Friday After Thanksgiving

sharymea · January 2012

Planning on having our wedding on this day (in 2012). We are inviting 150 guests. We have two close friends who live out of state (but whose parents live in the Boston area). One is in grad school and my thought was that this would be a good weekend for her. Also, my maid of honor and one of his groomsmen are in school (med. school and Ph.D. program, respectively) and we thought that this weekend might be easier for them compared to any other weekend in the fall. Is this a terrible idea? My mother isn't crazy about the date because she's concerned about snow and people who might have to work that day... but, I can't think of any friends or family members who work in retail. I'd imagine that anyone who does have to work at the office that day would at least be able to make it for our 6:00 reception. Any input would be appreciated.

Also... I am very new to this message board thing... If I'm in the wrong spot just let me know and I'll relocate the post

lodonnell616 · January 2012

I'd tend to agree with your mother, not only from the work perspective but also the fact that alot of people plan to spend time with their families during Thanksgiving & Christmas and this would be taking time away from that.

What about Columbus Day?

Mo2T&O · January 2012

I agree that flights for anyone out of state would be expensive but it sounds like you don't have too many guests coming from out of state so hopefully that isn't an issue. I agree that a lot of people do tend to want to spend that weekend with family and some might travel out of town to be with family. But if you love the idea and have your heart set on that date then go for it. Just be prepared for people to decline due to holiday travel, etc.

noodle_oo · January 2012

Personally, I wouldn't pick that day. A lot of people travel for Thanksgiving to visit their family and I just think it is a tough time for a wedding. Some people have events all weekend long, like HS reunions, dinners with both sides of their family, or other traditional things they do that weekend. And personally I *hate* traveling that time of year due to the expense and the crazy crowds on the roads and at the airports, so if I had to travel for your wedding, I'd find it horribly inconvenient.

Also, it is not just retail that works that day. My husband is in the medical field and they never get it off.

If the majority of your guest list is local or will be coming home for it anyway, then I guess it might work. Just be prepared that you might have a lot of guests decline to come because of the date.

annerandcler · January 2012

We were seriously considering the Friday after July 4th (in 2013) but decided against it because I thought it would be a hassle for people to travel on a holiday weekend. Since half of our guests need to travel I wasn't comfortable with this option. However it sounds like the majority of your guests are local to the area. If that's the case I say go for it. You may have more people decline than other weekends but the people you care most about will make an effort to come regardless.

bmoruzzi · January 2012

I wouldn't want to go to a wedding the day after thanksgiving.

Karen's MOH · January 2012

I wouldn't want to go to a wedding that weekend either. We live in Boston but always travel for Thanksgiving to one of our families. We would end up having to choose between missing Thankgiving with our families or missing the wedding, or doing a lot of driving over 2 days.

But, if all your important people really are local, go ahead, just realize it won't be that convenient for a lot of people. I wouldn't worry about snow though-- that's awfully early! And I do agree with you that of all Fridays you might have to work, that would be a pretty easy one to get out a little early. I get the day off, H doesn't but he takes a vacation day every year.

HockeyFan4 · January 2012

that is my shopping day....i would be bummed if I had to miss it for a wedding.

tkstein · January 2012

It sounds like a great idea to me-you have to remember it is your day and the people who want to be there will be there regardless of all the information people have posted. This is family time and basically the people at your wedding are family or like family. Do exactly what you want otherwise you'll regret listening to other people pirating your wedding day.

sccaruso13 · January 2012

I am getting married the Sunday after Thanksgiving a small wedding of 65-70. Sending out the SAVE THE DATES as if it were a destination wedding will give people the heads up needed to start looking for flights.
So far I haven't had any complaints with our choice.

stephie25 · January 2012

We're getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we haven't had any complaints. Most of our family/friends are either already in the area, or will be coming for Thanksgiving, so it's really not a huge issue. My future sister in law and her husband live in California, and were happy to do it that weekend because they got a good reason to fly in for Thanksgiving, which they haven't been able to do for years. I'm doing the same as sccaruso and sending out save the dates early. We checked with the most important people before we made the decision and none of them had an issue with it.

sharymea · January 2012

Thanks for the replies & advice! After some careful thought, we decided to go with 10/27/12. The major reason was that we'll be getting married about a month sooner than if we waited till the Friday after Thanksgiving. It also helped alleviate my Mom's anxiety about the date... Bummed we won't be getting the good discount that comes with that particular Friday, but this feels like the right decision for us. Thanks again for the input!

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