From Save the dates to invitations for the wedding and reception only?

sboundk

A couple of questions:

How do you do the save the date if you are planning a small wedding but potential "large" reception?  Basically I don't want to send out save the dates (both by mail and email) to everyone and someone be disappointed they receive an invitation to the reception only and not the wedding.

I have family all over the country and while I understand they may not be able to make it, I still want them to know they are invited.  How is this handled as well with invitations?

aMrsin09

Issue #2, send them an invitation and let them decide if they canmake it or not.

Issue #1, STD's aren't a requirement.  If you aren't sure of your guest list, don;t send them.  Anyone who receives an STD must receive a wedding invite.

Issue #1 (b), You can't really have a small wedding and a larger reception.  The only way that can work is if you are having a ceremony with immediate family only and then a larger reception.  It's rude to have a ceremony with 100 people and then a reception with 200.

squirrly

Yup, everything aMrs. said. 

opalsky007

I agree with AMrs's advice as well.

We got married in Tennessee, with friends and family scattered all over DC, Boston, Indiana, Kentucky, the Carolinas and Texas. We just sent them invitations and let them decide whether they'd be able to make the trip. That's what invitations are for, after all.

And unless you plan to have an extremely intimiate immediate-family-only ceremony, you need to find a way to accomodate everyone for both the ceremony and reception. I'd be disappointed if I traveled a long way to your event and wasn't able to attend the ceremony. Besides, the reception is the expensive part of the wedding--it just costs you an extra chair and program to add an extra guest to the ceremony.

SaraAndrew2010

I'm generally not a fan of small ceremonies with large receptions.  Particularly since you said that you have family all over the country.  I think it is rude to ask someone to fly in only for the reception.  Either have a small wedding and don't invite them to either part of it or have a large wedding and invite them to both the ceremony and reception.