I know some pros and cons of a Sunday wedding - but as a guest or a bride, what's your take on it? Does the party break up early since Monday is a work day for many (about half the guests will be OOT). Ceremony is planned for 5:00 pm with reception immediately following.
We're doing a Sunday wedding, but most of our guests are from out of town so we figured they would either need to take Friday or Monday off for traveling anyway.
As for the in-town guests, I feel a little bad that some might need to take Monday off, but mostly for those people who I'm not as close to as other guests.
Personally, if I were thinking from a guest standpoint I wouldn't be entirely happy about taking a vacation day for a work acquaintances wedding, but if it was a close friend or family member, I'd be much more obliging.
You know what? People stay up past their bedtimes all the time for much less important reasons than a wedding! But if most of your guests are from out of town it would be more considerate of you to hold the wedding on the Sunday of a holiday weekend so they have Monday off anyway. It doesn't have to be a major holiday like Thanksgiving. Mine is the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend, and I chose it specifically for that reason.
I just had a Sunday wedding (Sept. 21st.) I did have a few guest that left early. Like right after dinner! Our ceremony started at 4 followed by cocktail hr and then dinner. But I think it was due to the fact that they realized it was not going to be a typical wedding of my culture. And they probably knew they were not going to enjoy it. They were mostly my parent's friends. My husband and I are 26 and 28. So our friends are our age. We all love to party so the fact that it was on a Sunday did not bother us one bit. Even if it did they did not show it. We only had a handful of guest that were from out of town. Two were older adults that are long retired so they didn't have to think about taking time off of work. Another guest is well off so she could take as many days or months that she want off. The rest my husband and I are super close to so they made sure to take time off for us no matter what day our wedding fell on.
Our wedding was 4-9pm. I have a client that got married on a sunday also. She said some people started to leave around 7:30.
I'm sorry if this is not the type of answer you wanted to hear. But we heard that everybody enjoyed themselves. BONUS we did not have to pay the DJ or vendor staffs for overtime.
We're having a destination Sunday wedding and people are going to have to take a day off work anyways so it really doesn't matter if it is Friday or Monday (besides, who wants to go to work on Monday anyways??).
We are having the rehersal dinner Friday night and then planning some fun activities for Saturday. We wanted to have a weekend wedding celebration.
Also, vendors have been more willing to negotiate with us because this is not a typical Friday or Saturday wedding and they normally would not even have business on this day!
One cautionary on holiday weekend weddings... airline travel and hotels raise their prices cause it is a holiday weekend and many people travel. Also, some vendors tack on an extra fee for holiday weekends. If you are having it in a "vacation" city or area, it will also be more packed that weekend. Just some things to think about!
I think sunday weddings are more popular these days, but most of the Sunday events I've been to start a little earlier so guests don't have the need to leave early.
Honestly, as a guest, I wouldn't be thrilled about going to a Sunday evening wedding - especially if I had to drive a great distance to get there. Like pinkparfait said, can you make it a bit earlier in the day?
My wedding will be at 5pm and we are planning on going until at least 10pm, probably later for guests that want to stay and party. I'm guessing your OOT guests that stay late will probably be taking Monday off work? I'd feel bad about that. But if it doesn't bother you or your guests - go for it! It's all about what works for you.
I'm actually going to one this Sunday and it starts at 2 which is pretty considerate of them. You might want to consider changing your start time. The last wedding I went to was also a Sunday and we left earlier than we would have (but after dessert) since we had about an hour drive home.
Do I prefer Saturday night over any other time for a wedding, absolutely, but you have to do what's best for you and your family. If people want to be there, they'll make the effort.
A wedding I attended this year was a Sunday wedding. Fi and I went, but we did leave early . We didn't drink too much, and we missed the dancing.
Fi and I are having a Sunday wedding during Memorial Weekend. I'm hoping since it's a holiday weekend, and most people should have that Monday off, that it will be treated like a Saturday evening.
I agree with the thought that people stay up later for other reasons. The Superbowl runs late into the evening and that doesn't seem to keep too many people from going to work the next day. And you know people like to party for that occassion.
You may have some earlier exiters, but I think most of the guests would stick around and celebrate with you.
My wedding is on a Sunday but its Columbus Day weekend. I never thought I would do a Sunday wedding but it was a lot cheaper so we saved a few thousand dollars. Seriously. Sure some guests may not be happy but a lot of our guests are out of town so they would have taken Friday off if we had a Saturday wedding. So I don't think it really matters as long as the bride and groom are happy. Its your wedding do whatever you want!! Good luck!
we also had our wedding on a sunday, but we made it a luncheon so that the festivities started at 11 and ended by 4. this worked out well for several reasons:
1. our OOT guests were still able to catch flights in the evening so they didn't have to take any days off.
2. our local guests were able to party and drink as much as they wanted and still have plenty of time to go home, sober up, and get to bed so that they could make it to work the next day without being horribly hungover.
