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Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?
Budget Weddings
Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?
Want a beautiful wedding on a budget? Chat here.
So we were gonna get married on a Saturday, but budgeting and whatnot has convinced us Friday might be a better bet - to the tune of almost four thousand dollars. That being said, can anyone shed some
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Budget Weddings
Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?
Want a beautiful wedding on a budget? Chat here.
So we were gonna get married on a Saturday, but budgeting and whatnot has convinced us Friday might be a better bet - to the tune of almost four thousand dollars. That being said, can anyone shed some
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Forums  >  Wedding Boards  >  Budget Weddings  >  Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?
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Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:27 PM EST on theknot.com
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 So we were gonna get married on a Saturday, but budgeting and whatnot has convinced us Friday might be a better bet - to the tune of almost four thousand dollars.

That being said, can anyone shed some light on the real differences? My only con is that the people with 9-5 jobs would have to get of work, rush home and get ready for our 7 pm ceremony.

Thoughts?
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:38 PM EST on theknot.com
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 Can you push the wedding ceremony start time back to 7:30? Thirty minutes might not sound like a big difference, but if you are considering traffic, dressing and getting children fed and to sitters then, 30 minutes is huge.

I prefer Friday weddings myself. They seem to be more fun and laid back. Most people are off work on Saturdays and don't have to worry about waking up to get to church or other things.   My least favorite is Saturday morning or mid-day weddings.  I either have to wake up too early on the ONLY day I have to sleep in or it kills the rest of my day and I get nothing else done.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:43 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are getting married on a Friday, actually at sunset so that is around 730p.
We are having the celebration for family and friends on a Sunday afternoon complete with fireworks at dusk. Its going to be like a Sunday southern BBQ picnic but with a DJ, wedding cake, decorations, and fireworks!Saturday is when we will prepare and get everything together from Sunday since we are doing it all ourselves.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:44 PM EST on theknot.com
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 Our Saturday day wedding is 11-5 and was actually cheaper than the Friday and Sunday discounts.  Ceremony around 11:30.

A lot of our guests are about 2-3 hours away so it gives them time to get home without arriving at 10-11pm, and for those that want to celebrate, we are having an "after" party at the hotel. 

We also talked to some of our guests about their preference, friday night or saturday day or even sunday.  The bridal party and my parents were against the Friday night because of taking off atleast a day of work, probably two (for Thursday and the rehersal dinner the night before).  We were going to go for a Sunday, but our venue had the Sat day option, which everyone seems to be okay with.  The families with younger kids can go home, and those that want to celebrate longer, can. 

You know your guests better than us. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:45 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are doing a Friday night wedding as well. For me it just makes more sense. It saves us money but it also saves our guests money. Most will be flying in and it's cheaper to fly on a Wed/Thurs than a Friday. I do worry about the few local guest but if the ceremony is at 7:30 then they should have lots of time to get there. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 12:45 PM EST on theknot.com
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 You're absolutely right about Friday nights and the issue with people working. This is why we are choosing a Sunday because we still get the non-Saturday price. We are planning for an afternoon wedding with a reception that won't go past 9:00, since it is a work night.  Have you considered a Sunday?
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 1:09 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are using a sunday too!

I think friday at 7 is fine, just don't be suprised if not everyone can make it. Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that you are doing a full meal at the reception! (and maybe even snacks before the ceremony starts if any guests come straight from work)
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 1:09 PM EST on theknot.com
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 The only con to doing a Fri wedding is it doesn't really work if you have alot of out of town guests, not without them being forced to take at least one day off work for travel anyway.  Almost all of my guests are traveling 4-5 hours, so it makes more sense for me to have it on Sat or Sun that way they can spend some of the day driving. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 1:15 PM EST on theknot.com
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Definitely consider a Saturday day if you didn't already compare the price.  It depends where most of your guests are coming from.  I think it's fine if you have a local guests and people who would be flying in anyway.  But fiance and I recently went to a wedding approximately two and a half hours away on a Friday evening.  I didn't want to leave work early and we got stuck in traffic on our way.  By the time we got there we had long missed the ceremony and the reception was halfway over.  Saturday day would have been more convenient, we would have had plenty of time to get there and also could have driven back afterwards instead of having to spend the night at a hotel.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 2:14 PM EST on theknot.com
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 I think Friday at 7 or 7:30 is better than 6:00.  Just be prepared that people may not be able to come, or people may come to the reception and not the ceremony depending on how long it takes them to get there.

