Let me start by explaining that this is my first wedding but the grooms second. My family is spread out all over the United States, and my fiance and I are planning a wedding in the town where we live. His family lives nearby and will not be travelling far. We want to have a very small wedding and dinner reception for family only. I have heard of people having a reception after destination weddings, and we would like to have an informal celebration/reception for all of our friends at another time as well. The problem that we are running into is that my family wants to attend this party/reception but cannot travel twice. Is it possible for my family to host a party the night before our wedding? We've thought about changing our plans for the night of the wedding and having a larger reception that evening, but at this late date, cannot find a reception site for an event like this.
What are your suggestions and what is proper ettiquette for this? What would you call a party/reception like this?
Thanks for your help.
~Feeling stuck and looking for options
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Post #2 of 2
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Re: [feeling stuck] Party/Reception BEFORE the wedding?
[In reply to]
Dear Feeling stuck and looking for options,
Many people will have several receptions because of the distance between family. You say that your family is spread out so this would be difficult. However, if you could host a reception close to most of your family at a later date, that would be an option. Other than that, many will host a welcome party for their out of town guests before the wedding. As long as this isn't a reception, this would be fine.
A wedding reception includes a lot of traditional after wedding elements that wouldn't seem appropriate before the wedding.
One thing that I did notice in your post that may be a problem though is the reception after the wedding. You stated that you are having a "very small wedding and dinner reception for family only." This is fine as long as all of the wedding guests are invited to the dinner. I wasn't quite sure if this is your intention.
Party/Reception BEFORE the wedding?
