Small beach wedding for immediate family/friend followed by big party in hometown a few weeks later - thoughts

Excellent Idea. I am having a small beach wedding in Aruba. I orginally wasnt going to invite any guest because of the economy. So it would have been me and the groom, best man and moh. Word got out and a few aunts and uncles want to attend so now we are looking at less than 20. We have immediate family only. His aunt and uncle, 3 of my aunts and uncles. I choose an all inclusive resort they have a wedding package that included a beach wedding ceremony and semi private dinner reception. Then we are having a formal at home reception in our home time its going to be pretty formal dinner reception with 150 guest. I am wearing my dress again because in Aruba I am wearing my dress during the ceremony and then switching to chiffon dress for the reception in aruba.

I am doing this well a little bit my beach wedding was suppose to be like maybe 30 people cuz we where like you we did not think alot of people would come well we where wrong we have just talked about it to family and we r expecing 50 people and thats not even half of my moms family but we r doing the reception down there after the wedding then we r doing another one up here i am hoppin to wear my dress again (ill prob come hoome and get it driedcleaned) and as for bridesmaids and such i have my lil sis and best friend and he has his dad and brother in law his little girl is r flowergirl and nephew is r ring barrier o ya what beach r u getting married i live in the east not on the coast i live in ga and getting married in fla

I'm doing the same thing. We are just going to have immediate family at the wedding, so a small reception afterwards, go on our honeymoon, and then come back and do the reception here. I'm not sure if I will wear my dress or not, and as for dancing I think we are going to do our first dance and everything in Florida and just get pics. My bridesmaids are sister-in-laws or soon to be sister in laws and his groomsmen are brothers and hos best friend.

Great advice, Amy C. about giving family the heads u. My fiancee feels very strong that it should only be immediate family (moms, dads, siblings, grandparents). I'm really worried about offending the rest of my family by not inviting them to the ceremony, but they come as a pre-packed group - if you invite 1, you have to invite them all! We're also trying to decide if we want to go on the honeymoon immediately after the small ceremony or wait until after the reception. Snooks, I see that you're going on a honeymoon before the reception. Does anyone else have any thoughts on the pros/cons of when we do the honeymoon? Thanks for all of your comments, keep them coming!

We just figured that we were already going to be in Florida (we are going on a cruise) so it would be pointless to come all the way back home to Kentucky just to go back to Florida again. The only con I can think of is that we won't have our reception money (if any) to take with us. But we are already saving for it now.

I conduct destination beach weddings on a regular basis. FL Gulf of Mexico coast) Most couples from my personal experience will either come alone or invite a few close friends and family. They package the ceremony with a one hour photography with images on a CD/DVD. When they get back home and have a reception they use the images as a slide show during the reception during the meal or first dance etc. This way the family & friends that could not attend can still share in the moment!

Excellent advice from Alafia Ceremonies on using the photo images from your beach wedding as a slide show for the big reception! That will make everybody happy! And by the way, you will find beautiful beach wedding accessories at http://forprincessbride.com/store/DestWedding.html

(where you also get free sunglasses for either your beach ceremony or honeymoon). Do not "overaccessorize" - a couple of beach-themed details will make "the look". Enjoy the wedding!

Yes we are using a little extra money to hire a really good photographer. All his photos come with a DVD and alblum. We are hoping to maybe have the pictures back by the reception. If not we will at least have the slide-show.

I am a coordinator in Panama City Beach, Fl., If you need any help or assistance, please let me know. I am also from Georgia and would be willing to talk with you and help out with your home towm reception. Just let me know if I can do anything, and congratulations!

AWesome idea, i think i am doing the same because some of my family dont talk...so one small ceremony away and hometown casual party for the rest....if you have a reception thats casual or a hometown reception, do people still give money/gifts??? Sure would help for having practically 2 weddings?

That's a gret question. Can you still have a registry? What does etiquette dictate?

My brother eloped and then had a reception and i dont think they were registered anywhere, i think people just brought cards w/ money? I will have to confirm that....i know my boyfriend at the time refused to give them money because he thought it much more useful for my brother to have a milwauke hammer drill? Needless to say he is not my fiance lol!

Good luck!! i hope you can do it. we found that it cost much more to do 2 events. plus, there is the consideration of grandparents and the stress of travel on them. that is what we really, really wanted, but ended up doing it all near family....we just found a venue that reflected who we are instead of a typical church ceremony

We are having a destination wedding in the DR. We are inviting everyone, but realistically we know that everyone will not be able to attend. So we are doing exactly what Alafia mentioned and having an AHR (at home reception). Happily Together makes a great point about the cost of two events and thats why our at home reception will be more of a beach/bbq themed party vs a traditional wedding reception. We will also be having a slide show with wedding picts and video to share the moment with our guests that couldn't make it.

I love it. that is what i wanted to do. But FH wasn't having it. So now I am planning an all in one event. I think that's a great idea. Maybe @ the party you can play your wedding ceremony.

I am also have a Beach Themed/Luau (Sp?) type deal for our reception at home.