Friday or Sunday??

Andromeda215

I'm planning a "Destination" wedding in the TC area of northern MI.  The majority of my family will be traveling from the East Coast (NY/ME/CT).  My question is should I opt for the Friday or Sunday?  Saturday is just out of our budget, with the higher site fee and higher minimum guarantees.  Also, any suggestions of a timeline for events..... We were thinking of some type of Friday night bonfire welcome or cocktail party at the house we are planning to rent, a Saturday evening rehearsal, the Sunday wedding (maybe around 4) and then a farewell breakfast Monday for guests who are still around.  Is that appropriate?   I'm worried that by picking the Sunday(which i lean towards) our guests won't travel, (its about 2.5 hours from where we live).

missglinda14

I'm having a Sunday wedding, mostly for religious reasons, but I understand your concern. When my FI and I talked to our families, we weren't sure how the Sunday thing would go over either. Fortunately they were all for it. We discovered that our close family and friends would be there no matter what day our wedding was. Keep in mind though, our guest list right now is only at about 115. If you are having a much larger wedding, you will have a lot more declines. But if you absolutely cannot have a Saturday wedding, I think a Sunday wedding would be the ideal situation, especially for OOT guests. Take a look at your guest list and talk to the VIP guests and see what they think.

ctran315

I had to choose between a Friday or Sunday wedding as well and went with Friday.  I feel that going with Sunday weddings, most guests are not able to let loose because they are thinking about the drive home after since most people will be going back to work on Monday.  Especially if your venue is just a few hours away, most guests will opt to drive back home afterward and therefore will not drink and will leave early, and most of the wedding be thinking about the best time to leave.  With a Friday wedding, people will just take off work Friday day or afternoon (or earlier) and then can have fun with you the rest of the weekend.  You can have the rehearsal dinner Thursday night, bonfire or cocktail party at the house on the Saturday evening and the brunch either Sat. or Sun. morning. 

ZeroOrchestra

We had a DW 6 hours from our home. 90 percent of our guests would have had to travel no matter where we had the wedding. We opted for Sunday. We had a pub crawl Friday night with around 35 people, rehearsal brunch on saturday, and lunch the Monday after. The wedding itself was really laid back. We were in New Orleans so people were taking it easy after a few nights of heavy drinking, but it was still fun. I heard there was quite the after party also. The only people who left early was an older couple and they took off around 9, an hour early. I realize that may not be the norm, but it worked out well for us.

DramaGeek

In town, I prefer a Sunday evening over Friday as it's easier for me to attend on a day when I don't have to work, but if I had to travel and do an overnight, I think I'd prefer Sunday as I could travel on Saturday, be nice and relaxed for the wedding Sunday and either travel home after the wedding Sunday and not have to miss a day of work or travel home Monday and miss one day.

With a Friday wedding, I'd either have to travel on Friday and not be as relaxed for the wedding, or travel on Thursday and miss two days of work.

Really, the best thing to do is talk to your VIP's and find out what is best for them.

GoodLuckBear14

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_friday-or-sunday?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:04b39e84-c79c-4fbc-8799-5c5dc369d68ePost:502cdee2-9b29-4191-bcd8-16c882c6b055">Re: Friday or Sunday??</a>:
[QUOTE]In town, I prefer a Sunday evening over Friday as it's easier for me to attend on a day when I don't have to work, but if I had to travel and do an overnight, I think I'd prefer Sunday as I could travel on Saturday, be nice and relaxed for the wedding Sunday and either travel home after the wedding Sunday and not have to miss a day of work or travel home Monday and miss one day. With a Friday wedding, I'd either have to travel on Friday and not be as relaxed for the wedding, or travel on Thursday and miss two days of work. Really, the best thing to do is talk to your VIP's and find out what is best for them.
Posted by DramaGeek[/QUOTE]

This.  For OOT weddings, I'm not going unless it is a Saturday.  I am not going to spend a PTO day travelling to or from a wedding (and if it is a Friday wedding, two PTO days).  If the majority of your family is coming in from the east coast (and probably airports that make you want to rip your hair out) and it is important that they be there I would really rethink where you are having the wedding and find someplace within your budget on a Saturday.

jessicabessica

If you want to go for a Friday or Sunday, I think the nicest thing to do for your guests is have the wedding earlier on Sunday, so that people can stay for most of the wedding and get flights out Sunday night.  

Our wedding was a Sunday for religious reasons.  We started at 1 and had lunch, an open bar, and a band, and people enjoyed themselves.  We ended up on a holiday weekend--if we had not been on a holiday weekend, we probably would have started a little earlier.  

MyNameIsNot

Quite honestly, I wouldn't travel for a wedding that required me to take a day off work.  Is it possible to pick a weekend where the Monday is a holiday?

Otherwise, I think I would pick Friday over Sunday.  I think most people with M-F jobs have an easier time taking off Friday than Monday.  

megannie

We are having a Sunday wedding. Our guests are coming in Friday, we are having a bbq, and then some relaxing, hang out time on Saturday. I am sure some guests may leave Sunday, but most have said they are taking Monday off so they can hang out, and come to the Monday morning after breakfast. Most of our OOT guests don't come around often, so they are excited to spend some quality time with family and friends. I haven't had any issues with our guests with our wedding being on Sunday. In our situation, our guests preferred it to Friday.

JoanE2012

If I have to travel, I'd prefer Friday.  I would fly out after work on Thursday, attend the wedding on Friday, maybe sightsee a bit on Sat and come home on Sunday.  When leaving a destination, I like to fly home earlier in the day so I don't feel like my whole day is spent traveling.  I would hate to attend a Sunday wedding knowing I'd have to get up early to fly home.

That said, we would still probably travel for a wedding on a Sunday.  We are travelers by nature and love to see new places so a destination wedding would be a great excuse to see a new area!

catwine

Ours is a Sunday, too.  I agree that having it ona  Friday wouldn't be as conveinent for those that work,  I'd rather leave a Sunday reception at a decent time so I'm not too tired for work on Monday, than go to a wedding after a long day of work on Friday.

JoanE2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_friday-or-sunday?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:04b39e84-c79c-4fbc-8799-5c5dc369d68ePost:8f3ad272-e179-4759-bd5b-db75ca795d15">Re: Friday or Sunday??</a>:
[QUOTE]Ours is a Sunday, too.  I agree that having it ona  Friday wouldn't be as conveinent for those that work,  I'd rather leave a Sunday reception at a decent time so I'm not too tired for work on Monday, than go to a wedding after a long day of work on Friday.
Posted by christinavy[/QUOTE]

If the reception is in the evening AND it's a destination, leaving on a Sunday night seems very difficult.  You would have to leave probably 2-3 hours before your flight, acount for flying time and getting back home.  Unless the reception ends in the afternoon, it seems way too rushy.  Otherwise going to work on a Monday would not be fun.

alithebride

imo if most people have to fly in have it late friday night that way they have all weekend to get home and they only have to take friday off of work.