Sunday Wedding: Is it rude?

rebeccaruth84

Ok here's my question: (which I'm sure has been asked before but I'm going to ask away)
Is it rude to have a wedding on Sunday for your out of town guests?

Here's the background. We originally picked the date of July 2nd, 2011. My FI (hope thats right!) and I really wanted to have it on the fourth of july holiday weekend. He is in the Marine Corps and so are many members of my family so we really wanted to do kinda of a patriotic holiday theme. Also, it was a good in between date between when he got back from his deployment and when we had to move for him to attend law school. So we reserved the church and Ok'd it with our priest. Once we started to look at possible reception places we ran into a problem. Keep in mind we live in a relatively small town without the countless reception options of a big city, so we are very limited in our choices.  There is a nice place downtown called the Ohio Building I had my heart set on... mainly because of the convenient location for our guests, the size, and the fact we could bring in our own caterer (who we really want to use because she is a friend  of the family and does amazing work).  Unfortunately once I got a hold of them, they had just gotten booked for that day recently. I was perplexed... move the wedding back a whole weekend for the place I want? Or pick another place that is less desirable for the date? Then my mom suggested doing the wedding that Sunday. Its a holiday weekend so that helps. But I still feel that some people wont attend because they may have to go back to work Monday. Some places Ive even read that people consider it rude!

So whats the general consensus? My family says "Do what you want!" but the problem is I'm not sure what I want! I'm just not sure what the best decision is! HELP!

Belle2Be

I don't think its rude necessarily, but it might limit your guestlist. If you're ok with that, then its no biggie

parker624

if its a holiday weekend, i'd say its no big deal

ThePinkSuperhero

On a holiday weekend, it should be fine.

reddy123

I'm having my wedding on a Sunday and had a normal amount of people RSVP no. It's not that big of deal, there are probably only 5 or so of my family that will have to leave early to get going home that night.

If I could give any advice, when telling family about the date, always inject "Sunday" before the date. I didn't put Sunday on my Save the Dates and many people just assumed the day was a Saturday. Other than that one thing, Sunday is not a big deal.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

It's July 4, so it's a federal holiday. Everyone who works a 9-5, Monday-Friday schedule has that day off. People with unpreditable schedules will have unpredictable schedules anyway, you know?

I'm having a Sunday wedding. You can do it earlier in the day, although I'm personally also having an evening wedding. I'm also having mine on a holiday weekend, though not as big of a holiday as July 4th.

Some people won't be able to come, perhaps, especially if you have a lot of OOT guests. But no, it isn't rude.

cougarette

It's not rude, but like PPs said, you may have fewer guests.  We got married on a Sunday (not a holiday weekend) and we still had about 110 or so.

Lisa8888

Sunday is usually not as convenient for guests especially out of town guests. You have to figure out how many guests this might cause not to attend.

shoegal715

Not a big deal at all. Don't worry about it.

Sing2phins

I live in VA and we went to a Sunday wedding in NJ that wasn't on a holiday weekend (the bride was Jewish, which meant a Saturday wedding was out).  We had to leave the reception earlier than we might otherwise have (the wedding was at 11:30am with full lunch and dancing, etc, after), but it wasn't a big deal.  People who want to travel will, regardless of the date.

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_sunday-wedding-rude?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:cb2f89c5-04d1-4c71-9c0a-047129f4d898Post:75908404-6d45-4aa9-8f6d-0bf06a2c622b">Re: Sunday Wedding: Is it rude?</a>:
[QUOTE]It's July 4, so it's a federal holiday. Everyone who works a 9-5, Monday-Friday schedule has that day off. People with unpreditable schedules will have unpredictable schedules anyway, you know? I'm having a Sunday wedding. You can do it earlier in the day, although I'm personally also having an evening wedding. I'm also having mine on a holiday weekend, though not as big of a holiday as July 4th. Some people won't be able to come, perhaps, especially if you have a lot of OOT guests. But no, it isn't rude.
Posted by msmerymac[/QUOTE]

This. Mine's on Sunday Memorial Day Weekend. All the same reasoning as Mery.

