Save the date etiquette

kmfritz22

My fiance and I are planning a Las Vegas wedding in April 2012 and a party in lieu of a reception when we get back home to Michigan.  Any of our family and friends that want to attend the ceremony in Las Vegas are more then welcome to come however, the only thing that we were planning to provide for those attendees is dinner after.  The party is to celebrate our marriage with family and friends that are not able to go to Las Vegas.  What is the proper way to word save the dates and invitations for the Wedding and the Party?

tpender13

I think providing a meal for Vegas attendees is perfectly okay.

I would have the invites for the party at home be completely separate from the Vegas ones, and not say anything about "wedding" anywhere on them.

GeauxTigers17

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_save-date-etiquette-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e498f3ca-79ab-4205-bce2-c7e95f04440aPost:110e3525-743a-4660-86cd-8dd66423a981">Re: Save the date etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]An at-home reception is perfectly okay, as long as the people who are invited to the AHR were also invited to the ceremony as well.  It shouldn't be a case of "we invited immediate family and close friends to the wedding, <strong>but everyone can come to the party and bring us gifts"</strong> I'm not sure on exactly how to handle the invites, though.  I'd imagine two separate sets of invites, to the same sets of people. And since the same people are invited to both, you could maybe do one save-the-date with both dates and locations on it?  Someone more knowledgeable than me can comment on that.
Posted by hlq2011[/QUOTE]

<div>I agree on the separate set of invitations, because they are different events. However, an invitation to a reception does <em><strong>not</strong></em><strong> </strong>come with the expectation of a gift - that goes with the ceremony only. </div><div>
</div><div>I'm not saying it's necessarily a good idea, but that's why, by strict etiquette standards, it is ok to have a small ceremony and a large reception. </div><div>
</div><div>EDIT: why the heck is the knot re-ordering all the posts?!</div>

hlq2011

An at-home reception is perfectly okay, as long as the people who are invited to the AHR were also invited to the ceremony as well.  It shouldn't be a case of "we invited immediate family and close friends to the wedding, but everyone can come to the party and bring us gifts"

I'm not sure on exactly how to handle the invites, though.  I'd imagine two separate sets of invites, to the same sets of people.

And since the same people are invited to both, you could maybe do one save-the-date with both dates and locations on it?  Someone more knowledgeable than me can comment on that.