Week day weddings? yes or no.

[Green with Envy]

What do you guys think about week day weddings? Some preferred venues offer much cheaper rates Mon-Thursday. We are thinking of a small wedding (50 people) and family from both sides will be flying from the East Coast to come to the wedding in Southern California so they will probably fly out and be in the area for several days or up to a week.

Most friends attending will be local... or maximum of 2 hours drive away.

is it ok to expect guests to take maybe 1/2 day off of work in order to be at the wedding venue?

If wedding during week... does Thursday make the most sense... or maybe on a Monday?

 

[ficklefaye]

my coworker recently went to a wedding on a wednesday but it was local, i''d opt for a wedding toward the end of the workweek, so at least they can enjoy the rest of the weekend in SoCal

 

[merrymunky]

My wedding is a weekday. A wednesday to be exact. I knew it was a risk when we booked it because of work commitments etc, but it was a good way of saving some money. Our wedding is a fairly small affair, only 42 day guests and then about another 20-40 on top for the evening. The most important people have maganed to get time off work to attend and tat''s all that matters.

 

[Diva0413]

If guests want to attend, they''ll do what they have to do to get there. I don''t see anything wrong with it.

 

[charbie]

I think it works if you''re only inviting very close friends and family, as was mentioned. Also, be comfortable with accepting that some people simply will not be able to take the time off and don''t be offended if they choose not to, especially given the tough economic times. But I''d say go for it otherwise- you can have an amazing wedding on a reasonable budget doing things that way!

 

[ilovesparkles]

Date: 8/7/2009 7:58:33 PM
Author: charbie
I think it works if you''re only inviting very close friends and family, as was mentioned. Also, be comfortable with accepting that some people simply will not be able to take the time off and don''t be offended if they choose not to, especially given the tough economic times. But I''d say go for it otherwise- you can have an amazing wedding on a reasonable budget doing things that way!

Ditto! Also expect that people won''t be staying out late or leaving early if needed due to work early the next morning.

 

[jstarfireb]

Date: 8/7/2009 7:30:24 PM
Author: Diva0413
If guests want to attend, they''ll do what they have to do to get there. I don''t see anything wrong with it.

Unfortunately that''s not true in my line of work. My colleagues and I can''t just take a day off during the week. To a lesser extent it''s also true for weekends, but there''s a better chance of being able to take a weekend day off. So I wouldn''t have a weekday wedding (I wouldn''t even be able to attend my own wedding if I had one!

). Bottom line: unless you''re sure all the important people can attend, I''d say no to weekdays. You can save a good amount of money by having a wedding on a Sunday or Friday compared to Saturday.

 

[Diva0413]

Date: 8/7/2009 8:40:11 PM
Author: jstarfireb

Date: 8/7/2009 7:30:24 PM
Author: Diva0413
If guests want to attend, they''ll do what they have to do to get there. I don''t see anything wrong with it.

Unfortunately that''s not true in my line of work. My colleagues and I can''t just take a day off during the week. To a lesser extent it''s also true for weekends, but there''s a better chance of being able to take a weekend day off. So I wouldn''t have a weekday wedding (I wouldn''t even be able to attend my own wedding if I had one!

). Bottom line: unless you''re sure all the important people can attend, I''d say no to weekdays. You can save a good amount of money by having a wedding on a Sunday or Friday compared to Saturday.

Ah, I see what you mean. Well, in that case, that is true. But from how I read it, it seems like her guests may be able to get to the wedding in the middle of the week. So in that case, if that really can, I say she should go for it.

 

[Camille]

Our wedding was on a Sunday, lots, lots of people [DH side] Monday was a non major holiday def cheaper.

 

[brightlight]

Date: 8/7/2009 6:39:24 PM
Author:Green with Envy
What do you guys think about week day weddings? Some preferred venues offer much cheaper rates Mon-Thursday. We are thinking of a small wedding (50 people) and family from both sides will be flying from the East Coast to come to the wedding in Southern California so they will probably fly out and be in the area for several days or up to a week.

Most friends attending will be local... or maximum of 2 hours drive away.

is it ok to expect guests to take maybe 1/2 day off of work in order to be at the wedding venue?

If wedding during week... does Thursday make the most sense... or maybe on a Monday?

This is a difficult question. I would say Monday so the people flying will only have to take two days off work instead of three days if the wedding is on Thursday.

 

[musey]

The people who have made your wedding a priority will be there almost no matter where or when you have it - they'll find a way. (Of course there are exceptions to this, and you'll probably know if any of your very intimate guest list fall into the 'exceptions' category.)

