Post # 1
Member
31 posts
Newbee
Is this idea tacky or silly ?????
My fiance’ and I are wanting a late summer, early fall wedding. We have both been married before, so I don’t want a full-blown big church wedding, but I’m not willing to just run off to the courthouse either. I still want this day to be special, however we are on a tight budget as we will be paying for everything ourselves, and I don’t want to spend a fortune. So here’s my idea …. An all-in-one wedding, reception, honeymoon location. I was thinking of renting a beach house for a week. We could have the ceremony on the beach on Friday evening (say 7ish) with a “dessert and dancing” reception afterwards (which would cut costs dramatically if we don’t serve dinner). We would then have the rest of the weekend, as well as a few extra days at the beach house for a honeymoon.
So my question: Is this a silly idea? Is it tacky to only have a “dessert & dancing” reception? Is 7:00 on Friday night too late? And is it late enough to avoid having to serve dinner? (Ok, so I have a lot of questions I guess 🙂
My fiance’ of course just simply says “whatever you want” so I could really use some opinions. Please be honest with your thoughts, I’d really appreciate it.
Post # 3
Member
396 posts
Helper bee
I love the idea!!! HOW NICE! you will just have to make sure other guests don’t decide to stay too and crash your honeymoon LOL. Nope, Dessert and dancing is just fine. It’s cute. It’s a nice way to celebrate the event without a massive to-do and bill!!
Post # 4
Member
1729 posts
Bumble bee
Sounds pretty awesome to me! Beach weddings in the fall are amazing.
Post # 5
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13012 posts
Honey Beekeeper
I think it sounds fine! 7 is iffy as to whether people will expect dinner, but make it clear on the invitation with “Dessert Reception” to follow or something, and people should figure it out.
Are many of your guests going to travel to be there? That’s my only reservation with Friday weddings. 7 is late enough for local people to get off work, but may inconvenience some who have to travel, if that’s an issue.
Post # 6
Member
951 posts
Busy bee
Tacky? No. I’ve been to really fun booze-free weddings and 7pm is not too late. I’d suggest having more than just dessert for your guests to eat. Nobody wants to leave a wedding feeling hungry, and I’m personally more of a food-lover than a dessert-lover. I have a savory tooth rather than a sweet tooth. Maybe think about hordeurves(sp?) or a small buffet.
Can the beach house accomodate the ceremony and reception inside in case the weather is bad?
Post # 7
Member
31 posts
Newbee
@abbie017: Nearly everyone on the guestlist is local (within an hour), so my thought was 7 was late enough for them to not have to leave work early, yet not too late for the older attendees
Post # 8
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2390 posts
Buzzing bee
I think it’s a great idea, but not late enough. If it starts at 7, people will start arriving at 6:30. Factor in driving and getting ready – people aren’t going to be able to eat dinner. If I go to a 7:00 ceremony, I’m definitely expecting dinner, since 7:30-8 is dinner time. I think you need to push the ceremony to 8:30 at the earliest if you only want to serve dessert.
Or, even better, have a morning wedding followed by a tea – very traditional and low-cost.
ETA: Just saw your update. If everyone’s local and you’re expecting them to come after work on a Friday, then there’s no way 7:00 will work. When are people supposed to eat? And how do they have time to go home and get ready? I’m not wearing work clothes to a wedding.
Post # 10
Member
44 posts
Newbee
I think this sounds like a perfect second wedding. Having a destination wedding prevents people who really aren’t that important from coming, so you’ll have just your closest friends and family. If I were invited to a 7:00 PM wedding ceremony, I would not expect dinner, but I would make sure you specify “please join us for dessert and dancing” so that your guests aresn’t surprised (or starving). COngratulations! Your wedding will be fabulous!
Post # 11
Member
31 posts
Newbee
@CorvusCorax: Funny thing is, I’m not a dessert eater either, but my fiance’ has a huge sweet tooth, along with a majority of the guest list. However, I’m not opposed to having some other snacky foods (pinwheels, meatballs, things of that nature)
I think we should be able to make the house work in the event of bad weather, but let’s hope that isn’t necessary 🙂
Post # 12
Member
2390 posts
Buzzing bee
Saturday would work much better.
Post # 13
Member
3567 posts
Sugar bee
I agree with everyone else! No, it’s not tacky and just make sure you specify that it is a dessert reception! Have fun!
Post # 14
Member
2906 posts
Sugar bee
I think it sounds good, with a couple of things to keep in mind:
Make sure the people you’re renting the house from are okay with you having a party there! There might be a homeowner’s association with rules about big gatherings/noise/etc. Will there be enough parking for everyone?
And I’d add a significant amount of non-sweet appetizer food. Like, a cheese plate and crackers, veggies and dip, meatballs, some puff pastry things, maybe little sandwiches. I don’t think you need to serve a full meal, but if someone gets out of work at 5 pm, has to go home and get changed and then drive to your wedding, they might not have time for dinner. You can hit up Sam’s Club or Costco or something similar and get a bunch of frozen appetizer items that you can just pop into the oven after the ceremony! I love dessert, but I hate it when I’m hungry and all that’s available is a ton of dessert, since I’ll eat a ton of it to try to fill up and then get a nasty sugar crash.
Post # 15
Member
11752 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
Not tacky at all. I think you should start a bit later if it’s dessert only, maybe 8:30? Or, just make it clear onthe invite that dinner won’t be served.
Post # 16
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4436 posts
Honey bee
I think it sounds great! Depending on the demographics of your group, 7pm sounds fine to me! We have a 16month old, so that would be a late night for us! lol
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