Invitations for TWO receptions

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I would probably create 2 separate guests lists, and 2 separate sets of invitations. Anything else is going to become really confusing, both for you and the guests. Also think about keeping track of RSVPs - that's also easier if you have two separate sets. I'm guessing nobody will attend both events except for parents?

I would say that if you invite everyone to both, you have to be prepared for everyone to attend both . . . and that might be a nightmare for you. If I were in your situation (which sounds amazing and fun!), I'd probably come up with 2 separate guest lists. Limit the people invited to attend both to your bridal party and immediate families (or more relatives, depending on how big and close your family is).

There may be other relatives and friends inclined to attend both, buy yeah, mostly parents and the wedding party.

Do you think I should send both invitations to more people than expected to attend, so that I don't offend people by excluding them? And, is it okay to send two separate invitations to the same people (ie: they would receive the full wedding invitation and rsvp first, followed by my hometown reception invite and rsvp)?

I have the exact same issue...except we are actually doing the in town reception BEFORE the actual wedding and ceremony. This is all my future mother in law's idea and she is paying for the entire thing. Its a very sweet gesture and I know that some people won't be able to make the trip to Washington for the actual wedding, but planning two weddings is a nightmare!! She's also insisting that we invite in town guests that are planning to travel to Washington anyways...so the reception here could end up being bigger than the wedding itself! Any suggestions on how to manage this would be greatly appreciated.

@Laura...I know exactly how you feel and what you're going thru. It's hard enough to plan one wedding but to throw yet another thing on top of your already long to do list is overwhelming. I would just try to complete one task at a time and keep the parties as separate as possible. Good Luck!!!

Ditto. I'm having my wedding in Texas and another reception in Indiana (Groom's hometown). I have an invitation for the wedding and a business card "Save the Date" (http://www.123print.com/design/wedding-save-the-date-cards/390c3495-7402-442b-a08b-534b2ac484f1/scientific-romance) with the information for the Indiana reception. Since my wedding is in March and the Indiana one is in June, it works for me.

I will be sending out formal invites for the Indiana reception as we get closer to the date, but only to those who I think may attend/family.

That way ALL of my guests are invited, but at a minimum cost to me.

But if you're really concerned, I know of a couple that sent the secondary invites to everyone via facebook and to family/close friends via post.

Or just invite who you want. My family and some friends would be extremely offended if I neglected to invite them and the parties will never allow me to keep them seperate.

You could always just let your close family know that you are having a reception for people that aren't invited to the wedding to deter most of them from thinking that you expect them to be at both!

As for the invitations, I would certainly make the invites for the reception after your ceremony more formal and have the other reception invites simple and maybe even a little casual (if it's that type of event).

Managing the RSVPs could be easy if you have the guests for the reception after the ceremony send in their RSVP card and then have guests for the other reception just RSVP online through a wedding website. There are tons of free ones out there.