3. despite the fact that our reception was held in the afternoon, people did dance and drink, especially since the selection of drinks was AWESOME.
that being said, i'm all for sunday daytime weddings but i am not a big fan of sunday evening weddings. of course when it's someone important to me, i make the effort to attend but there are lots of important people in my life! from close family members to college best friends to old family friends...if i had an unlimited number of vacation days, i'd love to be there for ALL of these people. however, the honest truth is that my budget and job does not allow for that. and i always hate when brides assume that you can make a vacation out of their wedding (when it is not local for me). why are you assuming your wedding destination is a place i would have wanted to vacation at? i find that a lot of brides are horrified when you tell them you can't take the day off for their wedding. "BUT IT'S MY WEDDING, IT'S ONCE IN A LIFETIME! I GAVE YOU SIX MONTH'S NOTICE THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO TAKE THE DAY OFF!" umm okay but your six month's notice doesn't do anything for my vacation policy, it's not like i magically get more days because of it.
also, i wouldn't assume that all OOT guests would be taking days off anyway. if a wedding is on a saturday, i try to take the last flight out friday or first flight out on saturday morning so that i don't have to take any days off. plus, that minimizes hotel and car expenses as well.
sorry for the rant. i think it is perfectly acceptable and reasonable for brides to do what works best for them! they should just be gracious and understanding when they find out guests can't make it.
Yes, people do sometimes stay up late on Sundays, but I have been to two Sunday weddings, one in-town one out-of-town and both were more subdued than Saturday wedding. People do have to work the next day and don't have limitless days off - you might have 5 very close friends/family getting married in a year so that would be one week of vacation if each required a day off!
For the out-of-town one, even though they started at 3, we had to leave early to catch the last flight out. My husband had just started a new job and was just plain out of vacation days. At the other one, we stayed through most of it, but it was just a different vibe.
That said, both weddings were beautiful and I had no problem as a guest with them being on a Sunday. Earlier is more considerate so those people that need to be at work the next day can celebrate and still get home in time. I think expecting people to take a day off for your wedding is a bit much, unless you are only inviting a very small group.
I know some pros and cons of a Sunday wedding - but as a guest or a bride, what's your take on it? Does the party break up early since Monday is a work day for many (about half the guests will be OOT). Ceremony is planned for 5:00 pm with reception immediately following.
posted by Surgie 56 posts 2 months agoWe're doing a Sunday wedding, but most of our guests are from out of town so we figured they would either need to take Friday or Monday off for traveling anyway.
As for the in-town guests, I feel a little bad that some might need to take Monday off, but mostly for those people who I'm not as close to as other guests.
Personally, if I were thinking from a guest standpoint I wouldn't be entirely happy about taking a vacation day for a work acquaintances wedding, but if it was a close friend or family member, I'd be much more obliging.
posted by theartofliving 20 posts 2 months agoYou know what? People stay up past their bedtimes all the time for much less important reasons than a wedding! But if most of your guests are from out of town it would be more considerate of you to hold the wedding on the Sunday of a holiday weekend so they have Monday off anyway. It doesn't have to be a major holiday like Thanksgiving. Mine is the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend, and I chose it specifically for that reason.
posted by CarolineG 284 posts 2 months agoI just had a Sunday wedding (Sept. 21st.) I did have a few guest that left early. Like right after dinner! Our ceremony started at 4 followed by cocktail hr and then dinner. But I think it was due to the fact that they realized it was not going to be a typical wedding of my culture. And they probably knew they were not going to enjoy it. They were mostly my parent's friends. My husband and I are 26 and 28. So our friends are our age. We all love to party so the fact that it was on a Sunday did not bother us one bit. Even if it did they did not show it.
We only had a handful of guest that were from out of town. Two were older adults that are long retired so they didn't have to think about taking time off of work. Another guest is well off so she could take as many days or months that she want off. The rest my husband and I are super close to so they made sure to take time off for us no matter what day our wedding fell on.
Our wedding was 4-9pm. I have a client that got married on a sunday also. She said some people started to leave around 7:30.
I'm sorry if this is not the type of answer you wanted to hear.
But we heard that everybody enjoyed themselves. BONUS we did not have to pay the DJ or vendor staffs for overtime.
posted by NorCalBride 307 posts 2 months agoGo for a Sunday wedding!!!
We're having a destination Sunday wedding and people are going to have to take a day off work anyways so it really doesn't matter if it is Friday or Monday (besides, who wants to go to work on Monday anyways??).
We are having the rehersal dinner Friday night and then planning some fun activities for Saturday. We wanted to have a weekend wedding celebration.
Also, vendors have been more willing to negotiate with us because this is not a typical Friday or Saturday wedding and they normally would not even have business on this day!
