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Friday weddings - a few questions and a poll!

posted 6 months ago in Reception
  • poll: Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday?
    Yes - start at 6:30 : (17 votes)
    31 %
    Oui - start at 7 : (27 votes)
    49 %
    Ja - start at 730 : (8 votes)
    15 %
    Go for Saturday somewhere else! : (3 votes)
    5 %
  •  
    1.
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    Helper bee
    MrsCreeToBe    July 20, 2013  

    So, I found a venue that I absolutely fell in love with. Of course we simply can't afford a Saturday night. We're considering having a Friday night wedding just to secure this place, But I have some nagging concerns....

    1. Are Friday night weddings still taboo? Maybe not taboo per se, but looked down upon?

    2. We can start the ceremony anytime between six and 7:30 PM if we want. Six seems too early because people have work but was 730 they'll be eating pretty late...which is more desirable for a Friday? Also if we had it at six, reception ends at 1130...early!

    3. If we did a 7 PM ceremony, the reception would end at 12:30. Is that too early? Should I push for 1 am?

    Need some help wise bees!! Xoxo

     
    2.
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    Buzzing bee
    MLDoddie    June 2013  

    I think that a Friday from 7 - 12:30 would be perfect!!!

     
    3.
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    2,390 posts
    Buzzing bee
    MissHobbit       

    I don't think Friday weddings are taboo. I think they're slightly inconvinent, but not unreasonable. I think if you do have a Friday wedding, it should be as late as possible, though. 

     
    4.
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    MissAsB    June 6, 2009   Married in CO, Living in AL

    I think Friday weddings are fie.  Starting the ceremony later would probably be a good idea so people have enough time to travel and things like that.  The reception ending at 12:30 depends on your crowd of people.  We were home and in bed by 11 at our wedding but we aren't late night partiers.

     
    5.
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    Helper bee
    MrsJJC    July 27, 2012   Seattle, WA

    We started our Friday wedding at 6:30pm -- worked out just fine!

     
    6.
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    Buzzing bee
    juliette.eliza    July 21, 2012   Petaluma, CA

    Friday is great so long as your guests don't have to travel too far of a distance to attend.  For example, the average travel time for my guests was 2 hours-- not awesome after a long day of work.  But if everone is local, it's no big deal.  

     

    As for timing, especaily on a friday-- I think your end times look fine. 

     
    7.
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    Blushing bee
    MrsB22    April 19, 2013   Baltimore

    We are having a Friday wedding for the same reasons loved the venue but couldn't afford the Saturday prices. We are starting at 6 but our ceremony as at is outside. So if you're doing or want to take pictures outside think about what time the sun is going to set.

    I also think that for a Friday wedding, since people have to be dressed and at your ceremony pretty early, most people will probably have to take at least a half day of work. So if you want to start a little earlier than 6:30 I don't think it would be a major issue.

     
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    Busy bee
    maplemag    June 28, 2014   Minneapolis- Disneyland wedding!

    It really depends on your crowd and traffic in your city.

    Do you know if most people will be coming from work? Is your crowd the type that needs 2+hours to prep for an event?

    I attended a Friday wedding years back and it was so inconvienent! Getting to some obscure part of Long Island during rush hour traffic from the city was a nightmare. 

    Good luck!

     
    9.
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    Helper bee
    Miss.GrahamCracker    August 23, 2013   NY wedding in CA

    I think it's your wedding and you guys should do whatever works for you. I don't think it will be a problem to have a start time of 630 at all. We are having a Friday wedding and are having our ceremony start at 5 or 530 (haven't decided yet). We are sending save the dates out 6 months in advance I think our guests will be able to adjust their work schedules as needed if they want to be there. You can never please everyone so just please yourselves and your majorly important weddings guests (if possible). Everything always works out :)

     
    10.
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    Sugar bee
    6598731ssfse3    November 16, 2012  

    I've gone to a wedding on a Friday and I am having a Friday wedding of my own! I didn't mind going to the Friday wedding. It was local and started at 7pm I believe so I had time after work to get ready. They had snacks for the guests so I wasn't feeling starved by dinnertime. My Friday wedding is at 4pm, however mine is also a destination wedding so nobody would be coming straight from work...

    I think if you make it clear what day of the week and time it is (Example: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.) on the invitation people will find a way to work around it. They can have a snack at home while getting ready or bring dress clothes to work to change into, etc.

