Wedding on Thanksgiving Eve

knottiec37e3edd91d57934

We recently got engaged and our dream is to get married in the fall. Most venues in our area do not have availability for a Saturday evening in fall 2021 and I don't want to wait over 2 years for fall 2022. Is it rude to host a wedding on Thanksgiving eve? This will save us a ton of money plus 99% of our guests live locally and will not have to travel.

MesmrEwe

The main consideration is timing of the day's events.  People may not take time off work to attend your ceremony if they work a normal 9-5, but that goes with any event that happens even on a Friday.  Obviously check with VIP's first!

MyNameIsNot

knottiec37e3edd91d57934 said:

We recently got engaged and our dream is to get married in the fall. Most venues in our area do not have availability for a Saturday evening in fall 2021 and I don't want to wait over 2 years for fall 2022. Is it rude to host a wedding on Thanksgiving eve? This will save us a ton of money plus 99% of our guests live locally and will not have to travel.

It's not rude. You can host any day you like. But you do need to be mindful that you may have more declines due to the proximity with the holiday. People may live local, but they may want to travel for the holiday or they may have plans to host family or friends who are travelling in. On top of that, I'd expect that people will be more inclined to travel in 2021 after having to cancel trips this year. People may also have standing plans or traditions for the holiday that begin on the day before and may not want to skip those. 

It's totally fine to choose the day if it's what you want, but it's important to be realistic about your expectations and not to be hurt if you do end up with more declines than usual. 

banana468

Check with VIPs.

I personally would not consider this now if I wanted more than my parents to attend.  Consider the risks of hosting any event right now due to Covid and exposure.   I am not hosting anything in my own home at an intimate level for people outside our bubble.  

After witnessing that weddings are breeding grounds for virus spread I also would not attend and would caution you about those risks.  That said, if you wanted a very intimate wedding with less than 25 in attendance this could be possible but it would also mean that Thanksgiving plans the following day have a major adjustment and you'd need to clear that with anyone involved. 

climbingsingle

I personally wouldn't attend a wedding on T-day eve. I usually host Thanksgiving and I start most of my prep the night before. 

Also things to consider - most people work that day, and traveling around that time of year (obviously pre-Covid) is usually pretty expensive. 

banana468

climbingwife said:

I personally wouldn't attend a wedding on T-day eve. I usually host Thanksgiving and I start most of my prep the night before. 

Also things to consider - most people work that day, and traveling around that time of year (obviously pre-Covid) is usually pretty expensive. 

Or the fuster cluck that is the greater Tri State area of traffic on that Wednesday.  

climbingsingle

banana468 said:

climbingwife said:

I personally wouldn't attend a wedding on T-day eve. I usually host Thanksgiving and I start most of my prep the night before. 

Also things to consider - most people work that day, and traveling around that time of year (obviously pre-Covid) is usually pretty expensive. 

Or the fuster cluck that is the greater Tri State area of traffic on that Wednesday.  

Oh god, so true. The traffic is the worst!

short+sassy

To repeat some of what PP's have said, it's fine to have your wedding and reception when you want to.  But you also need to keep in mind that, even if most of your guests are local, it's probably going to be a more difficult day for most people to attend.

It's a weekday, so probably a lot of your guests will be working during the day.  And/or the holidays are a busy time for people.  They might not be able to go because they need to start prepping their own Thanksgiving dinner.

As such, check with your VIPs before booking anything and be understanding if your decline rate is higher than expected.

charlotte989875

As with PPs you need to check with your VIPs. I’d only go to a TDay eve wedding for a close friend/ family member. TDay is big with my Hs family and we’re usually preping food the night before. And we both work unless we use a PTO day. Again I’d do that for someone really close but we’d probably decline otherwise. 

Jen4948

It's not rude per se to hold your wedding on whatever date, at whatever time, you see fit, but if you choose a weekday or holiday, there's a greater likelihood of your invitations being declined because of prior plans or logistical inconvenience to guests.

So as PPs note, check with your VIPs before you schedule your wedding for Thanksgiving Eve. Just because many of your guests live locally doesn't mean that they can make it to a wedding that evening.

maine7mob

The main reason it will save money is because a lot of guests will decline, especially those who are hosting the next day. Also, lots of people don't get that Wednesday off (I rarely did) and it may be hard for them to rush home, get into their wedding clothes, and drive across town for your ceremony. 

But it would certainly not be rude to hold it that day. I think it could be lovely, in fact, as long as you are okay with a smaller group.

short+sassy

OP. have you thought about having it on the Friday after TDay?  I'm sure it won't be as cheap as Wed., but you might have a better show rate.  It will be after the holiday.  Not everyone will necessarily have Fri. off, but there are a lot more people who have Fri. off than Wed. for TDay week.

A little off topic for your question, but travel might be easier on a Fri. also.  Less people on the road and WAY less people flying (if they are willing to travel on TDay itself).  I flew ON Thanksgiving Day a few years ago and it is about the cheapest you can get.  The airport was pretty empty also.

So funny and ironic because all the flights around TDay were extra expensive and I'm sure the airport was a madhouse on other days.  That has now become one of my go-to days to look for, for cheap flights.