Wedding is 10/22/2023. I was quite proud of myself for planning a 60-person wedding for about $16K. Our community clubhouse was the venue. Catering was our highest cost at $4500. Had a DJ, photographer & bartender lined up — the works. Our website is up. E-invitations went out at the end of May since people have to travel. (Still too early, I've been told).
The cost was a struggle but we had a plan. But now I've learned I need a major surgery pretty much right away. Won't detour into all that, but with the medical costs and recovery time I'm sure we can't pull the wedding off.
My idea is to scale way back and have a celebration with at most 40 people — mainly family and those in the wedding party — so it can be held in a restaurant private dining room. Then party/drinks at our home afterward. We would let our guests know the wedding isn't happening because of things beyond our control, and that we're just having a small family celebration.
We got engaged in 2021 and already put things on hold to buy our home last year. I don't want to wait longer or plan a larger celebration later. We're set with our honeymoon plans. I hope to take care of the surgery, celebrate our union, take our trip and move forward.
Not all the RSVPs are in. But for the Yes-es, I want to let them know immediately in case they decide not to come for the smaller affair. Very few of the Yes-es would be excluded from the new plan, but they're friends who would understand the circumstances.
Any advice, encouragement or wording suggestions in navigating this?