It's the people who would probably go only if it's convenient that you'll lose. This may not even be an issue with your guest list, I don't know. We had a 60-person wedding and there were quite a few (I'd guess 10-12) guests of convenience in attendance... people who I was fairly certain would not have put out the effort to actually travel to the wedding if need be. Some people have 50 bare-essentials top-priority guests, though.

I've always kind of wondered if I was right about those particular guests, if we'd had it further away from their home base, would they have made it a priority to be there?


Anyway... you understand the "risks" if they can be called that. If it's okay with you, it'll be okay with your guests. People will find a way if it's important to them, and if it's not, maybe you don't want them sharing your wedding day

 

[Dannielle]

Date: 8/7/2009 8:33:08 PM
Author: ilovesparkles

Date: 8/7/2009 7:58:33 PM
Author: charbie
I think it works if you''re only inviting very close friends and family, as was mentioned. Also, be comfortable with accepting that some people simply will not be able to take the time off and don''t be offended if they choose not to, especially given the tough economic times. But I''d say go for it otherwise- you can have an amazing wedding on a reasonable budget doing things that way!

Ditto! Also expect that people won''t be staying out late or leaving early if needed due to work early the next morning.

Exactly.

We looked in to it, and we would of saved quite a bit of money.. but I would of been really disappointed if everyone left at 8 o''clock so they could travel back home and get a decent nights sleep before work.

 

[iheartscience]

Hmm...I would have a hard time getting time off in the middle of the week for a wedding. And to be totally honest, unless I was super close to the person getting married I would probably skip it.

If you can, I would try to do a cheaper alternative on the weekend if you really want most people you invite to make it. If you're okay with just the nearest and dearest, then definitely go for the weekday wedding.

ETA if you definitely want to do it during the week I would choose Monday or Thursday to minimize the amount of time off people need to take.

 

[panda08]

Our wedding is on a Tuesday. We''re having a DW so it didn''t matter what day of the week it was because everyone is taking time off and traveling for it.

I''m a big advocate of "it''s your wedding, do it your way." If people want to come, they will.

 

[mrscushion]

I''d do a Thursday evening wedding, so people can fly in Wednesday night after work or Thursday morning.

Maybe not everyone will come, but the most important people will try their best to be there. Maybe you can check with a few of your VIPs to see whether they would be able to attend and if so, go for it.

 

[LilyKat]

Honestly, I think it would make a lot of people grumble and/or not come. My annual leave is precious and taking days off work is a big hassle. I think it''s ok if you''re only inviting a handful of close family and friends (like, 15-20) and have cleared it with all of them beforehand.

That said, it''s your wedding, so you can have it whenever you like - as long as you don''t mind some people not attending who would have come if it were a weekend.

 

[Green with Envy]

we are thinking all family members will come because for them it is like a destination wedding and they will stay in So Cal for at least several days. i know my best friends will take thursday afternoon/ Friday off so a thursday could work. i have ONE great friend who is a school teacher and I am sure will not want to get a substitute teacher.

it sounds from others that maybe a weekday wedding will rule out the people who are attending JUST because they were invited. We only want a small wedding so we can talk and enjoy all our guests as if it was a big dinner party. people have to eat during the weekdays too!

 

[Amanda.Rx]

It would really depend on how close the bride/groom were to me and if I had to travel for it or not. If it were my best friend, I would do anything to be there. If they were a less-close friend, and I had to travel & use up 3 of only 10 or so days vacation a year, I probably wouldn''t go.

It''s nice of you to consider your guests, though. It is a nice way to save money, but I''d be really sad if lots of my friends couldn''t come or wouldn''t be willing to come because of their work schedules.

 

[Haven]

As long as you understand that you''ll probably get more regrets than you would with a weekend wedding, and you''re okay with that, I think it''s a great option.

It will probably look more like a Sunday wedding, many people leave early because of work the next day.

 

[brightlight]

Date: 8/8/2009 4:48:57 PM
Author: Green with Envy
we are thinking all family members will come because for them it is like a destination wedding and they will stay in So Cal for at least several days. i know my best friends will take thursday afternoon/ Friday off so a thursday could work. i have ONE great friend who is a school teacher and I am sure will not want to get a substitute teacher.

it sounds from others that maybe a weekday wedding will rule out the people who are attending JUST because they were invited. We only want a small wedding so we can talk and enjoy all our guests as if it was a big dinner party. people have to eat during the weekdays too!

This is a big assumption you're making in this economy. I would call around and ask family members if you haven't already. It's a lot to ask of people to take several days off from work even if they say they're happy to do it or are using their vacation days.

