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Friday versus Saturday wedding?

bride2012tobebride2012tobe member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Massachusetts-Boston
It’s a tough debate. Friday evening wedding verus Saturday evening. Ideally, I would love a Saturday evening wedding. People are not rushing out of work. Saturday is more traditional.  The cost difference between a Friday night versus a Saturday night is 15 per person. I am looking at 100 guest list. Is Friday night that much of a discount? Is it over my budget, yes. Both Friday and Saturday night are.  Friday night is already 20.00 per person over my ideal budget. Saturday would be 35 per person over my ideal budget. However, can I cut costs elsewhere to make up the difference?
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Re: Friday versus Saturday wedding?

  • lodonnell616lodonnell616 member
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Comment
    I agree, Fridays are tough for guests and I think its important to be considerate, especially if you have people driving/travelling.  $3500 can be alot, or not so much depending on your total budget. 

    From what I've looked at so far in my own planning its possible to cut that overall by making small changes:  cupcakes and a small cake for cutting instead of a wedding cake, no dessert-just wedding cake, dj instead of band...instead of floral centerpieces, some kind of DIY would definitely be cheaper...there are lots of ways.
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  • kmac821kmac821
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    What about a Sunday evening? We are getting married on a Sunday and chose it before a long weekend (didn't cost extra). And I definitely agree with PP, there are ways to get creative and cut costs!
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  • tclopestclopes member
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    I am actually doing a Friday night wedding b/c our venue and band were already booked for most of the Saturdays next year.  It was great b/c we did save some money and can actually allocate those dollars to other things that we really wanted to include in our wedding. 

    As for the guests, we have alot of our family & friends coming from out of town and many are excited for a Friday night wedding (they would have taken it off from work anyhow), but now they have the whole weekend to enjoy themselves instead of rushing back home on a Sunday.  We are getting married in Newport btw.

    Also, I've been to a few Friday night weddings and really enjoyed them!
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  • vineyard12vineyard12
    First Comment
    My FI's cousin got married on a Thursday evening in Falmouth. She said that it was considerably cheaper to have a Thursday wedding than on a Friday or Saturday (plus, every place was booked up!). She had about 150 guests, and many were OOT.  At first I thought it was odd night of the week, but it seemed to work out pretty well. I left work early and was able to make into work the next day. You may want to consider a Thursday if cost is an issue. If people know far enough in advance, they will make neccessary arrangements to attend.
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  • KrisKennyKrisKenny
    First Comment
    I am planning a Friday evening wedding, mostly because that is our anniversary to begin with, so just keeping with the same date.

    I have yet to hear anyone complain that it will be on a Friday evening. All of my guestlist has received a STD so they know way ahead of time to plan accordingly to fit their schedule.
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  • 17uv51417uv514 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    Hi! I struggled with this too.  I wanted a Saturday night wedding in October and didn't want to compromise!

    Off months can get you a discount too.  I ended up booking a Saturday in November and saved $6k. 

    Remember that the prices for most all wedding vendors are going to be higher on a Saturday night during peak season, but there are ways to work within your budget.  I told my top two venues up front what my max budget was and my ideal dates and they both worked with me on pricing. 

    Good luck!
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  • imimahoneyimimahoney
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    Just make sure the ceremony doesn't start until after 6. Leaving a few hours early from work isn't a huge deal for most people.

    I went to a Friday afternoon wedding 2 hours away... now that was a major PITA.
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  • bmoruzzibmoruzzi member
    First Comment
    We had a Friday night wedding and it was awesome.  We didn't have people decline based on the fact that it was a Friday night.  Only one couple showed up late.  I think it's worth the money saved.  
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  • EyejewelEyejewel member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    We are doing a Friday night because the min. that the our venue has is $5K more on a Saturday night. Our DJ gave us a small discount and photographer somewhat for the friday night and August still is in summer peak.
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  • noodle_oonoodle_oo member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_friday-versus-saturday-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:5422fb82-b74e-4c62-824c-b096ea450f93Post:04776c65-e2ac-417d-853e-e8334f06a142">Re: Friday versus Saturday wedding?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Just make sure the ceremony doesn't start until after 6. Leaving a few hours early from work isn't a huge deal for most people. I went to a Friday afternoon wedding 2 hours away... now that was a major PITA.
    Posted by imimahoney[/QUOTE]

    Ditto.  We went to a wedding at 5 pm on a friday and we had to leave work early to get there.  But it was also a 1 hr drive away.  We left over 1.5 hours to get there, but Friday afternoon traffic was *AWFUL* and it took us 2 hrs to get there.  They held the ceremony because so many people were late, we snuck in right before they started. But the ceremony seats were over half empty.  I felt so bad for the couple.  Everyone trickled in during the cocktail hour, over half their guest list missed the ceremony because either they couldn't get off work or they did but  underestimated the traffic situation and got there late.  It was very sad!

    So, just make sure you plan it well with enough time for people to be able to make it.  Sucks to take a half day from work and still miss the ceremony.

    Personally, i way prefer a Sunday wedding to Friday nights.  They are just so hard to leave work early, go home, get dressed up, stress in traffic to get there.  Sundays have to end a little earlier, but overall it is MUCH easier on the local guests.  For your OOT guests, Friday vs. Sunday doesn't really matter (they'll either take Friday or Monday off to travel anyway).
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  • ourwedding111111ourwedding111111
    First Comment
    We had a 6:30 wedding on a Friday.  It was perfect.  We had so many people at the wedding that there were a few that were standing in the back (but funny enough, that really didn't matter as apparently no one sat after I walked down the aisle-it was a short and sweet ceremony).  No one balked at a 6:30 wedding on a Friday among our family and friends.  Good Luck with whatever you choose!
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