My future husband and I are approaching our wedding in a somewhat atypical fashion. I would our invitations to be worded very elegantly, but the set up of our wedding weekend has me a bit puzzled. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
First, a bit about our plans...
We will be married on a Friday evening at a castle on the St. Lawrence River. Our Friday ceremony will be small, intimate and very private. Our total invitation list is approximately 30 guests. We will follow the ceremony with a riverside dinner at a local restaurant for those 30 guests in lieu of the typical rehearsal dinner.
On Saturday, we will be having a light breakfast of bagels and champagne mimosa to be followed by a 3-hour boat tour of the Thousand Islands. We will open these events up to our entire guest list, inviting anyone who is interested to meet up with us for a day of fun in the sun. That evening, we will be hosting a relaxed wine and hors d'oeuvres reception for approximately 150 guests in a beautiful room with panoramic views of the river at a local resort.
Sunday, we will be hosting a fun, casusal wedding bbq at my mother's lakeside home. This will be a chance for out of town guests to spend a bit more time with us, an opportunity to open our gifts, a way to wind down after a full weekend of fun. While it will be a very informal event, we would like any of our 150 guests to feel welcome to stop in and visit with us in a more casual environment and have a bit of fun with us.
Given that there will be two sets of guests (one Friday & Saturday set, one Saturday only set) I am conflicted as to how to word our Saturday only invitations. I want them to know we will be married privately while still allowing our guests to feel important and included. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thank you so much in advance. I cannot wait to hear your ideas!
You need to make an invitation for the 150 that invites them to your wedding celebration. I've seen invitations that say, "We've tied the knot, and would be honored to celebrate our recent wedding with you"
i agree with akimbo--I think you need two sets of invitations; one for the 30 who will attend the ceremony and dinner on Friday, and one set for the rest of the crowd! Instead of including all the details for Saturday and Sundays events, have the invitation address the most important aspect of the weekend. then use your wedding web site (if you have one) or a STD to plot out the rest of what you have going on for all of your guests.
I recognize the need for two sets of invitations, my concern is in how to word the Saturday invitation. Because we will have just been married the evening before and thus will not be married when the invitations go out in the mail, something saying "we got married come to a reception" doesn't seem right to me. What do you think? It is my hope that people understand in reading their invitation that we didn't get married already and that they will, in fact, be a part of our official wedding weekend.
mrsbic - I agree with including more of the info on a wedding webpage. It is simpler and saves on printing/postage. I hope to get a webpage going soon!
I think the invitations should be one that invites guests to the friday ceremony, with friday details as typical invitations.
the second invitation should work as an invitation that details the weekend plans for both sets of guests lists. Wording can be something along the lines of You are invited to celebrate our marriage or You are invited to the reception celebration of xxxx....
Mr. and Mrs. Bride’s Father’s First Name / Last Name
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding reception for their daughter
etc., etc.
I also like the idea of listing basic info on the invite itself and more details on a wedding website. Instead of "reception" you could always put "a weekend of celebration" or something more general to encompass all the activities... "...request the pleasure of your company at a weekend of celebration honoring the newly married Mr. & Mrs." Something like that.
Great ideas! I especially love referring to it as a "weekend of celebration" or a "wedding celebration" or a "reception celebration" etc. Somehow, to me, that sounds very appropriate. Our whole intent is to create an abundance of fun and take advantage of every moment we have to celebrate with and enjoy time with our friends and family, in an environment that is all about quality time.
The key is to make sure that the second invitation says "celebration (or weekend of celebration) in honor of the marriage..." as opposed to implying that there is a wedding. It sounds wonderful, by the way. Your guests (all of them) should have a great time!
My future husband and I are approaching our wedding in a somewhat atypical fashion. I would our invitations to be worded very elegantly, but the set up of our wedding weekend has me a bit puzzled. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
First, a bit about our plans...
