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While trying to figure out how to cut venue costs, we looked into having it on a Friday night. It seems that we will be doing it ourselves without a venue now, so we can feasibly have it any time we want. But the idea is now in my head that July 22, 2011 would be a good idea. It is our dating anniversary, and he proposed on 7.22.09 so it would be a neat tie-in. Two of my BMs were excited at the prospect because they work rotating weekends and it would mean having to request less time off or something they said. . But then I got to thinking it might make other people take more time off! It would be in the evening, of course, but tell me, bees, would it be an inconvenience or is it not a big deal?
Edited in to add that most guests are local to 45 minutes away.
It all depends on how many guests have to travel. If most/all of your guests are local it's totally fine. If I had to fly or drive a long way I probably would not attend a Friday night wedding unless it was a really god friend or family member.
It really all depends. We're having a Friday wedding, and will probably lose a lot of our guests because of it (many of our guests have to travel). But, for us, it was the only feasible option. If you have a lot of OOT guests and it doesn't make too much of a difference if it's Fri or Sat, I'd go with Saturday, just because it's easier on most of the guests.
I think a lot of it depends on how local most of your guests are. It's a bit harder to do a Friday night wedding if people have to fly in--they'll probably want to schedule plenty of time in case of delays and such. If everyone is pretty local though, it sounds like it'd be a great option! It sounds special to the both of you and it's a great way to save some $$! Ultimately, it's your decision though so I say go for what you want!
I went to my first Friday night wedding last summer and at first I was really turned off by the idea, but now I love it. The wedding was so much fun and then we had all day Saturday to hang out with family and friends and bbq. It was relaxing and kind of a mini vacation. I say go for it!
Thanks, ladies! I added to the original post that most guests are close. I hadn't even thought of that because of how few are really travelling.
I almost had a Friday night wedding, but my high maintenence groom was against it for no clear reason. Most of our guests are coming in during the day Friday so it would be a big deal. I have a coworker who loved getting married on Friday because it allowed them more time with their guests and their guests had more time to enjoy the location both Sat and Sun. I think if could could get married on your date-aversary that's pretty ideal! I say go for it, people who want to attend your wedding will make it on whichever day you pick :)
Friday night weddings can be a little bit of a headache for guests. When I go to a Friday night wedding, I have to take the day off or at least a half day in order to get ready. As a guest Saturday night is much easier, but I do understand that in some cases that a Friday night wedding is better for the bride and groom. Also traffic on a Friday night during rush hour can be brutal. My FSIL's wedding started over an hour late because the groom's mother was in the limo and stuck in traffic. This caused them to lose an hour at the reception. Just something to think about. One other thing to think of is for people with children a lot might have to miss the ceremony because they will have to wait for their babysitters who may work.
If I live close by, I would actually prefer a Friday night wedding. Then I have the rest of my weekend to do things I actually like/choose to do (not that I don't like weddings, but I like not having plans on Saturday/Sunday to go away on a whim if I want, and attending a wedding is more like something you "have" to do).
If I live more than one hour away and the wedding is very early in the evening, I might not come, though... You need to let your guests have enough time to get ready...
I totally get why people do Friday night weddings. Although if I found out it was *just* to have a certain date I might be slightly annoyed... but if I always assume its to cut costs and that is 100% cool with me. Now, that doesn't mean I'll definitely go. If I couldn't take a half day or a full day depending on where it was, I might not be able to. But I wouldn't be upset. And for the most part if it was a family member or a good friend I would make every effort to be there.
@roxy821: lol at traffic. The saying around here is that a traffic jam is five cars stuck behind a tractor...
@egb: Getting ready time was the other thing I was thinking about. Since it's outdoors and July, having a later ceremony would actually make the best sense. But then I worry people will be starving till it's time to eat. I was thinking we could do bridal party/formal pictures before the ceremony so there won't be a gap.
@Amaryllis: Friday night weddings can be fun if you take a couple of precautions.
You already noted that your guests are fairly local. That's a good start!
This past Friday, I attended a wedding in which the ceremony began at 6:00. That was a pain because I get off work at 5:00. Can you say "Friday rush hour?" If the ceremony had been at 7:00 or 7:30, I'd have had no issue at all with it.