It's certainly not rude.

Manwaithiel

And did I mention you're going to save a crap ton of money by having it on Sunday? Just saying...

myother1

I got married on a Sunday to save money.  Good turn-out, OOT guest even commented that it was actually EASIER than a Saturday wedding.

Don't over-think it. 

andy71781

I say go for the Sunday.  Especially since its a holiday weekend.  But tell people NOW so they don't make plans for the 4th.

tidetravel

Sunday weddings are fine - we had one. For weddings that aren't held on a holiday weekend, most guests will take off FRI to attend a SAT wedding.  In the case of a SUN wedding, they'll just be taking off MON instead. 

SUN weddings: 
1)  the atmosphere tends to be more laid back - there is usually less dancing and drinking, and more mingling.  This can actually be a good thing if you're concerned about your budget, because the alcohol consumption is usually lower. 
2)  They tend to end earlier than a SAT wedding if you hold it at night, because people that don't take off of work on MON will leave early, and some OOT guests will leave early to prepare for their trip home the next day.  A good option is to have the reception in the late afternoon, and scheduled to end early evening.

Holiday weekends: 
1)  it is often assumed that having a wedding on a holiday weekend is better for the guests because they have an extra day off.  This is true for those people who work a regular M-F job, but not everyone gets that extra day off, so know your crowd. 
2)  Travel and hotel costs tend to be higher on holiday weekends than at other times throughout the year. 
3)  Depending on the hoilday, you may be asking guests to break long-standing traditions.  This may negatively affect your guest count.

shortee426

My wedding will be on a Sunday, as you typically don't have a Jewish wedding on a Saturday.  We plan on starting it around 3pm and have the entire shindig end no later than 9pm.  We realize that some people will leave early in order to get sleep before going to work the next day, as we are not doing it on a holiday weekend.  As long as you either have it early in the day or expect people might leave early you are not being rude.

rebeccaruth84

Thanks for all the good advice ladies. I am still talking it over with my wedding planner aka my mother. I guess it really comes down to what my priorities are. So no one can really decide that for me! I guess starting off this wedding process isn't quite as easy as I thought. I always wondered why people stressed out so much. I guess you don't realize all the factors that affect the decisions you have to make. But to the one who said "Dont over think it" .... You are right! I'm working on that

Meagan78

Not rude.  We're doing one, too.  We'd thought perhaps there would be lower turnout but so far we are surprised.  We are, however, changing the timeline a bit in case people do want to leave early.  Plenty of OOT guests and family who will stay until 10 with us. 

JenO24

We initally wanted to get married over the Labor Day weekend b/c 85% of our guest will be coming from OOT.  But the costs for hotels would be almost twice as high that weekend, which we felt was defeating the purpose.  We decided to go for the weekend after, but that Saturday was 9/11 and our decision was not to get married on that day so we opted for the day after, Sunday.  I knew quite a few OOT family members couldn't attend no matter when it was b/c of health issues so the day didn't affect our numbers any.  We're getting better deals w/ our vendors b/c it's on a Sunday plus it's not during a holiday weekend AND it's not peak season anymore (getting married at the beach).  Like a PP said, if your OOT guests were coming in for a Sat wedding they'd have to take Friday off so for a Sunday wedding they'll just take Monday off.  No harm done.

Good luck w/ your planning.
Try not to stress too much, just deal w/ one thing at a time so you don't get overwhelmed instead of trying to figure out the whole picture all at once.

fangsiting

As an OOT guest, I do find them inconvenient, but I don't consider a Sunday wedding on a holiday weekend any different than a Saturday wedding.  July 3rd is fine.

wadingmoose

I had a Sunday brunch wedding and it worked out fabulously.  Although it was shorter than an evening wedding, but since it's on a long weekend, you can do an evening wedding and not cause any problems.

I say go for it.