But you seem aware of those downsides already.  Ultimately you and your FI know your guest list best, and you know their jobs, where they live, how long they'd have to travel, etc. and can make the best decision.

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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 2:38 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are doing a Friday afternoon wedding as well 4pm, due to $. We have no out-of-town guests. We just sent our save the dates, and most people have decided to take the whole day off, giving them 3-day weekend. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 2:51 PM EST on theknot.com
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 I'd be fine with a Friday wedding at 7:30 p.m. 

I was married on a Saturday at 3:00 p.m.  Saturday afternoon weddings can be inconvenient for guests: you really can't get into a home project or go anywhere else that day, because you need to be dressed & at the wedding venue at least 30 minutes before the ceremony. However, you will be ready for a night out after the reception with an earlier ceremony.  I originally wanted a 7 p.m. ceremony, but I knew we'd have a two hour drive to our honeymoon destination & I'm not a night-owl!
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 3:02 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are having our ceremony on Friday at 5 pm. Most of FI's family is from NY & with a 2 hour drive, a 7:30 pm ceremony would not work with the horrendous traffic. Yeah, a lot of people will probably have to take a day off from work, but they'll get a 3 day weekend (possibly 4 since our wedding is Veteran's Day weekend, which is the Sunday). Most of our guests who work are sufficiently established in their jobs that taking the day shouldn't be a problem. I went to a Friday wedding at 4 pm once and it was no big deal.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 3:06 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We're doing a Friday wedding, church ceremony at 3PM, reception at 7PM. I originally wanted a Saturday but it's totally worth the savings. Plus, anyone who wants to be at your ceremony will be there either way, no matter what time or day. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 3:18 PM EST on theknot.com
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  I picked Friday for a couple of reasons. We are getting married in Florida and after talking to all my important people they were making our wedding their vacation so they are coming down for the week or a long weekend so they are here anyway. Then there was the Cost savings on the venue, I want Saturday to hangout with everyone who has come to town and most vacation rentals are Saturday to Saturday so it makes it easier on my guests who are vacationing.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 4:14 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are going with a Friday evening wedding. Almost all of our guests are coming from out of state so It hardly matters because they have to take time off of work anyway. It's also saving us money and is most likely less expensive for our guests with air fair. some guests will be driving so they get Saturday to rest and see Dallas and use Sunday as their travel day.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 4:18 PM EST on theknot.com
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 I am thinking about doing a Friday wedding as well. I figured everyone we know has vacation days and who wouldn't want a three day weekend.  I don't think people would mind I would just send the save the date cards really early that way whoever needs to take the day off can.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 4:24 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We did a Sunday wedding to reduce costs.  It did b/c more people than I would have expected did not attended.  Having fewer guests was Very budget friendly.  Wink
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 4:26 PM EST on theknot.com
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 Maybe it was just my area, but the price difference between a Friday and Saturday night was really small, like $2 per person.

When we first started looking at venues we were convinced that a Friday wedding was going to save us a ton of cash but it really didn't turn out that way. We decided to just go with a Saturday wedding to make sure our guests were not rushed. For us saving a few hundreds bucks wasn't worth it.

I'm curious though, some people seem like they are saving alot by doing a Friday wedding. How much of a difference were you seeing?
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 7:21 PM EST on theknot.com
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 If I was invited to a Friday wedding by someone that I'm very close to, I would take a day off of work if it meant being able to attend the wedding. If it was someone that I don't really know all that well (extended family that you only see once a year for example) then I probably wouldn't go if it made it very inconvienient for me. If that bothers you then have it on a Saturday, if not then have it on a Friday. No matter what day you have your wedding, the people that REALLY matter will be there. 
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/7/2012 9:00 PM EST on theknot.com
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 In Response to Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?:
We are using a sunday too! I think friday at 7 is fine, just don't be suprised if not everyone can make it. Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that you are doing a full meal at the reception! (and maybe even snacks before the ceremony starts if any guests come straight from work)
Posted by toothpastechica

Actually, yes! My mother is having half hour hors d'oeuvres and cocktail for the ceremony. We've wanted that always upon realizing every wedding we go to, we're starving!
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Really hard. But I wanna do that because I want you
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 1:06 AM EST on theknot.com
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 Depending how far away your guests live, they may need to take Thursday off work on top of Friday.  If people do not have vacation time to use, or don't want to use it, you might have people that will decline.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 1:27 AM EST on theknot.com
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 I am also totally doing a Friday night wedding and had the same queston! these are all great responses.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 9:12 AM EST on theknot.com
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 In Response to Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?:
Maybe it was just my area, but the price difference between a Friday and Saturday night was really small, like $2 per person.
Posted by chapel2012