     
    11.
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    492 posts
    Helper bee
    Wellington Bride    January 11, 2013   Wellington, New Zealand

    We are having a Friday wedding, it starts at 3:30. Reception goes til midnight. Most people will still be on holiday and those who aren't don't seem to mind having the day off :) 

     
    12.
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    Buzzing bee
    ChemistryBride    June 2012  

    My Friday ceremony started at 5pm, and I had no complaints, however a huge portion of my guests were OOT (as in 4+ hours).

     
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    abbie017    March 16, 2013  

    I live in a very high-traffic city, where the traffic is a nightmare until 7 or 730, so honestly, I would be a bit annoyed with a wedding if it were in a place with bad traffic patterns. 

    If you're set on a Friday wedding, I would start as late as possible so people have time to get home from work and change.  I think a 7 pm wedding would be accepable, but starting earlier than that gets a little iffy

     
    14.
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    210 posts
    Helper bee
    Songbird29    September 14, 2012  

    We had a Friday wedding!  It was the only date available at the venue we both fell in love with, PLUS it was that little bit cheaper for having it on a Friday!  I've also been to Friday weddings, and as long as I have enough notice it's no problem for me to take a day or a half day off of work, and I have always found it a lovely way to start my weekend!  Is it inconvenient for some people?  I don't think we had one guest complain...If they did it was all in fun :)  Bottom line, the people who really want to be there will find a way. 

     
    15.
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    Sugar bee
    Nona99    April 25, 2008   Colorado

    There's a lot to consider if your going to do a Friday wedding, but just to get you started:

    How many guests, how far they have to come, and what they're expected to wear.

    Friday weddings certainly aren't taboo, and I wouldn't look down on anyone for having one as long as the expectations were reasonable.  Since most people have to work and taking a day off for a wedding that isn't yours or that of a close relative seems to be too much, I always appreciate having a place that is nearby and having ample time to get out of work mode and into wedding mode. 

    I don't know about everyone else, but I look like hell when I get home from work, seriously, I work a desk job but when I walk in the door you would think I get paid to wrestle lions or something...I need a chance to get out of my office attack stance, certainly get a shower, get all pretty and change clothes at least three times while Mr. 99 waits downstairs talking to the cat about how, "We never rush Mommy, NEVER EVER!"

    So as long as my hosts are generous and understanding with those elements, we can all be excited and enjoy the ceremony and reception as a lovely start to the weekend.

     
    16.
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    Helper bee
    waitingwonderland    August 1, 2013   wedding in Northern California

    My friend had a friday wedding, the time wasn't an issue for us because it was already out of town, so we had to fly in that morning anyway. But I did notice that a lot of the locals were late. She had about 10% of her guests standing at the back of the ceremony because they arrived after it had started. Granted, I think it also depends on how hard it is to get to and park at your location. Hers was a 20 min drive up a winding mountain and then up a couple flights of steps, so if you were running late there were no breaks... 

     
    17.
    988 posts
    Busy bee
    VAwife    August 1, 2011  

    For Friday weddings, it really is the later the better. Start as late as you can and have light refreshments available before the ceremony.

     
    18.
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    1,805 posts
    Buzzing bee
    KimmySumShuga    September 21, 2012   Newport Beach, California

    @MrsCreeToBe:  I had a friday wedding and the latest we were allowed to start was 6:30 but I TOTALLY would have started later if I could have because people do work until 6 and with traffic and changing & etc I would have loved to have a 7:30 start...

    I do NOT think they are taboo but understand the eating late so I think 7 might be best... does that mean a 7:30 dinner or an 8 o'clock dinner?

    I would make it as late as possible because even though I pushed to have it at 6:30, people still took the day off work to come (which I had hoped to avoid) and it made me feel guilty for having a Friday night wedding...

    My vote was for 7PM...
    I wouldn't worry about how late the night will go, more about how early it will start. Some people will be there to party all night but don't be surprised if people leave early because they're tired from working all day... my venue was a yacht so everyone was TRAPPED so I didn't experience the "early leavers" but its something to consider as well...

     
    19.
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    Buzzing bee
    MissFireFlower    May 5, 2013  

    I'd say 7. That's enough time for FI to change and us to drive 30 minutes to a location

     

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