Hi ladies. FI and I are planning and paying for our entire wedding ourselves, and I've tried to be really good about staying on top of everything, but this detail slipped through the cracks. Our wedding is on Sunday, June 5th. Our rehearsal has recently been confirmed for Thursday, June 2nd. We're not having a big (or probably traditional) ceremony procession - just the wedding party (4 BMs and 4 GMs), our parents and our siblings. We are not having formal seating of anyone either - they'll just walk down the staircase (our venue features beautiful decending staircases in the courtyard where the wedding will be) and seat themselves in the front row. All of FI's GMs are flying in from out of state (one of which we're paying for to fly in ourselves), and only 1 will be in town in time for the rehearsal at this point. I'm not sure if all 4 of my BM's will be there (it depends on their work schedules), nor do they have to be it seems, so I don't want them to overly stress about it. As long as one BM and one GM is there to know what to expect, I'll be happy. The venue said that only the bridal party (those who can make it - they know some will be missing) and the parents who will be formally seated should be present, the rehearsal will be short and simple and the coordinator will also be on site the day of the wedding as well, so not to worry. I'll try to get as many people there as I can, but my question is what to do with them afterwards? And should I still try to get our parents there (FI's mom and stepdad, birth dad and my mom)? And if we do, it's a good 45min drive for all parties involved, including ourselves to the venue (even longer for FI's family), so I don't just want to send everyone home, not make them come early if it's not absolutely necessary, you know? At the same time, it is a weeknight, and the locals will probably have to work the next day, so may not want to stay too long either. There isn't any one family member or friend's place where we can host any sort of gathering, and at this point, I don't think we can afford to host a dinner at a local restaurant. Ugh.. what do I do? I hope this made sense...
So happy to be married to my best friend.