Reception..or Not??

missproia

My fiancee and I are getting married on an island... we were wanting to coome back and have a huge wedding recption, dress, tux, cake and all..... Is that too much? Being that the guests will not see the wedding?

mbcdefg

If you're marrying in a private ceremony on an island for very personal reasons (like if you had an important relative who was too sick to leave that island and see you marry at home), I could understand that as your reception guest. But if you just married elsewhere just for the heck of it and then had a giant party back at home, I would honestly wonder why the heck you didn't just have the wedding ceremony at home where everyone could witness it. I wouldn't be mad, per se, just a bit confused. I might even find it a little pretentious, depending on the circumstances and the individual couple. And I know some people say they have social anxiety and prefer not to be in front of crowds, which is fine ... but in that case I don't understand why marrying in front of 100 people is a hassle but having a party with 100 people where you're the center of attention is A-O.K.

vgmartinez

I think it would be fine to have a big reception for those at home who could not attend the wedding on the island. Formal attire could be worn but I think an actual wedding dress and tux would be a little bit too much.

mbcdefg

Let me clarify ... I would find a BIG reception (gown, tux, fancy stationery, etc.) weird. I think I would take that as that couple wanting a second pretty pretty princess day, or a do-over wedding. If you just have a nice party back home for your friends who couldn't make it to the destination wedding, nothing TOO fancy, then I wouldn't find that weird.

MsFlicka

I would never complain about an excuse for a party. Free booze and food, whoo hoo! I know a lot of people who have had private ceremonies followed days, or weeks later, by celebrations for their friends and family. These are often the most fun weddings. And if you think about it, most other major life events that you throw big parties for (baptisms, confirmations, graduations, etc) no one comes to the actual ceremony but family, and it is totally normal to invite everyone to just the party.

danieliza1127

It's fine and really common.  You're having a Destination Wedding and an At Home Reception.  You might want to check out the Destination Weddings board (under Theme Boards) for tons of ideas and advice.

flutgrl1

We had a DW with about 30 people in attendance (100 invited) and then had an AHR reception (invited 300 about 200 attended). I wore the dress both times, DH wore a tux for ceremony and a suit for the reception. We did 2 cake cuttings, but saved the dances for the AHR. It was perfect for us, we got the more private low key ceremony we wanted and then got to have a big party celebration. It was a blast.