Having a Wedding Celebration with Family PRIOR to the DW??

melliott09

We are going on a family vacation next July to Myrtle Beach and having a small, intimate ceremony on the beach with just the family on vacation with us, both our immediate families and all the kids.

We were thinking about having an AHR, something small, at home possible or at my MIL's. Would it be completely improper to do something prior to our vacation and the actually ceremony?

We are time restrictions when we get back based on our work schedules and our kids schedules. We would be taking a honeymoon some point later in the year next year.

banana468

Yes - the AHR should be in honor of what's taken place - not what will take place.

trix1223

Well, you really can't have a celebration of your marriage if you're not married yet.
I am certainly not suggesting that this will happen to you, but weddings have been known to be called off~even very, very close to the ceremony.

I was scheduled to sing at a wedding.  I went to the rehearsal the night before the wedding.  We all rehearsed and went home.  The next morning the bride's mother called me to say that the wedding was off.

So no, you can't have a prewedding celebration unless you call it a shower. 

quotequeen

Yes.  If you have it before the wedding, it's a pre-wedding party, and nobody can be invited who isn't invited to the wedding.

Kristin789

Prior to wedding, you can have any kind of open house, BBQ, picnic, potluck, family reunion....

But you can't call it an AHR and do AHR things, because it's not.

vickiloew

I agree with others, if it is prior to the actual wedding then it needs to be called a shower or maybe an engagement party.  It would be in appropriate I think to throw yourselves a reception before you're even officially married.