As for being a guest, I wore a dress with a cardigan to work that day and pack some hairspray, makeup and heels. After work, I took off the cardigan, put on the heels, fixed up my makeup and touched up my hair with hairspray, and I was good to go! So your guests don't really need all day to get ready. :)
Friday weddings save a TON of money, and if the date is so special to you and your FI, I think you should do it! :)
Friday night wedding. Im totally cool with it.. because if i get invited to a wedding, i make sure with hell or highwater that i make an absolute definite to get there. Thats just me tho. I even had to take the day before to get to one wedding to travel (i lived 4hrs drive away) as long as you give people plenty of notice its great!
Pics beforehand is a very good idea. Or, as I've seen many times, you can have some food for the guests that serve as appetizers while you take your pictures, it helps not to starve before dinner... as long as it's not too late by then.
Unless you want to have a less formal affair, have the ceremony later (like, 7:30-8:00 ish) in the evening, and it's mostly a dessert/dancing reception. I'd find that pretty cool.
I'm biased, as I'm doing a Friday night wedding...but I think it's a great idea! As someone else mentioned, you then have the whole weekend to recover/spend time with people. We're starting our ceremony at 6:30/7 so it should give people enough time to get there if they're working that day.
I say "yay". I don't have a problem with them. I might not make it to the ceremony, though.
i think it's fine if you're doing it to save money. but i'm also not sure i would make it to the ceremony. as a guest, i would also appreciate it if you started the wedding as late as possible (7-730 would be great!).
I'm perfectly fine with Friday night weddings.
Do what you gotta do!
I really don't mind whatever night people choose to have their weddings as long as it isn't a Wednesday. My friends are scattered all over the world, so a wedding always requires me to travel. I will attend a local wedding for the first time this year.
I've attended a Friday wedding before, and ours will be on a Friday as well. Like previous posters already said, you'll just have to expect that some people will be late or not able to make it, and if you are ok with that then go for it. For us it wasn't a huge negative since it helps trim the guest list. 
If you make sure that your wedding party is on schedule, I think that is the most important part. We're taking our pictures before the ceremony and just a few after, and feeding our guests appetizers during that time.
A few people will be late, and there will be a few grumbles, but really there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Friday wedding.
Our wedding is on a Friday. Our ceremony is at 3:30pm and yes I know a lot of people will not be able to attend. But for me this is actually ideal, because I really only want to my close family and friends there for this. I don't like having the spotlight on me. If others chose to take the day of work to come to the ceremony, then great. But I know it will be limited to the few who really want to be there, and honestly thats what I want. Now our cocktail hour doesn't begin until 6:30pm, with dinner at 7:30pm... so that part should be no problem for all of our guests.
Our Friday wedding is also our date-aversary. 
Honestly, I think they are fine. If you know going into it that there will be people who can't make it, then it's fine. As a guest, I have no issue taking off work if I can, but it's about timing. I think save the dates are imperative for Friday weddings.
Is it the most convenient thing ever to go to a Friday wedding? No. But it's someone's wedding. It doesn't make it less important.
I'm having my wedding at 6:30 on a friday night! Quite a few of FI family and 2 of my bridesmaids are out of town too. But we checked with all of them and they were fine with it. I've always rathered evening weddings and our church doesnt do saturday evenings so we said to heck with it and scheduled it for friday! I think evening weddings are way more romantic and get you more in the mood to have a good time! We figure whoever can make it will come and if they cant oh well. I went to a wedding this past weekend that started at 1(the ceremony was GORGEOUS might i add) and the reception was from 2-6. Everyone was drinking having a good time and then 6 rolled around and we were all like ok now that everyones in party mode and its early...now what? lol but i live in louisiana and we're all young so of course we're gonna think like that haha.
@Amaryllis:You could also have some welcome snacks, if you're worried people will be hungry when they get there. I know i'm usually starving by 6pm! Maybe light refreshments (signature lemonade?) and something to nibble on would take the edge off for people coming straight from work and be a nice way to welcome everyone?
If I were coming from out of town I would probably only attend if you were family or a really close friend. Even if I were in town, it would really depend on the time. I get off work at 4:30 (FI doesn't get off until 5)... home around 5:30 (he gets home closer to 6)... then have to get a shower and get ready so if we're super quick we'll say done at 6:30, then have to fight rush hour traffic back into the city and hopefully be back into town by 7 (just trying to give you some timing examples) That makes for a stressful Friday night! But really it's up to you guys, I'm just giving my perspective.
