Splitting wedding into two days – would love advice

We are looking to get married next year and would love some advice/experiences!

One thing that’s really important to me is having my grandparents present. They’re not as mobile as they used to be, so I started thinking about having a small ceremony in their garden - which they’re completely on board with.

The more I think about it, the more I love the idea. They built the house themselves, my mum and aunty grew up there, and it’s been such a big part of my childhood too - summers, Christmases, etc. Realistically the house won’t be in the family forever, so it feels like such a meaningful place to get married and create that memory.

The challenge is numbers. The garden would mean keeping the ceremony very small - likely just immediate family - which we’re actually happy with. But at the same time, we’d love our friends to be part of witnessing us getting married too (after all that's the main part!). We’d also like to have bridesmaids and groomsmen, too.

A friend of ours did something similar where they:

1. Had a “ceremony” and reception at a venue with all guests
2. Did the legal bit separately with just family in a registry office

So it got me thinking, what if we did:

• Day 1: Intimate, real ceremony in my grandparents’ garden (just family), followed by something relaxed like drinks or a meal
• Day 2: A larger “celebration ceremony” (vow sharing / blessing style rather than legal) with all guests, followed by the full reception
• 
  
• A few things I’m unsure about:

- Would it be too much to ask close family to attend both days? (Everything would be in our hometown)
- Would you tell guests coming to Day 2 that you’re already officially married?
- Has anyone done something similar, and how did it feel in reality?

I’d really appreciate any thoughts or experiences - especially if you’ve done a two-day setup or a more intimate ceremony followed by a larger celebration!

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