Ceremony vs. Reception guests??

There might be hard feelings when those who were only invited to the ceremony see those that were invited to the reception heading into the atrium. And you might get the oblivious guests who didn't realize they were only to the ceremony filing into the reception. I think it might be best just to invite those close family/friends that you want at the reception to the ceremony. An adult-only reception might also help to cut back on the number of guests, which is what my FH and I are doing for our reception since I have a huge family (my dad has 12 siblings plus all of their kids/my cousins).

I think it wouldn't be a good decision to only invite "some" to the reception. I see why you need to do that and understand it.. But i definitely see it creating drama and hurt feelings.

You never formally invite people to the ceremony if you cannot invite them to the reception. If people invite themselves, you can tell them informally that unfortunately, you have had to limit the size of the reception to your closest family/friends, but that they are welcome to attend the ceremony if they like. Similarly, some churches will post a notice in the bulletin that there will be a wedding. Since a church is open to all, people can then attend the ceremony, but not the reception. But in either case, you are not inviting people to the ceremony--you are just not excluding them.

I agree with the other posters. You cannot invite people to the ceremony and not include them in the reception. You could pull this off if your ceremony were in a church and you had a cake/punch gathering for those who attended the ceremony. In that case, there would be no mention of the reception. However, because they are in the same venue, there is no way you can pull it off without hurt feelings or people accidentally wandering over to the recption site.

1. It is almost unheard of. (Sometimes people invite children to the ceremony only.) It will caught hurt feelings and is impolite. It can come across as, "You are important enough to watch us get married an give us a gift, but not important enough to come to the party." People may not remember or "forget" that they are not invited to the reception and go anyway, costing you big $$$.

2. I would politely tell these people that they are important to you and you'd really like to have them there, but due to the limited space of your venue, you can only have immediate family and your bridal party. Say that you'd love to have them over for drinks after you guys get back from the honeymoon. Be nice, be polite, and people will understand.

Especially when your ceremony and reception are in the same venue, you really can't invite some to one and not the other.

I have seen people spread the word that they can come to the ceremony at x time at x location, but never sent a formal invitation for that. This is common with church weddings as they are public places.

Super rude-- just have a cake and punch reception.

I appreciate all the responses. I wasn't sure if it was common to not be invited to the reception if invited to the ceremony and I agree with everyone's answers of it not seeming possible to pull off drama free. I'm just trying to come up with a nice way of not inviting those people who expect invitations.. Everybody expects to be invited, even those we rarely talk to. It's nuts. Also the reason I asked the second question was because we aren't sure of the reception site yet due to the issues. And I don't want a cake and punch reception--I want a real one as do all other brides. The issue is not food, it's having enough space for everyone.

Your wedding is not until next year. Please consider another location for the reception. If you are unable to invite someone to the reception, they should not receive an invite to the ceremony.

Etiquette wise, it's a big no-no to invite people to the ceremony and not the reception. Inviting people to the reception and not the ceremony is doable and isn't considered rude, but the other way around can be misconstrued that way. If it's really hard to dwindle the guest list down to only close friends and family (my FH and I had to go from 400 to 135 it's not easy)...then your better off finding another location for the reception. If you are worried about space, depending on when your wedding is, you could consider a farm or outside venue (where you can have a tent) so that space isn't necessarily a problem. Have you looked into farms or local parks?

The Ceremony is really when you get married and the reception is just the celebration...Keep the guests list small and that way you will keep down cost and can have your invited guests attend both...As a planner (www.ttteventsplanning.com) it's my #1 suggestion to my couples who are watching their budget...Cut the guest list! But if you must invite people to the ceremony and not the reception try finding a much suitable place to accommodate your guests...Have you considered having a Destination wedding instead? Not all guests would be able to attend a destination wedding, if they can't they will decline that way it isn't going to put you in a bad light...

Why not skip the people you don't talk to or aren't close with