So close...

desertsun

To setting a date!

Visited a couple venues today, and we may have found our place. Sad news is the only Saturdays left available don't work for us.

What do you guys think of Friday weddings? Too much of a pain for the wedding party and guests, or okay?

About 30% of the guests are OOT.

This is the place we're looking at:
http://reflectionsatthebuttes.com/index.html

Thoughts?

PsyDet 2155

Hm..I dont know your entire situation but I'll pop in and give you what I think.  Economically, it may be a better option for you as most venues won't charge as much on a Friday than on a Saturday night.  But if 30 guests are OOT that would mean that they would have to take at least one day off of work, find a place to stay, find a babysitter if they will be gone for a weekend, etc.  BUT...if you let people know in advance of the situation with picking a potential work day, the ones who care and are able to make it will, but the ones who can't may decline.  Hope this was helpful...I was trying to view both sides of the situation.  Best of luck on your planning!

Ana_2985

My sister had a Friday wedding and it was fine!  She didn't have as many OOT guests as you'll be having, but I think it should still be okay.  As a guest/wedding party member, I actually like Friday weddings because then you get the whole weekend to relax afterwards.

A lot of people will probably need to take at least a half day off from work or maybe they just won't make it to the ceremony.  Do you think these are things that will bother your guests? Of course, in my sister's case the ceremony had to be pretty early b/c it was a holy day, so maybe you won't even have that problem.

One other thing- a lot of venues do offer a discount for Friday nights, but make sure that they don't have a minimum fee.  For example, say you are only having 100 guests and the discounted price for this would be $10,000- make sure the venue doesn't have a $20,000 minimum.  Then you'd be paying for more than you're getting.  I'm sure you've thought of that though.

Sorry for the really long response.  I hope it makes sense.  It's late...

its apelila

I think Friday weddings are fine.. BF's little sis just got married this past Friday.  You can save a lot of money that way too... As far as your OOT guests, if it were ME that had to travel from out of town for a Friday wedding, I'd totally turn it into a long weekend of visiting someplace I'd (probably) never been. 

As it is, when BF and I get married, about 80% of my guests will be from OOT, so I really have to consider what day we'll end up choosing!

pag41989

I think Friday weddings are fine. I was debating on doing a friday wedding but FI didn't like the idea. I was actually told by a lot of wedding vendors that people like friday weddings because it is a good excuse to get off of work for a day or two lol.

katanne9

This venue looks beautiful!!! I think Friday weddings are fine! I've been to several and they are becoming more and more popular. FI and I were strongly considering a Sunday wedding as well before we set our date. Of course Fridays will be a little bit more of a pain for OOTers, but what can you do! Good luck!

hetshup

For the OOT people, it might be less expensive to fly in on Thursday. Friday and Sunday flights are notorious for being more expensive then "off time flights". They could leave after work, have less hassle at the airport  and be able to make a long weekend of it. If they are driving then they don't have to worry about Friday rush hour either.

jeanacorina

I'm having a Friday wedding, and although I didn't get any discounts for it, I find planning a Friday to be a breeze. I say "June wedding" and vendors look at me like I have two heads.... it's only 5 months away! But I say "Friday, June 4" and it's a whole different story. It's like a whole new world of possibilities opened up.



Also, most out-of-town guests for my wedding are more than happy to take a day off work and visit sunny Louisiana for a weekend (or a week, because they already have Memorial Day off anyway). Half of my guest list is OOT, and it's not causing any problems at all. They're actually really excited and are treating it like a vacation.

So, talk to your OOTers and see how they feel about it. But really, Friday weddings rock.

jeanacorina

Also, that venue is AMAZING. Book it!

Acrosthec

LOVE that venue!

Here's my two cents on off-day weddings:

In our group, it's usually a Sunday wedding.  I don't know why, but if you can't have Saturday, you go with Sunday, and I HATE it.  I have to take off Monday from work (and taking off work for me is a HUGE deal, as the more I take off the less likely I am to actually KEEP my job in this economy) AND I have only 1 day to recover from the wedding, meaning I'm pretty much unproductive at work on Tuesday, so now I've lost two days of work. 

If it's close-by, that's a different story, but when I'm OOT, I really would prefer Friday as an off-day wedding.  Most of our friends live close enough to where I can actually work a half day Friday and drive to their wedding on Friday night in plenty of time.  I'd still have to take off work, which would suck, but not as much, and even if I had to take a whole day, at least I'd have the whole weekend to recover and would be able to be more productive when I got back to work on Monday.  Not to mention my employer (and most I've worked for) are much more lenient to those taking long weekends that start on Friday than those that end on Monday.

So in short, yes.  If you're going to do an off-day wedding, I much prefer Friday.  I would think most people would, but maybe it's just me.  Make sure you send out save the dates or word of mouth or something to let people know that it's NOT on a Saturday, so they can make arrangements with work, babysitting, etc.  Some people have to give their days off for work months in advance, so you need to be aware of that.

desertsun

Sorry I've been MIA today! Spent my entire day so far wedding dress shopping, and have dinner tonight with both families. Eek!

I can't say thanks enough for everyone's help/advice/opinions. Having HONEST opinions from totally unbiased e-strangers is a huge help.  :-)  You guys rock!

I'm gonna book it as soon as possible. *squee!*

Goldlie11

Friday is usually fine.  If I were you, I would talk to a few key OOT guests and see how they feel about the Friday, if it makes you feel better.  Good luck planning 

kailss

gorgeous venue!!! i think a friday wedding shoud be fine, that's what i'd like to do whenever bf and i get married. i think most people are more that ok with taking an extra day or 2 off work and going on a little mini vacation.