The price difference for my venue for a Friday or Sunday wedding was $20/head so it really was significant savings for us. I'm in an expensive area (central NJ) so the savings was important. Also, to the PP who said guests might have to take Thursday off, I can only think of a couple of guests who might be in that situation. Our farthest guests will be coming from Boston & NC so those people could come in late Thursday if they had to. I'm not worried.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 11:30 AM EST on theknot.com
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 In Response to Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?:
I'm curious though, some people seem like they are saving alot by doing a Friday wedding. How much of a difference were you seeing?
Posted by chapel2012

We are able to save about $1000, some venues I looked into were up to $2000 in savings. I guess it just depends on location.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 4:44 PM EST on theknot.com
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 We are saving $1500 by having a Saturday afternoon reception in June. Our wedding party is pretty excited about having the evening to do something else.

*One of my Bridesmaid's is planning an after party...she's like we're dressed up lets go out!
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/8/2012 4:56 PM EST on theknot.com
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We are getting married on a Friday at 7:30pm and socialized the date early to our out of town and VIP guests to ensure that they have plenty of time to schedule time off and make travel plans as needed.  For us, cost and venue availability were deciding factors.  It really came down to us coming to terms with the fact that you always run the risk of conflicting with someone's schedule and if the celebration of our union is as important to our friends and family as it is to us, they'll plan as needed and make every effort to attend.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/9/2012 1:52 AM EST on theknot.com
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 We're saving about four thousand dollars by doing our wedding on a Friday rather than a Saturday.
"So what? So it's not going to be easy. It's gonna be hard.
Really hard. But I wanna do that because I want you
- all of you, you and me, every day. Forever."

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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/9/2012 10:05 AM EST on theknot.com
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 From a guest's perspective, if you are having a small wedding your closest friends and family should be able to attend your wedding with little hassle. It will be worth it to them to possibly take the day or the afternoon off work and head to your wedding. My least favourite is an early day wedding where you have to rush to get ready and get up early and get on the road rushing around. I like when I have lots of time to get ready and sometimes I'll go get my hair or make-up done at the mall so it's nice to have lots of time to get ready.
If it's a little bit bigger, I'm more likely to decline an invite to a Friday night wedding if it is a couple I am less close with because we'd have to see if it would be worth it for my fiance and I to book that afternoon/day off work (if we have to drive out of town I mean.) If it's local and I could still work until the normal time and then get ready and head to the wedding then it's really no big deal to me. I'd prefer to attend a Saturday wedding given a choice. It's really up to you as a couple when you want to get married and your guests will make arrangements to be with you if they can! Certainly your close family and friends will be able to make it work! Almost four thousand dollars in savings would so be worth it to me even if it made my guest list slightly smaller. (I'm not sure that it actually will make your guest list smaller it's just a theory.)
Also if some of your guests/wedding party would have to take Thursday or part of Thursday off or pay for an extra night in a hotel for the rehearsal dinner the night before, it becomes even less attractive to your guests. These are things to consider but you two need to do what's right for you. It isn't unreasonable for you to throw a Friday night wedding and I'm sure everyone can make it work.
In some cases, if I have to take a day off work I'd prefer to be doing something else than going to a wedding of someone I'm not very close to. I hope that doesn't sound mean, it's just honest. My fiance and I wouldn't hesitate to take a day off for someone we're close to, but to take a long weekend we'd rather go rent a cabin for the weekend than make arrangements to attend a wedding of someone we aren't super close to.
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Re: Friday vs. Saturday wedding: input?

posted at 2/9/2012 11:45 AM EST on theknot.com
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 I personally am against Friday weddings.  If you work 9 to 5 it is very inconvenient, especially if you have limited vacation time. I personally had to deal with this last year with a friend being upset that I didn't save vacation time for their wedding ( I had a trip booked for a year which used up my time and I didn't know they were planning on a Friday wedding).  So if you aren't concerned about people saying no because of their work or time off, then go for it. It is cheaper most of the time, but it like mentioned before by myself and others, it is really inconvenient for your guests. 

And as to Sunday weddings, I can attest that many people are just as frustrated by these unless it is a day wedding- I know several people who have had Sunday evening weddings and guess who has to work the next day and can't be partying with you as much? All of your guests, that's who. 

The wedding industry knows all this and they make you pay for it, but if it means you have everyone you want at your wedding without the worries, then it is worth it.
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