Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum

Pros and Cons to Friday or Sunday wedding

Hey ladies! Me and my fiance LOVE a location here in Orange County. Only problem - it'll be wayyy over budget if we have it there on a Saturday. We're considering a Friday or Sunday (preferably Friday) but we're not sure how that works out with those that have school/work? And not sure if its too much of a hassle and maybe the Sunday would work out better in that sense? Either way people would need to take off either Friday or Monday if they plan to stay out late. Let me know what you think! thanks, Rach

Re: Pros and Cons to Friday or Sunday wedding

  • If most of your peeps are in town, then Friday or Sunday is fine. If they have to take off work and travel, you may have fewer attendees. If its Friday, make sure its late enough that people can get off of work and get dressed and to your venue. If its on Sunday, don't plan on partying too late because there is work on Monday. You should know the people you are inviting sufficiently well enough to know whether they have flexible jobs, income sufficient to travel, etc, and you can use that knowledge to temper your decision.Depending on how far they have to travel, Sunday afternoon may be best for most people, as it would allow them to drive home afterward instead of spending the night.
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  • My FI and I are having a Sunday wedding. We chose Sunday because it was a lot less to rent the venue. We thought about having a Friday evening wedding, but it would be difficult for most of our guests to make it after work on a Friday.
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  • Okay so 2 for Sunday...keep them coming! But I do agree...it would be less of a hassle for a lot of guests if we did a Sunday rather than a Friday. Friday was just nice because then no one would have to worry about school or work on a Monday morning.. THANKS!!
  • I'd rather go to a Friday wedding than a Sunday one. On Sunday evening, I probably wouldn't stay late (unless it was a holiday) and taking Monday off work is a lot harder for me than Friday if I have to travel. We're going to a wedding this Friday. We're both leaving work at 4 to make it there on time. I'd rather do that than feel like we have to leave early. If you decide on Sunday, I'd lean more toward afternoon. If you do Friday, push it as late as possible, especially if you are in a big city where traffic will be an issue.
  • I agree with Leah.  It's easier to take a half day on Friday than all day on Monday.(Who wants to go in to work in the afternoon?)  Best wishes!
  • You'll have to gauge the majority of your guests. If they're mostly local, and you're looking for them to party, then I would definitely go for the Friday. If you have guests from out of town and don't mind people leaving early, then opt for Sunday. If you're hoping for your guests to take a day off work for your wedding, out of towners and locals alike are more likely to take Friday off than Monday. Good luck!
  • I think that either a Friday or Sunday would work.  We are having a Sunday wedding and it is a lot less expensive for our entertainment and photographer.  I think a lot of it depends on your crowd.  We have a lot of oot guests who will be coming out for multiple days and are fine with leaving on a Monday or Tuesday.  From what I'm gathering is that they will come a couple days before and stay a couple days after which is why we are looking at renting beach houses.  And our local friends will have no problem taking off a Monday to recuperate.I would just think carefully about your guest list and the type of wedding you want.  I am fortunate to be able to have an evening Sunday wedding where we are going to party hard, but in a different circumstance it could easily not be the case.Good luck!
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  • Friday if oot or actually work anywhere where hard to get to your venue I would simply not attend Sunday luchtime reception could be lovely but I would not expect folks to stay late as they will be traveling home and have to work the next day. If Sunday evening oot I would not attend in town I would leave about 9pm or as soon as polite
  • Our son and DIL had a Sunday wedding. Pros: much less expensive for the same venue/meal. A Saturday rehearsal meant that we had lots of time for a wonderful RD. We had a tented BBQ-type picnic in our backyard all afternoon, and then WP left for the rehearsal. We were able to invite all OOT guests, so we really had two wonderful days of friends and family celebrating. CONS: People left earlier than they might have on a Saturday night, which turned into a PRO, as far as our son and DIL were concerned. The night ended with just their immediate families and WP left, so it was very, very personal at the end.
