An epic wedding weekend should start with a fabulous welcome party. We were lucky enough to have over 90 guests fly to Guatemala for our destination wedding and we wanted to show them how we celebrate special occasions in Antigua Guatemala since day 1.
I opted to have a welcome party instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner because I did not want any of my guests to feel excluded from any of the weekend’s events. From the welcome party to the hangover brunch, we wanted everyone to be there at all times!
Our welcome party was hosted by my aunt, uncle and cousins, we preferred this over them having a traditional wedding shower ahead of the wedding. My family loves throwing a good party so I knew we were in good hands.
So, how do you throw an epic welcome party that also won’t have your guests too hungover on the wedding day? Keep reading!
It all starts with the outfits, I had no idea what I wanted to wear for our welcome party. I searched everywhere, looked through all of wedding TikTok and nothing caught my eye. The internet algorithms obviously followed me around and one day I got an add for this Bronx and Banco wedding dress from Neiman Marcus. It was an impulse buy and I had second thoughts, but had to wait until it arrived at the store for me to pick up! Once I tried it on I knew it was the one. I paired it with fab platform heels form Dolce Vita, and earrings from Untamed Petals. We found Javi a chic outfit to match.
Although many of our guests arrived on Wednesday and Thursday before the Saturday wedding day, we knew a few people couldn’t make it until Friday so we decided to have an early welcome party on Friday so everyone could go to bed not too late and wake up refreshed for the wedding day!
Our event started at 4:30PM, we gathered everyone at Pensativo House Hotel (the wedding hotel and venue) and handed out colorful handmade parasols for the Guate-style second line we were about to have. Once our musicians arrived, it was time to head over to the welcome party venue.
Thinking back on that day, it felt sooo surreal when the music started going and I realized that the weekend we had been waiting for soooo long (#coronabride problems) was finally here. We paraded through Antigua Guatemala for a few blocks until we reached our destination: Los Pasos Boutique Hotel’s rooftop. We welcomed our guests with cantaritos, a tequila and grapefruit cocktail, (my aunt’s famous recipe) and danced to the sound of the Batucada musicians. It was so much fun to sing, dance, and be surrounded by the volcanoes views and all of our loved ones.
Once the Batucada left, we had to turn up the reggaeton music, of course and the night was filled with passed apps and plenty of beverages. I can’t remember how many times we had to order more drinks because my people were thirsty!
The night ended with the sweetest impromptu speech by Javi to thank everyone who had made the journey out to Guate. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience! The night was over by 9PM and we were off to bed to get ready for the next epic day: The Wedding Day!
While my family and I did lots of planning around the welcome party, I truly owe our vendors a huge thank you because everything was flawless thanks to them. Throwing an epic welcome party is truly all about selecting the right vendor partners.
Our Welcome Party Vendors
Wedding Planner – Catavi Events
Batucada – Axemba Guatemala
Welcome Cocktail Venue – Los Pasos Hotel
Content Creator – Fer Lacayo
Photo and Video – All Productions
Hair – Angelica’s Hair Designer
Makeup – Makeup Studio Antigua