Okay to have Friday Wedding?

[PearPear]

My FI and I have different views on this, so I would appreciate any thoughts.

We are having a destination wedding and then about a month later, we will be hosting a reception.....the day is the issue.

The site rental fee is $600 on Saturdays and $300 for any other day. I would rather have the recption on Saturday considering most of our guests will have at least a 2 hour drive to get there. My FI doesn't think it would be a problem for people to call off of work or leave work early to come on a Friday night, I do.. I think it's rude to put guest through that just to save $300.

So, I hope I was clear enough to get my point across.

I would like to know others oppinions about this situation.

 

[Caribou]

Where ever my FI and I have our wedding some guests will have to drive at least 1.5 hours. We decided to have it on a Sunday because it''s cheaper...then we decided to do it on a holiday weekend (Memorial weekend) because everyone will have Monday off so they can rest up that day.

I think if you have people that are driving 2 hours, then a Saturday reception is best between Friday. Are you having a dinner reception? We are having a lunch reception so if guests wanted to leave that evening it wouldn''t be too late when they got home.. that''s another option.

 

[E B]

I agree with you. If it was $300 as opposed to $2000, it'd be a different story, but for just $300 more, a Saturday wedding sounds much more convenient for your guests.

 

[monarch64]

I think if most of your guests will have to leave work early or take the day off, it would be an inconvenience to them just so you can save $300 in the grand scheme of things. Has he thought about the fact that (and I hope no one thinks I''m completely out of line for saying this) maybe you''ll be receiving cash/checks for wedding gifts that you could use toward making up the extra $300 for a Saturday reception??? I know that seems rude to assume that you''ll be getting money, but I''ve heard a lot of couples say they used some of their monetary gifts to pay for wedding related things...we actually used some of ours on our honeymoon. We went to Vegas and took about $500 out of our wedding gift money to gamble with.

If you knew the majority of your guests DID NOT have to worry about their work schedule due to traveling to your reception, I think having a Friday reception is a great idea, and a good money-saver. It also leaves the rest of your guests'' weekend free...

 

[nytemist]

It definately will save you some money. But, if you don''t think most folks would be willing to take a day off or leave work early, it may be better for you to do Saturday. Maybe Saturday evening might be a little less expensive?

We''re taking that route even further... getting married on a Tuesday evening.

 

[qtiekiki]

I think Friday evening would be a great idea if it wasn''t a destination wedding that is 2 hours away. In your situation, I think it''s kind of inconsiderate to expect the guests to both take the day off or leave work early and to drive 2 hours to attend the wedding just so you can save $300. I am sure your families and close friends would be there even if that''s the case, but I personally would feel bad and I think that''s how you feel too.

 

[appletini]

I''m having a 7:30PM Friday wedding, but thats because the Saturdays avaiable in the month we wanted to work for us. In my case its $1,000 less for Friday rather than Saturday. However I don''t think $300 is enough to make me pick Friday over Saturday. If it means that much to have all your guests there, then go with Saturday and then they don''t have to leave work early on Friday for the long drive.

 

[Tybee]

I agree with you and just about everybody that posted.
Three hundred dollars isn''t enough of a savings to inconvenience your guests, especially if many will have to take off work, etc. to get there on time. It''s best to have it on the Saturday, this is the at-home-reception, right? So most of your guests will not have been able to make it to your wedding, don''t make it hard on them to make it to your reception as well.

Good luck!

 

[monarch64]

So is Sunday not an option? Just wondered if that would be a possibility for you...if you can still save the $300 and save people from taking off work/leaving early. I had my wedding on a Sunday--saved me $4,000! We didn''t do a Friday because we had so many out of town guests, same issue with travel.

 

[saturn]

I agree that the inconvenience to your guests is not worth $300.
However...
Would your really only save $300? Oftentimes, caterers and other services give a discount for non-Saturday weddings as well. So by having it on a Friday (or Sunday), you might save on a lot more than just the site fee.
Just something to consider.

 

[selflove]

Not only is saving $300 not a good enough reason to have it Friday, but I think more guests will come to the wedding if it''s easier for them. If it''s not convenient, they just might not come and I think they''re presence would be worth $300.

 

[Diam100]

I have attended Friday weddings not a big deal from my perspective I usually just take the day off. The only thing I have noticed that here in the NYC Metro area some guests were late in arriving due to traffic congestion. Something else to consider since some of those people could not get the day off from work or could leave early.

