My fiance and I are 50 years old and getting married for a 2nd time in the Caribbean. We've rented a large house for a week for ourselves, our children and even some friends who we know wouldn't be able to afford to come otherwise. Of course it's all expensive! We're lucky to be able to do as much as we're doing. We love it there, fell in love there and want to share Paradise with our friends and family.
We need to limit our list to 25 people tops. We have immediate family members who we know can't afford to come and won't. This includes our parents ( 3 sets).It may sound selfish ( I'm sure it sounds selfish) but we prefer not to have to worry about our elderly parents fending for themselves on the island all week and be worried about keeping them entertained and occupied. My fiance's parents are negative and would spend the entire week complaining about the heat, the prices and driving on the "wrong" side of the road. It just would not be fun for us. Again, we are 50 years old and have already done all this!
We entertain our families ALL the time.......Xmas, Thanksgiving, summers at our lake house. We want this to be for us, and an opportunity to merge our two families( our children) and celebrate with our close friends, who are like family. We don't want to hurt people's feelings....... but know that there will be those who think we should get married at home and that we are self absorbed for doing it in the islands. However, it's what we really want to do.
So I guess I should get to my question. Can we really get away without inviting our parents........can we invite some siblings who we know can afford to come and not others or do we invite everyone? Can we just let family members know via email or phone calls that we are getting married in April in the islands and that there will be some sort of small celebration at home when we return? If I show a video at that event and some family members and friends are there and not others am I creating more hurt feelings? HELP!!!
You can invite anyone you wish. Not inviting your parents may hurt feelings. But, with this being a destination wedding, it is a bit easier to explain. The only problem I see could be with the siblings. Sibling rivalry can be fierce. So, you be the judge here.
It is perfectly fine to want to host the wedding you want where you want it, especially for an encore event.
Is it best to invite everyone, even though we know they can't afford to come? That may be the most gracious way to handle it. I've spoken with my parents who are happy with whatever we do as long as we share the event with them some way afterwards.
Guest list.....last question, promise!
