My fiancee and I have been planning a small scale wedding with closer family, and a few close friends on the guest list. We both have expressed interest in having a small and intimate day with a relaxed and informal feel.
However, we are at odds on whether we should open the ceremony up to more people. My fiancee is very interested in informally inviting everyone in our church's congregation to the ceremony only. A few of our close friends in the church have been formally invited to the ceremony and reception, but not the other acquaintances.
Inviting people to just the ceremony, even if imformally, seems to me like inviting someone to a birthday party but then asking them to leave when it is time to cut the cake. It just seems rude to me. I think people can understand if your only inviting close friends and family.
Making it worse, we will be promptly leaving the church after the ceremony for pictures, before the reception. How we have reserved things, there is not time to linger for a long time. So these ceremony only guests really are not going to have opportunity to talk with us after the ceremony either. Basically they would be there to fill pews.
I was just wondering what some other opinions are. Am I wrong to think that this seems rude and wrong?