My wedding is, very unconventionally, split into two parts. We signed our marriage license with a justice of the peace in a park, with immediate family only present. All we did was stand there and sign the paper, no celebration or anything. We had originally planned a larger wedding, but this would take more time to organize (inviting relatives from overseas and all) and by the time it came around to the wedding, I would have to leave the country because my visa would run out. So I have applied for permanent residency now, and having a larger wedding will not run the risk of having me kicked out of the country immediately afterwards.
This isn't really a second wedding, but the second part of the first wedding. We have always been very clear about our intentions and the way we structured the wedding, because we did not want to have anyone feel insulted about not being invited to the intimate marriage ceremony.
But what is the proper etiquette? Can we still have a gift registry? Can we reasonably expect everything to be just like a first-time wedding ought to be? Or will there be unhappy reactions to expect due to the fact that we are technically already married? I really want to do the right thing, but I also don't want this to be any less than a proper wedding. Any advice?
What you had was a wedding since the outcome was a marriage. You are already married, so, to have another wedding wouldn't be appropriate or really possible. However, you could certainly host a wedding reception (or, if you are religious, a blessing of the marriage in church). You can go ahead and register for gifts, just understand that only guests invited to the wedding are really obligated to send a gift. That being said, there may be those family members and friends who might want to buy a gift so reigistering would be helpful to them. If anyone asks where you are registered you can tell them. Top Wedding Questions Forum Moderator - "Write your sorrows in the sand, your blessings in stone".
Two-part wedding