 

[Selkie]

If it''s far enough in advance that people can make arrangements, I don''t think it''s that bad an idea to do it on Friday. My brother got married on a Wednesday, of all days, (more for issues of vacation time than financial concerns) and many people were travelling at least 200 miles to get there. Because they knew in advance, they could work around it.

 

[ellewoods]

Definitely have it on Saturday. Even on a tight budget, I think the $300 extra is definitely worth it to make sure your family and friends can attend, have enough time to get there from work, etc.

It was an actual wedding plus reception, I would say that have it Friday, since it would definitely cut costs a ton (I don''t mean the $300, I mean thousands). I mean absolutely no disrespect in your plans to have a destination wedding, and then a reception afterwards at home. But personally, if it was a 2 hour drive after work on a Friday (plus more time if there''s any traffic)....I don''t know that I would attend when it is just for the reception -- if I had any difficulties in getting out of work early, or driving through hours of traffic, etc. I would be far less inclined to go than if it was on Saturday. On a Saturday I''d go no problem.

For a wedding + reception on a Friday night, I''d most likely plan to work a half day, get to the venue early, so my BF and I could enjoy the area, wedding, and reception, and stay the weekend (or Friday night). It''s not that the reception isn''t important, but if the wedding ceremony has already taken place earlier, I would be less inclined to go to the reception on a Friday night if I had any type of problem with getting out of work early, driving for 2-3 hours, etc.

I know it sounds silly, I''d be willing to take time off work and deal with whatever inconveniences arose to attend a wedding + reception on a Friday night, but not as inclined to do so for a reception-only on a Friday night. But it''s not feeling that the reception isn''t important, it''s just knowing that the wedding ceremony has already taken place weeks or a couple months ago, so it doesn''t feel quite as serious or imperative that I attend, if I can''t leave work early or driving is going to take me 3 hours.

Also, I find Friday nights really bad for big events like a reception. People are tired from the work week, stressed from trying to get out of work for the weekend to start, etc. If most of your guests have at least a 2 hour drive, well that just adds to the stress. By the time the guests arrive and check into their hotels, etc. they''re going to be tired and stressed and not in the best mindframe to enjoy your reception. I find Saturdays much better for big events like that. That''s just my personal opinion though.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

We had ours on Friday night too, and while it technically wasn''t a destination wedding, the only guests who were local were my parents. Even we had to drive the 9 hours down to Charleston. While you always hear about how non-Sat. weddings should be less expensive, I don''t think we got many discounts, if any at all.

If all you''re saving is $300, I would have the Sat. wedding. Personally, I always build in travel time to weddings, as I''ve only ever been to one in-town wedding. But if the majority of your guests are in-town, and you''re only saving $300, I would do it on Sat.

 

[nicolejrx]

Our wedding is on a Friday. My fiance and I were a bit concerned at first, however the church we are getting married at will only let you have the church until 1 pm on a Saturday, so that was out. We want a formal evening wedding. We are getting married in San Diego so I think most people will just make a 3 day weekend out of it...
Nicole

 

[Shay]

We''re getting married on a friday and having the reception straight after. I''m not worried because we are sending invitations 4 months ahead to let people plan. Also the price difference was R20 000 so you can see why Friday weddings are common in South Africa.

 

[JCJD]

Wait, I'm confused. Is the wedding date in question, or the reception date? If you're having a destination wedding anyways, schedule it whenever you want it! As for the reception, you'll have to be more accomodating for your guests.

We had our wedding on a Friday. Casual 7pm ceremony so our local guests didn't really have to take time off work unless they wanted to. Since your guests all have to travel 2 hours to this site, you'll need to give them advance notice if you want them there and be gracious if they decline for this reason. To repeat the question, is Sunday not an option? You'd get the discount and avoid this problem. I've had a lot of fun at Sunday weddings, but they do tend to end a bit earlier than Fri and Sat receptions. The bonus is you save a bit on alcohol (if you're serving it).

ETA: I was going to mention that only $300/600 for a reception site is AMAZING!!! Our site for 100 guests was $700 for a Friday night, in Nebraska too!

 

[PearPear]

Thanks everyone

We decided on a Saturday reception. I do think we are getting a deal w/ the reception hall. It''s about $48/person; that''s for passed hors d''oeurves w/ a one hour cocktail (open bar), 3 entree buffet w/ sides, salad station, and rolls, wine at the tables, wedding cake, and then 3 additional hours of open bar! Linens and table decor included. The place is really nice and there is an attached bar so guests can hang out in there if they like (not a public bar, more like a private pub) it''s nice!!

So, again thanks for all the responses, it helped a lot!!