 

[Paz]

Go for it! We're having a very small wedding (10 guests max) and we decided to do it on a Monday in order to save money, too.

In order for our local friends to make it we're having the ceremony at 7 PM and dinner at 8:30 PM (at a restaurant so it won't last too long). If you're planning on having a long reception than a Thursday wedding would probably be best, but if you just want dinner and time with your guests you may want to consider a later ceremony start and a shorter reception so those nearby will only have to leave work a little early versus taking an entire day off.
Best wishes to you for whatever you decide!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I don''t think we''d attend a wedding on a weekday if it involved travel unless it was for our own children! Seriously, I think it is too much to ask. Sunday would be okay since people could just miss work to travel on Monday. But I''d still only do that for very close family and friends. You certainly can go ahead, but as others have said, expect a lot of regrets.

 

[Green with Envy]

We are only having immediate family who will def make the trip and not planning on inviting every third cousin, etc.

All friends are local and I called the few that are 2 hrs drive away and they said they will make it.

We are still hoping to find a weekend venue in our price range... but in the long run I won''t remember if it is on a Sat or a Thursday as long as my closest friends/family are there.

 

[bee*]

Our wedding was a Thursday. We didn''t save a penny with any of the vendors but it was the only day that we could get our venue unless we wanted to wait another two years to get a saturday. The majority of people that came loved having it on a thursday and they made a long weekend of it. Some people couldn''t stay the night as they had work the next day and we did get some people that weren''t able to attend at all. Everyone we wanted to attend were there for the whole thing.

 

[gwendolyn]

I think I'd choose a Thursday over a Monday wedding, if it was me. That way you kick off the long weekend with a big ol' celebration, and the rest of the time is spent recuperating (if need be) and flying home when they want, and if they want to come out earlier, that's up to them. Having it on a Monday to me seems a bit more awkward, and with the possibility of people going from your reception straight to the airport (which to me would feel a bit odd--personally I'd want some down time but might feel like I had to go back to work since it's the start of the week, whereas leading up to the weekend is much easier to not go into work

).

Unless you have a specific place in mind, though, shop around--I thought for SURE we would have to choose a date mid-week to get the venue we wanted, and then it turned out that the entire Memorial Day weekend was available! We ended up going with Sunday, because it's like a Saturday (with a day off after) but without Saturday prices. But don't give up hope on getting it exactly where and WHEN you want--you might be pleasantly surprised by what's still available!

 

[Londongirl1]

Date: 8/10/2009 1:13:13 AM
Author: Green with Envy
We are only having immediate family who will def make the trip and not planning on inviting every third cousin, etc.

All friends are local and I called the few that are 2 hrs drive away and they said they will make it.

We are still hoping to find a weekend venue in our price range... but in the long run I won't remember if it is on a Sat or a Thursday as long as my closest friends/family are there.

That's true! As long as the people that matter can make it then I'd say go for it! If my close friend / family member was getting married I wouldn't care what day of the week it was - I'd make the effort to be there.

The Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Garden is a lovely place to get married and it's not expensive! Hope the plans go well

 

[Lilac]

I think if many people will have to travel it would be a problem. I know DH and I wouldn''t be able to go to a weekday wedding that wasn''t local because he simply does not have enough vacation days. We had a Sunday wedding and everyone came and all our close friends and family stayed until the end of the wedding (and it wasn''t over that late anyway).

I''ve been to several weeknight weddings and from what I''ve seen many people tend to leave early.

 

[soontowed]

Is it much cheaper than a Sunday? I''m doing a sunday wedding and it seems like we''ve been able to get rate reductions on everything.

How about a Monday of a three day weekend? Of course not oe of the crazy expensive ones like Memorial day Labor Day or the fourth of July. But maybe a President''s Day or MLK weekend?

 

[Green with Envy]

We REALLY REALLY REALLY want to be married in September 2010 and that is still big wedding time in So Cal. Friday/Sunday minimums are lower than Saturday... but not by much. And Labor day weekend is completely ruled out.

So far I found ONE venue that could do Friday night (not Saturday) in our price range and still am waiting to hear from several others so fingers crossed.

 

[soontowed]

Date: 8/10/2009 7:02:00 PM
Author: Green with Envy
We REALLY REALLY REALLY want to be married in September 2010 and that is still big wedding time in So Cal. Friday/Sunday minimums are lower than Saturday... but not by much. And Labor day weekend is completely ruled out.


So far I found ONE venue that could do Friday night (not Saturday) in our price range and still am waiting to hear from several others so fingers crossed.

WHere in SoCal are you planning on having your wedding?