Open wedding, closed reception

The reception is a thank you to your guests for attending your ceremony. It's really awkward if after the ceremony some of your guest are right a way heading to the reception and others are standing there wondering what's next and where everyone else is going.

I think the only way you could get away with this would be doing the ceremony one day and a reception a different day. That would separate the two events some. But there still will be hurt feelings from some people who were invited to the ceremony, expecting to attend a reception, and never received the invite about it then heard about it later.
I would just invite the 200 only to the ceremony and reception

Generally it’s best to only invite as many people to the wedding as you can afford to host at your reception. If people dress up and come to witness your marriage, many also bringing you gifts, it’s rude to then tell them “Thanks! Now we are going to celebrate but you are not invited.” There is no polite way to say that.

I agree just do 200 for both. Explain to people about budget.

I agree with everyone above. Too awkward to invite to one and not the other.

I would definitely cut your guest list to only include 200. I would not attend a ceremony if I was not invited to the reception. More for the time commitment than being offended, but it could definitely be taken as kind of rude to invite someone to ceremony but not reception.

How far from 200 is your list?

I've been to a wedding like this. I'd strongly recommend against it.

It's incredibly rude to invite someone to the ceremony but not the reception. I'd stick to the 200 you can afford and cut down on your list

It sounds like you're trying to do a traditional open church ceremony, where anyone who wants to can attend the ceremony if they want because the church is open to the public but only invited guests are actually invited to the ceremony and reception; it's a thing in some Christian denominations. However, what you're planning does not fall into those parameters.

1. It should be at your church building, not a larger church that you rented for this purpose. It also needs to be a church where this is a tradition/rule.

2. You don't invite people to attend just the ceremony. No invitations go out for this purpose. The wedding ceremony is announced in the church bulletin, by the minister during service, by church calendar, and/or by word of mouth. The event is open to the public and part of the church's calendar; people can choose to show up and lend their support if they want. Information is spread by normal church business means within the church community, not to people outside of the church (e.g. your coworkers).

3. Everyone who receives a ceremony invitation needs to also be invited to the reception. No exceptions.

I'm doing a small intimate wedding of 48. I also feel its rude to invite people to the ceremony but not the reception. My fiance would tell people anyone can come. I had to stop him real quick. I told him it's not fair to those who want to go. So we are not telling people when the day is to avoid anyone asking us. I know theyll get hurt but I've always mentioned how I want my wedding. If people get mad, then obviously they didnt listen and only cared about just getting invited. Majority of the time people just want to be noisy and post something on social media.
In the end it's your day. You can do what you want. But whatever you pick, people will be disappointed. So do whatever makes you happy. You cant please everyone.

Invite 200 people to the entire event. That’s it. Simple.

View Quoted Comment This is correct. I think there was some misunderstanding with your post. To do this, you'll want to be married at your own church and can have an announcement made in the bulletin. The guests you are inviting to the full event, including the reception, should receive formal invites.

Some couples who do this choose to have a quick cake and punch reception after the ceremony for their church families that will not be at the reception. It doesn't last long then you can be on your way to the larger party.

Only invite the people to the ceremony who will also be invited to the reception. I'd start your guest list and put people down in circles. Invite those people and keep going until you hit 200.

It's okay to have a smaller ceremony and larger reception, BUT it is not okay to have a larger ceremony and smaller reception. The reception is a thank you to your guests for attending your ceremony. Telling some guests they aren't allowed to enjoy the celebration afterwards is just rude. Even though I am sure that isn't your intention. You should only invite the amount of people you can afford to host at the reception to your ceremony.

View Quoted Comment

I second most of this! I think it's fine to do it at a bigger church because that's what you need, just announce the ceremony in your congregations bulletin and you're good to go. But yeah, in my area this is totally normal. Everyone will get the message just fine, no one will be confused. Just put it in the bulletin and invite the 200 you want.

Where I'm from, this is totally acceptable at church weddings, but I've only seen it done when the reception is really small (wedding party and family only).

Only send invitations to people invited to the reception. If anyone else wants to come, make sure they hear by word of mouth/on social media, etc.. If they then turn up and ask to come to the reception, that would be where it gets awkward to say that there's only space for the guests you've invited-- but it's your call if you're prepared to deal with that! I'd want an open wedding but I'd feel too uncomfortable turning friends down from the reception (no judgement, I'm just personally too non confrontational to handle it!).

We are planning on wedding and have this same issue. His dad is a pastor of a church of ~200 and plus we both have large families and friends as well so we can't invite everyone. What we decided to do it send invitations only to the people invited to the reception. His dad will announce that there is a reception for family and close friends after. We're going to have a separate reception on a later day for church members who want to celebrate with us. Wedding are very expensive and some people just can't afford to feed and house 400 or more people. It's your wedding! Do what makes YOU happy, not others.