Has anyone done a small wedding and already had their later bigger reception?

Saving this because we had to have a Covid elopement but are hoping to have a "redo" wedding/celebration at some point and I'm not sure what to do!

I have several friends in this situation due to COVID. And I actually know of a couple who did this before COVID started... their elderly grandparent didn't have long to live so they decided to hold the ceremony several months before their scheduled wedding date. For the smaller ceremony they had immediate family and for the larger celebration they had over 100 people. They did a complete ceremony again with a reception too. The vibe on the day was wonderful. No one probably even had the thought that it wasn't technically the day they got married. When they signed, they just pretended rather than sign a legal document all over again.

Hi Ashley!! I know a ton of couples are going this route, but a lot of them haven't had the big reception yet due to covid restrictions!

Timeline & guest count are definitely connected in this decision! If you're pushing back the reception so you can accommodate your entire original guestlist, then you may be waiting on a longer timeline!!

As for the vibe it's totally up to you! You can have a laid-back party or a more formal celebration of marriage with a lot of the traditional wedding elements. Here's a few discussions you can check out where other couples are figuring out their delayed reception plans:

Postpone Reception//sequel Wedding Questions

Small ceremony with postponed reception?