I'm not a fan under the circumstances where a good chunk of the guests are travelling, but it seems totally fine in your case.
I had a Friday night wedding with mostly in town guest. Everyone was able to make it. I did have maybe 10 who had to travel, but they didn't seem to mind. I'd do it again.
I don't like Friday weddings. If I'm traveling, I have to take off a day of work. If I'm not traveling, unless the wedding is later or right next to my house, I need to leave work early to let my dog out, change, and get to where the wedding is. Obviously, FI needs to do the same.
We thought about a friday night wedding too. There were a lot of reasons for us not picking that day. One major one was that people would have to travel in Friday afternoon work traffic to get to the wedding. My mom said that she went to a Friday night wedding and it took them 2 hours to get there when it should have taken 1 hr due to all the traffic. Another other issue with Friday night is will your bridal party be able to make it to a rehearsal on a weeknight (like that Thursday night for example)?
We ended up picking Sunday so we could have the rehearsal on Sat evening, then the wedding Sunday afternoon and locals can avoid major traffic on Sunday morning. If people need to leave the wedding early to get home before it gets late, then that's what they will have to do and we completely understand.
I have to say that I LOVE Friday night weddings. It's a perfect excuse for me to take a vacation day to pamper myself. I never get a mani/pedi, so when a Friday night wedding comes along, I splurge! I take the day off and go to a spa...then take my time getting ready for the wedding. So I always love when they come along! Yay for Friday night weddings!
I guess I should add that the reason we chose to have the reception on a Friday night was because we were leaving on a cruise that left Saturday morning. So I don't know if I would have done it otherwise, but like I said it worked out perfectly.
We are getting married on a Friday, New years eve, so it'a a little different, but here's my thoughts:
Friday nights are cheaper. I'm not having a budget wedding by any means, but 10% off of alot is alot!
I work in the wedding industry as do many of my guests. Not everyone is off on the weekends so a Saturday wedding is an inconveience as well.
Saturday afternoon weddings were always a pain in the butt for me. I rather night time weddings and quite honestly, Friday or Saturday night, nothing changes for us.
70% of our guests are travelling. Our wedding is starting at 8pm. If you cant leave work a little early to go to a wedding, then that's unfortunate for you.
Local, destination, weekday or weekend, if you invite me to your wedding, I try to attend. If I can't then I don't send well wishes and a gift. I never expect mthe bride and groom to plan their wedding around me, and I wouldhope my guests think the smae.
Weddings are about celebrating the joining of two people, theiir lives and their families. Not about anything else. That's just my opinion.
I personally don't mind them and welcome the opportunity to take a few hours off work.
I think as long as you realize that some people may not be able to or willing to take time off work to attend the wedding, you may get some no's or late shows.
I think friday weddings are fine. In my town, it is so much less expensive and seems to make a lot of financial sense. My venue would have been $4,000 cheaper to rent if we had chosen a friday instead. If I were traveling, or worried about traffic, i would take the time off and make the necessary arrangements, especially if it were for someone I was close with.
Our wedding is at 5:30 on a Friday night, it just kind of happened to fall onto a Friday with the church and venue schedule, we lucked out and are saving a ton of $ in return. We have a lot of out of town guests that will have to take time off, but we are also aware that they may not fly out for the wedding because of that, and that we accept.
In your particular scenario because most guests are local to 45mins away I think a Friday night wedding is totally fine.
Most people can work an extra hour or so during the week to leave work early on Friday.
I think it's a no biggie and agree the date tie in is a cute touch!
I voted 'Nay' because if I had to travel to a wedding, I would be upset bummed that I'd have to take that day off of work, when typically I wouldn't have to do that for a Saturday wedding. And if I was local, I'd hate to be rushed to get ready and get to your wedding after a long week at work. I probably wouldn't have as much energy to party at the reception either.
I voted Nay (but it's not like I wouldn't go to a friend's wedding on a Friday).
Sometimes I can get stuck late at work on Fridays or get stuck in traffic, or have developed a headache that won't go away, so I like to have Friday evenings to decompress and just relax after the work week.
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