Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
I married a Costa Rican two years ago in an informal courthouse wedding. We planned on having a wedding and gathering in his hometown soon afterward but due to immigration issues it took us two years to finally be able to travel to his country for our wedding. We invited people to our (informal) destination wedding via email and as part of my parent's Christmas invitations. We have about 25 friends and family joining us in Costa Rica along with his family there. I would like to share our wedding with others in a more formal way. Would announcements after the wedding be more appropriate? Also, I told people attending I have no expectation of them bringing gifts since they are paying for flights, etc. However, several people-some that are going and some that cant travel with us-have asked us about gift registrations. What do I do? I was imagining sending announcements with registration links before the wedding and even stating that there is no expectation to send gifts. Would that work? People know about our wedding and marriage and realize that we are unassuming, laid back people....
TWQadmin
FORUM EXPERT
/ Moderator
Post #2 of 6
(991 views)
Re: Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
[In reply to]
You're already married, so to host another wedding wouldn't be proper. So, I really couldn't advise you on how to word your invitations. But, we never mention gifts in a wedding invitation and a wedding announcement does not obligate the recipient to send a gift. Top Wedding Questions Forum Moderator - "Write your sorrows in the sand, your blessings in stone".
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Post #3 of 6
(986 views)
Re: Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
[In reply to]
I agree. You are already married and to host a wedding, invite guests, just isn't proper or logical. But, it is too late to change your plans I suppose.
Those people asking about gifts are probably very confused about what they should do. After all, this is being treated as a wedding. So, it is best to do some damage control by letting guests and those invited know that this is not a gift giving event.
There is no need to "announce" this as it isn't a wedding. There is nothing to announce.
Re: Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
[In reply to]
Thats kinda ingoring my questions. We are having a wedding in Costa Rica, where my husband is from. Although we already married we never got to share in a celebration with friends and family. Nor did we send announcements. Now we are, we ARE ALREADY doing it. I just wanted advise about the announcements.
TWQadmin
FORUM EXPERT
/ Moderator
Post #5 of 6
(975 views)
Re: Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
[In reply to]
Celebrations (receptions) are usually held within one year of marrying.
Wedding announcements are sent directly after a wedding. Those announcements should have been sent two years ago.
I'm sorry, but we cannot give advice on an event that is inappropriate. We answered your question as best we could.
Of course, you can host whatever party you like, there are no etiquette police, but we cannot advise on the best way to do this. Top Wedding Questions Forum Moderator - "Write your sorrows in the sand, your blessings in stone".
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Post #6 of 6
(975 views)
Re: Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
[In reply to]
We didn't ignore your question. We answered it.
There is no way any of us can advise you with this as this isn't proper and we stated that. We don't announce our intentions to marry ahead of time. Yours is not a wedding, so no announcement--before or after. With "real" weddings, our announcements are sent after the wedding. Your announcement would have been sent two years ago.
And, we never include any type of registration or gift information in any announcement. Additionally, registering for a wedding that is not a wedding is very improper (for lack of a better word). If there is any doubt, Miss Manners has been ranting about it for some time.
So, if this is what you plan to do, and it appears that it is, you will have to plan all of it, as all of it is completely off the map when it comes to what is considered proper. So, it is in your hands.
Finally, if you wanted to share all of this with those who couldn't attend your wedding, a reception within the first year would have been the proper way to do it. Rebecca Black, Etiquette Now
Informal Destination Wedding Announcements or Invitations
