Private ceremony but larger reception after?

Invited to the reception, which wouldn't be the case at all. Some online reading on wedding forums seems to suggest that it is okay to have a party afterwards to celebrate, but it can't have traditional wedding reception elements like a wedding cake or dance floor which I would still like to have. I would love to hear any and all feedback on this issue because I'm feeling very conflicted.

As long as you tactfully inform your guests of your decision, they should be accepting. The ceremony is such a short thing anyway! You can do whatever you like, since it's your dollar and your day.

If this was a regular wedding, I would feel like I wasn't important enough for the actual ceremony but hey, I'm liked enough for the party and a present! So no, this would leave a very bad taste on my tongue. However, I think it would be fine in this situation and you can have cake and your first dance and whatever else you want.

A small, intimate ceremony followed by a reception for family and friends is fine. Personally, I think you can still have a cake cutting and dance. Just be sure to provide good food and drink. Open bar or beer and wine. Some others will not agree with me, so be prepared for that.

Im kind of in the same boat. Id rather keep my ceremony smaller with just family and have a reception afterwards but im also wondering if it is rude to do that. Id be ok getting no gifts if it was thought of in any negative way lol. I just really want all my family and friends together in one place because i know it will never happen again. Im conflicted lol, so im curious what the responses will be!

It is fine to have a private ceremony - with immediate family only - and a larger reception afterward. You can still have the traditional wedding elements at the reception.

We are doing exactly what you described. Our private ceremony will include our parents, grandparents, and our children. Our reception (150 guests) will be in April. The biggest investments for our ceremony was photography and videography.

This isn't super uncommon. Just make sure that you a clear with the invitations (call it a "celebration of the marriage") and make sure your properly host your guests. I don't understand how people interpret this as a gift grab, since the reception is the more expensive part of the event. If it was about gifts/money, why wouldn't someone just skip the party and keep the money the could have spent on it for themselves?

Some people may not come. I, for one, want to see my close friends and family get married and am not much of a party animal, so getting invited to celebrate an event I wasn't invited to wouldn't appeal to me, but I suspect I'm in the minority-- I think most people would love to come to the party and skip the ceremony.

We are doing exactly this. We have been very open about this with all of our guests, so we haven't had much pushback, and no one should be surprised come reception time. We are still having a traditional reception - dances, toasts, cake, etc. We have a few friends who are disappointed that we've decided to have a private ceremony, but they completely understand and are still coming to the reception.

As long as you have a truly private ceremony (parents, siblings, grandparents) and are open about it, and as long as you still properly host your guests, you should be fine.