hook up an MP3 player and relax with their guests to those who bring in an professional club deejay and dance into the night.

“The sky’s the limit,” Woodhouse says. “We’ve even done kabuki drops to reveal a whole new setup and entertainment behind the curtain.”