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Just Said Yes February 2021

Which would you desire? Out of town guests! Weekend Celebration or One Day?

on July 6, 2020 at 2:26 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 0 16

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Hi Brides!

I have a large portion of guests traveling out of town to our wedding. That being said, which of these options sound more appealing to you if you were in their shoes?
Option #1 - The night before the wedding dinner would be provided at a restaurant on the river, welcome party style. But, no meal would be given the next day at the wedding, just cake and champagne.
Option #2 - The night before the wedding, guests make own arrangements for dinner, but still plan time to explore the town together, with a meal being provided the next day at the wedding.

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16 Comments

Latest activity by Molly, on July 8, 2020 at 1:01 PM

Super October 2020
Emma · on July 6, 2020 at 2:33 PM
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Personally I’d prefer dinner at the wedding instead of the night before.
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Expert June 2020
Kelsi · on July 6, 2020 at 2:40 PM
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I like option 2. I know I like having freedom to do things when I am traveling for events but also, if people are traveling the day before your wedding, they may be tired or their plans may not put them at dinner until it's possibly started/over. This way you give them a full day of travel the day before and the ability to rest.
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Master September 2020
Jessica · on July 6, 2020 at 2:40 PM
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I agree with the PP to provide a meal at the wedding. If you do just a cake and punch reception, your reception will be short because people will leave to go eat when they get hungry. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re planning on providing a meal anyways.
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Legend June 2019
Melle · on July 6, 2020 at 2:42 PM
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I agree with option number two
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Super May 2021
Stacey · on July 6, 2020 at 2:45 PM
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In general, guests' expectations would be #2.
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Master October 2019
Meghan · on July 6, 2020 at 2:52 PM
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Option 2. And I think most guests would expect option 2.
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Master October 2022
Jana · on July 6, 2020 at 2:54 PM
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Option 2. You can invite people to join you for dinner the night before without the obligation on your part to cover their meal expenses. Give people a heads up in your weekend itinerary printout with a price range and those who want to attend will do so.
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Champion June 2019
Gen · on July 6, 2020 at 3:01 PM
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Definitely option 2. If some guests aren’t able to attend the night before, then they’ll miss the meal! I would like the option of meeting up the night before without the pressure of having to be at both.
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Expert September 2021
Dayna · on July 6, 2020 at 3:01 PM
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I would prefer a full meal at the wedding. Some out of town guests might come in really late the night before or even early the day of your wedding and would probably feel a little cheated if they missed the actual meal part of your wedding. You can plan an optional welcome drinks/dinner the night before. We are going to do an informal happy hour following our rehearsal dinner where anyone who is already in town can stop by and grab a drink with us at one of the bars next to our venue.
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Master May 2020
Kari · on July 6, 2020 at 3:16 PM
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Definitely #2. I feel like it would feel like a half-wedding without dinner.
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Rockstar July 2019
Veronica · on July 6, 2020 at 3:26 PM
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Option two like everyone else said. It would be extremely rude to invite out of town guests to a wedding and not provide a meal at the wedding. We didn't have a welcome party, but most of our guests were only traveling 1.5 hours. We actually traveled further for our wedding than most of our guests. You could do what my brother-in-law did. He had his rehearsal dinner with his bridal party, their significant others, both sets of parents, and his wife's grandparents (his grandparents are deceased). After the rehearsal dinner, they had a welcome party at a bar at approximately 8 pm so no one was expecting a meal. They had drinks and if anyone wanted apps or any type of food they ordered their own.
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Legend March 2017
Pirate & 60s Bride · on July 6, 2020 at 3:46 PM
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A meal should absolutely be provided at the wedding of a DW.

Is there anything else provided to guests to help off-set their travel costs? Did you negotiate a good hotel deal? Does it include breakfast? Is airport/hotel transportation included? Usually, there’s extra hosting provided to guests of a DW.
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VIP January 2019
Maggie · on July 6, 2020 at 7:17 PM
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This is my choice and questions, too. DW are much more expensive for guests, so I hope you can mitigate that somehow.
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Master August 2019
Rebecca · on July 6, 2020 at 10:40 PM
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Option 2.
Option 1.. if I can't make it out until late at night, I'm out of luck. Or my transportation gets delayed... plus, that takes away my ability to do fun things, or just relax.
Honestly, if I were to travel a long way for just a cake and punch reception, I'd have to be *very* close to the couple.
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VIP July 2017
Becky · on July 7, 2020 at 8:03 AM
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I would definitely go with number 2 - without the "plan time to explore the town together" part. When we go to destination events and plan our own meal, we want to be able to plan other things as well. Additionally, what happens when someone's dinner runs late, etc. - you could give people some ideas of things they can do, but I wouldn't have specific plans. Definitely feed people at the wedding though.
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