We will be married on a Friday evening at a castle on the St. Lawrence River. Our Friday ceremony will be small, intimate and very private. Our total invitation list is approximately 30 guests. We will follow the ceremony with a riverside dinner at a local restaurant for those 30 guests in lieu of the typical rehearsal dinner.
On Saturday, we will be having a light breakfast of bagels and champagne mimosa to be followed by a 3-hour boat tour of the Thousand Islands. We will open these events up to our entire guest list, inviting anyone who is interested to meet up with us for a day of fun in the sun. That evening, we will be hosting a relaxed wine and hors d'oeuvres reception for approximately 150 guests in a beautiful room with panoramic views of the river at a local resort.
Sunday, we will be hosting a fun, casusal wedding bbq at my mother's lakeside home. This will be a chance for out of town guests to spend a bit more time with us, an opportunity to open our gifts, a way to wind down after a full weekend of fun. While it will be a very informal event, we would like any of our 150 guests to feel welcome to stop in and visit with us in a more casual environment and have a bit of fun with us.
Given that there will be two sets of guests (one Friday & Saturday set, one Saturday only set) I am conflicted as to how to word our Saturday only invitations. I want them to know we will be married privately while still allowing our guests to feel important and included. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thank you so much in advance. I cannot wait to hear your ideas!
posted by Cyd 1 month agoYou need to make an invitation for the 150 that invites them to your wedding celebration. I've seen invitations that say, "We've tied the knot, and would be honored to celebrate our recent wedding with you"
posted by akimbo 1 month agoi agree with akimbo--I think you need two sets of invitations; one for the 30 who will attend the ceremony and dinner on Friday, and one set for the rest of the crowd! Instead of including all the details for Saturday and Sundays events, have the invitation address the most important aspect of the weekend. then use your wedding web site (if you have one) or a STD to plot out the rest of what you have going on for all of your guests.
posted by mrsbic 1 month agoI recognize the need for two sets of invitations, my concern is in how to word the Saturday invitation. Because we will have just been married the evening before and thus will not be married when the invitations go out in the mail, something saying "we got married come to a reception" doesn't seem right to me. What do you think? It is my hope that people understand in reading their invitation that we didn't get married already and that they will, in fact, be a part of our official wedding weekend.
mrsbic - I agree with including more of the info on a wedding webpage. It is simpler and saves on printing/postage. I hope to get a webpage going soon!
posted by Cyd 1 month agoI think the invitations should be one that invites guests to the friday ceremony, with friday details as typical invitations.
the second invitation should work as an invitation that details the weekend plans for both sets of guests lists. Wording can be something along the lines of You are invited to celebrate our marriage or You are invited to the reception celebration of xxxx....
those are not very elegant, but a start.
posted by 711beachbride 1 month agoA search of the internet suggests the following:
Mr. and Mrs. Bride's Parents
request the pleasure of your company
at a (dinner) reception
in honour of Mr. and Mrs. Your Married Name Day
etc., etc.
or
Mr. and Mrs. Bride’s Father’s First Name / Last Name
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding reception for their daughter
etc., etc.
I also like the idea of listing basic info on the invite itself and more details on a wedding website. Instead of "reception" you could always put "a weekend of celebration" or something more general to encompass all the activities... "...request the pleasure of your company at a weekend of celebration honoring the newly married Mr. & Mrs." Something like that.
Sound like fun, by the way!
posted by amysue 1 month agoGreat ideas! I especially love referring to it as a "weekend of celebration" or a "wedding celebration" or a "reception celebration" etc. Somehow, to me, that sounds very appropriate. Our whole intent is to create an abundance of fun and take advantage of every moment we have to celebrate with and enjoy time with our friends and family, in an environment that is all about quality time.
posted by Cyd 1 month agoThe key is to make sure that the second invitation says "celebration (or weekend of celebration) in honor of the marriage..." as opposed to implying that there is a wedding. It sounds wonderful, by the way. Your guests (all of them) should have a great time!
posted by suzanno 1 month ago