One cautionary on holiday weekend weddings... airline travel and hotels raise their prices cause it is a holiday weekend and many people travel. Also, some vendors tack on an extra fee for holiday weekends. If you are having it in a "vacation" city or area, it will also be more packed that weekend. Just some things to think about!
posted by LittleBear 80 posts 2 months agoI think sunday weddings are more popular these days, but most of the Sunday events I've been to start a little earlier so guests don't have the need to leave early.
posted by pinkparfait 72 posts 2 months agoHonestly, as a guest, I wouldn't be thrilled about going to a Sunday evening wedding - especially if I had to drive a great distance to get there. Like pinkparfait said, can you make it a bit earlier in the day?
My wedding will be at 5pm and we are planning on going until at least 10pm, probably later for guests that want to stay and party. I'm guessing your OOT guests that stay late will probably be taking Monday off work? I'd feel bad about that. But if it doesn't bother you or your guests - go for it! It's all about what works for you.
posted by carly7215 67 posts 2 months agoI'm actually going to one this Sunday and it starts at 2 which is pretty considerate of them. You might want to consider changing your start time. The last wedding I went to was also a Sunday and we left earlier than we would have (but after dessert) since we had about an hour drive home.
Do I prefer Saturday night over any other time for a wedding, absolutely, but you have to do what's best for you and your family. If people want to be there, they'll make the effort.
posted by Habibi 113 posts 2 months agoA wedding I attended this year was a Sunday wedding. Fi and I went, but we did leave early . We didn't drink too much, and we missed the dancing.
Fi and I are having a Sunday wedding during Memorial Weekend. I'm hoping since it's a holiday weekend, and most people should have that Monday off, that it will be treated like a Saturday evening.
posted by reesey 68 posts 2 months agoI agree with the thought that people stay up later for other reasons. The Superbowl runs late into the evening and that doesn't seem to keep too many people from going to work the next day. And you know people like to party for that occassion.
You may have some earlier exiters, but I think most of the guests would stick around and celebrate with you.
posted by jkl216 48 posts 2 months agoMy wedding is on a Sunday but its Columbus Day weekend. I never thought I would do a Sunday wedding but it was a lot cheaper so we saved a few thousand dollars. Seriously. Sure some guests may not be happy but a lot of our guests are out of town so they would have taken Friday off if we had a Saturday wedding. So I don't think it really matters as long as the bride and groom are happy. Its your wedding do whatever you want!! Good luck!
posted by MsJoe 11 posts 2 months agowe also had our wedding on a sunday, but we made it a luncheon so that the festivities started at 11 and ended by 4. this worked out well for several reasons:
1. our OOT guests were still able to catch flights in the evening so they didn't have to take any days off.
2. our local guests were able to party and drink as much as they wanted and still have plenty of time to go home, sober up, and get to bed so that they could make it to work the next day without being horribly hungover.
3. despite the fact that our reception was held in the afternoon, people did dance and drink, especially since the selection of drinks was AWESOME.
that being said, i'm all for sunday daytime weddings but i am not a big fan of sunday evening weddings. of course when it's someone important to me, i make the effort to attend but there are lots of important people in my life! from close family members to college best friends to old family friends...if i had an unlimited number of vacation days, i'd love to be there for ALL of these people. however, the honest truth is that my budget and job does not allow for that. and i always hate when brides assume that you can make a vacation out of their wedding (when it is not local for me). why are you assuming your wedding destination is a place i would have wanted to vacation at? i find that a lot of brides are horrified when you tell them you can't take the day off for their wedding. "BUT IT'S MY WEDDING, IT'S ONCE IN A LIFETIME! I GAVE YOU SIX MONTH'S NOTICE THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO TAKE THE DAY OFF!" umm okay but your six month's notice doesn't do anything for my vacation policy, it's not like i magically get more days because of it.
also, i wouldn't assume that all OOT guests would be taking days off anyway. if a wedding is on a saturday, i try to take the last flight out friday or first flight out on saturday morning so that i don't have to take any days off. plus, that minimizes hotel and car expenses as well.
sorry for the rant. i think it is perfectly acceptable and reasonable for brides to do what works best for them! they should just be gracious and understanding when they find out guests can't make it.
posted by emileee 123 posts 2 months agoYes, people do sometimes stay up late on Sundays, but I have been to two Sunday weddings, one in-town one out-of-town and both were more subdued than Saturday wedding. People do have to work the next day and don't have limitless days off - you might have 5 very close friends/family getting married in a year so that would be one week of vacation if each required a day off!
For the out-of-town one, even though they started at 3, we had to leave early to catch the last flight out. My husband had just started a new job and was just plain out of vacation days. At the other one, we stayed through most of it, but it was just a different vibe.
That said, both weddings were beautiful and I had no problem as a guest with them being on a Sunday. Earlier is more considerate so those people that need to be at work the next day can celebrate and still get home in time. I think expecting people to take a day off for your wedding is a bit much, unless you are only inviting a very small group.
posted by Janna19 344 posts 2 months ago