My fiance and I are planning a very small, civil ceremony to take place on December 30, 2011. We are expecting 25 guests, immediate family only, to attend the ceremony with a small reception to follow immediately after. We are going to have a justice of the peace perform the ceremony and I will most likely not be wearing a traditional wedding gown.
Here's my problem. My fiance is in the Air Force and I will be relocating from RI to Alaska in January 2012, shortly after we're legally married. We are planning a "formal ceremony/reception" to take place in October 2012, for which we will return to RI. We're going to have the ceremony in a church (I guess it will be considered a vow renewal, I will be wearing a wedding gown), and a reception to follow at a banquet hall. We're doing this so our friends and extended family from out of town can be part of it. My question is, is it proper etiquette to still register for wedding gifts, and have a bridal shower before I leave for Alaska, if the majority of attendants won't be present until the October "wedding"? I would like to have a maid of honor and a best man at the October ceremony. Please help!