Friday Ceremony?

jenadawes

Hey everyone,

So I have read in a lot of books & magazines suggesting  that say to save money on a ceremony/reception, have it on a Friday or Sunday.  One of our favorite venues has much better prices on Friday's and Sundays.  However, we also want an evening cermony & reception.  What do you all think about a Friday night ceremony and reception?  Is that asking too much of the guests, schedule-wise? 

Thanks!

snarky_girl

I would say that really depends on your guest list. If most are from your area or within a 30-minute drive, I'd say no problem. If the majority of people are coming from out of town or having to fly in, it might cause some issues. But I still say go for it! I'm all about keeping the budget as low as possible and I think a Friday night ceremony would be a lot of fun!

mayflymanitou

I just worked a wedding this past weekend that did a Friday evening ceremony and reception.  If most of your guests are local, I think that's preferable to a Sunday night (especially if you're getting married during the school year).  Just schedule it late enough that they wouldn't need to take time off work Friday afternoon to make it there in time. 

If people have to travel to get to your wedding, than do Sunday and assume that they'll have to take Monday as a travel day.

anvloveskme

We had our wedding on a Friday night at 7pm in Downtown Porltand - it was great for us.  Most of our guests were local and we didn't have anyone not show up due to it being a Friday rather than a Saturday.  The price difference allowed us to have an open bar reception with awesome cocktails and really great food. 

sarahmarietm

We're getting married on a Sunday afternoon.  FI's side of the family is scattered everywhere, and we figured that would give everyone enough travel time.  If everyone is local, awesome, I say go for Friday!

nannabug42

We're doing a Sunday afternoon as well. We would have done a Friday night, but most of our family is out of town.

Something to keep in mind, the only break I got financially was the venue. The catering and everything else has been the same, regardless of the day of the week. The upside to a non-Saturday is the likelihood of the vendors you want not being booked.

allisonjaye

As others said I think it depends on your guest list and how late the wedding is scheduled for. We're going to a Friday wedding next week where the ceremony starts at 7:30- which gives everyone enough time to get there after work. If you're planning on lots of drinking and dancing I would definitely pick Friday over Sunday due to people's work schedules. Good luck!

jennylee753

If you want a fun, upbeat, dancing, drinking, etc. wedding then pick Friday.
If you want a quiet wedding where people are more apt to leave early, pick Sunday.

It all depends on the wedding style you want. Personally, I hate Sunday weddings. I have been to 3 and unless it is a close friend/close family member, I won't go to another.

jenadawes

Thanks for the input everyoene!

pbaby21

We chose Fri due to no other choice with fiances work schedule & the only time they had open besides Sunday.  We want to enjoy ourseives & make it a party atmosphere so chose Fri over Sun.  Only break we got was $400 on rental place so not a big deal IMO. 

Now I am struggling with doing it at 6:30 or 7pm as we will have food.  Im thinking 7pm just to give people time to get off work, etc. 

DramaGeek

pbaby, can you do 7 with a cocktail hour at 6 with some hors douvres?  That might help with the serving food thing (and keep guests from getting ravenous) but still make it later to be more convenient for people coming from work.  If I was invited and knew that was happening, I would heart you forever.