I posted a few questions on a different board and got some great responses (both positive and negative, but hey, I asked for it!). Now that I've sorted the crazy thoughts in my brain, I have one more question for you ladies.
Here is my game plan: FI and I live in Hawaii because he is stationed here with the Army for the next 3 years. We have been together about 2 years and are getting married here on April 23rd, just me and him, in a private planned ceremony (not an elopement, although some would chose to call it that). We discussed this with both my and his parents before setting any plans in stone and they are all supportive of this idea. Due to the short timing, it is just not appropriate to ask our would-be guests to drop everything and fly from New England all the way to Hawaii in just a couple of months. With that said, we do still want to celebrate with our loved ones and are planning a party for October 15th back in Maine. HOWEVER, please understand that we are NOT calling this our wedding reception. We are not trying to re-do our ceremony and not trying to have a second wedding day. We are not doing save-the-dates, no cutting of the cake, no special first dance or father/daughter dance, no garter or bouquet toss, no bridal party or groomsmen. I am not going to wear my wedding dress (I don't think so anyway..I'd love to and it's pretty simple, but do you think that would be a little tacky?). Our casual invitations to the party will simply say something to the effect of "Please join us to celebrate our marriage". We will register at one or two locations but not advertise this, it will only be there if anyone asks. We simply want to bring our families together and get all of our friends in one place and have fun! Especially since we live so far from home and are not able to see any of them as often as we'd like. Does this make sense?
Basically, if you were invited to a celebratory party, 5 1/2 months after the wedding took place, how would you feel about this? All of our guests know our situation and know that we are not doing this to be sneaky or disrespectful, though some would prefer us to come home and have the big, traditional wedding, it's just not feasible for us to wait another year. FI could deploy for a time and he has snap missions every once in a while, it's hard enough to nail down a date for anything! So, what do you think? Would you happily attend or would think this is some silly ploy for gifts (which is FAR from the case)?