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  • I was debating on this with my venue as well and I opted for a Friday because it just made more sense for us. There were a lot of reasons that we chose Friday but what was good for us doesn't make it good for you. I liked the Friday option because 1) our guests would have the whole weekend to recuperate, 2) our guests would not opt to leave early for work in the morning and 3) it gives us a little bit more time to take things slow leaving to and returning from our honeymoon. However, an option that we were told about (by our venue coordinator) was that you could choose a Sunday that's like a Saturday. I gave her a crooked face right about then. But what she said made sense: If you choose a Sunday that falls before a holiday Monday (September 7th of this year, for example, was Labor day so most people get that day off) then people do not have the same rush to go home to prepare for work the next morning. Two things about this though: 1) some people may not come as they will have plans for the long holiday weekend - this was a big reason why we didn't opt for this and 2) depending on the holiday, things like flowers can end up costing more. I'm not suggesting one way or the other as you have to decide what works best for you and your guests but I hope I've given you a few things to think about. Good luck deciding!
  • We are having a Friday wedding with 90% OOT guests. Of those who have declined, only 3 have been due to not being able to miss work/school that Friday. So, it really depends on your guests.
  • We are getting married at 3 pm on a Sunday. We are probably going to be having our reception at my parents house so both families will be almost home anyway and I'm not a night person so having it end early is a plus for me. I'd rather not have to be up until dawn waiting for people to leave, coming back to clean up if need be, and spending time together. 10/10/10 Bride!!
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  • We chose to have ours on the Sunday morning of a long weekend. We were a little concerned about guests not being able to attend because of long-standing long weekend plans, but as the wedding is in February and our families are not the ski trip type, we don't think that's a likely problem for us.My entire family lives 3000km away and will have to fly in, so the Sunday morning of a long weekend allows ample time to travel. The reception will be over by 3pm, so they can fly out that afternoon if they wish and still have Monday to relax before going back to work. We also chose to have a morning ceremony and a brunch reception because it's so much less expensive. Here, brunch runs about $50pp, and if we went with the $100pp dinner we would have had to cut our guest list way back.
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  • Hi there! My sister did a Friday evening wedding and it was perfect.  Some disadvantages were that people had to leave early from work, take the day off, it also was tough getting with time in between church and the reception.  She had to have the ceremony at 4.   Other than that it was great.  It gave us the rest of the weekend to celebrate with out of town relatives.  It also gave us time to recoop! Good luck and go for it. 
  • We are having a Sunday wedding (ceremony 4 pm reception 5 pm - 10 pm), but we specifically chose January 17, 2010 because it is the Sunday before MLK Monday, so many of our family and friends will have off. We still got a break on many prices, but it allows many more of our family and friends to attend. We also opted for an earlier reception to accommodate those guests who do not have monday off.
  • I agree with what the others have said. We chose July 4th next year because it falls on a sunday AND it's a holiday weekend. Most people will have Monday off of work. The downside is that people will have to decide if they want to spend their holiday at our wedding.I guess if they don't, then we don't want them anyway!!
  • We're having a Sunday wedding, and as such, we want to keep everything early-ish. So, we're having a cocktail reception, so just a little cocktail party type thing, and we'll probably be outta there by 8:30 or so. Those who don't have work the next day can join us for the after party, and those who do can go home since most are local. It really depends on your guests, but generally Sundays shouldn't run too late for obvious reasons.
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  • We're doing the Sunday of a long weekend. I know I personally would rather attend a Sunday wedding than a Friday wedding, even if I did have work on Monday.
  • My Wedding is going to be on a Sunday because I am a Sabbath Keeper and I am in Church on Saturdays...This works for me because my Venue pretty much is charging us half of what a Saturday wedding would have been. The only Con is that I cannot get married until after 3p.m. because the church I am using won't be done until 2p.m. So you figure 3:30ish for the wedding, Cocktail hour around 5 and dinner at 6. The wedding should be wrapping up around 10:30-11p.m.We having OOT because of my FI relatives are coming from Alabama and Chicago to Boston so it will pretty much be a weekend of ppl coming in town starting around Thursday to Monday of guest.
  • my venue was almost $1K cheaper to have it on a Sunday rather than a Friday or Saturday!  So you bet I chose Sunday!
  • A few things came together when my fiance and I decided on our wedding date. It actually falls on the anniversary of when we started dating. It also happens to be on a Friday...Good Friday of next year. Most of our friends and family will already have the time off and it gives our out of town guest even more incentive to come out for the wedding because then they get to spend Easter Sunday with family. For friends or family that do work...we are having an evening wedding which will allow working folks to make it. Friday is a perfect day for a wedding...costs less....and allows for more party time!
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