I really need some advice about planning my wedding. So me and my fiance live in DC but are still fairly new to the area. All of his friends and family are in NJ and all of mine are in FL. Our problem is we would like to maybe have the wedding in DC but then everyone has to travel. Another idea would be that we just go to Hawaii to get married since everyone has to travel anyways but then would we have two receptions when we get back? One in FL and one in NJ? The original plan was to have two engagment parties because both of our families wanted to throw parties in our home towns.
I really like the idea of just going somewhere with like 20 people and then having multiple at home receptions but I am worried I will regret not having the big traditional wedding. Anyone ever experienced the same problem and can share what they did?
I would really appreciate it!!!!
Thank you!!!
Re: Help!? To do a destination wedding or not? Regrets on not having a big wedding??
OP, we did something similar to what you are planning, but we had our DW in St. Thomas and then did 3 of those parties (one where I grew up, one where he grew up and one where we live now). I don't regret what we did, but it's a TON of work. It was fun to see everyone, but seriously I never thought it would end.
We had an AHR after we returned home in Philadelphia. My family didn't have to travel, but his did and all our friends did. I was not all about having multiple AHRs. I thought was ridiculous.
Honestly, I would have been happy with our small wedding and nothing else. My parents and our friends weren't on board with that so we did the whole party. I have NO regrets about not having a big wedding. Not one. Our wedding was perfect.
I have lots of pics in my married bio (link in siggy) if you want to see!
Do the D.C. wedding. D.C is only a 4 hour drive from NJ, and less than a day's from FL, only a short flight if the driving is too much. Yes, they have to travel, but it's not that far and broke guests can carpool.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." -Isaiah 61:10 NKJV
[QUOTE]We chose kind of a "closer" DW (New Orleans). Our family and friends were all over so no matter where we picked, most people would travel. Out of 180 invited we had 70 attend, it was perfect.
Posted by Queen Jane[/QUOTE]
We did something similar by choosing Vegas, invited 180 people & had 84 attend.
We originally wanted to do the small tropical destination wedding but it didn't work for our families. I'm SO happy that we ended up doing Vegas, I think I would have regretted not being able to celebrate with everyone.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Help!? To do a destination wedding or not? Regrets on not having a big wedding?? : We did something similar by choosing Vegas, invited 180 people & had 84 attend. We originally wanted to do the small tropical destination wedding but it didn't work for our families. I'm SO happy that we ended up doing Vegas, I think I would have regretted not being able to celebrate with everyone.
Posted by direy25[/QUOTE]
<div>That's exactly how I feel. All our VIPs and close friends were able to make it and we were so happy to celebrate with them all.</div>
[QUOTE]I really need some advice about planning my wedding. So me and my fiance live in DC but are still fairly new to the area. All of his friends and family are in NJ and all of mine are in FL. Our problem is we would like to maybe have the wedding in DC but then everyone has to travel. Another idea would be that we just go to Hawaii to get married since everyone has to travel anyways but then would we have two receptions when we get back? One in FL and one in NJ? The original plan was to have two engagment parties because both of our families wanted to throw parties in our home towns. I really like the idea of just <strong>going somewhere with like 20 people and then having multiple at home receptions</strong> but I am worried I will regret not having the big traditional wedding. Anyone ever experienced the same problem and can share what they did? I would really appreciate it!!!! Thank you!!!
Posted by tessb1125[/QUOTE]
I understand the difficulty of having families in different locations. My family and friends are in Nevada (where I'm from) and FI's family and friends are in NY (where we live together now). We had to make the tough call to plan our wedding in NY and my family/friends will have to travel to the wedding. So I understand your predicament, BUT...
I personally don't "get" at home receptions. If you are going to have a desitnation wedding, that is you wedding. Having a second, third, etc. "reception" at home to me is like having your cake and eating it too. And I think it's rude to host a wedding-related after party sort of deal with the people who weren't invited to the actual wedding. It's AW-ish and gift-grabby to me.
Not trying to be hard, but my advice is:
Make your choice - have your wedding in ONE place (whether that be Florida, New Jersey, DC, or some other destination). Invite who you want to invite and people who can come will come. If you choose a DW, it's more likely that less people will come and that's a drawback that you need to consider. Which is more important to you.
This is less of a true destination wedding and more of a close family event. NO extended family or friends will be there.
That is why I plan to have two receptions whether it be "having my cake and eating it to" (which I plan to be eating that cake around 3 times
Thanks for all of your oppinions! I think I will just drop the traditional wedding and go for the celebration of the event.
Good luck with your planning!
June 2012 August Siggy Challenge: Favourite Pro Pic (I couldn't choose just one!)