Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor
Question:
We are thinking of have a destination wedding. We are trying to decide on whether or not to invite everyone, all 200, and let them decide whether or not they are coming, or just include close friends and family (almost an elopement). Also, we are considering have a party (kind of reception) back home after we return. I don't want to spend more on that than we do on the destination, however, I want to give local people a chance to celebrate with us (that can't make the trip from Houston to the Caymans). Should we include the 'party' on the original invite, would that be confusing? Or should we send out separate invites later.
I know that it depends on who we invite in the first place, but right now we are thinking of inviting all 200 to the beach, so if we include the local party on the invitation, would that confuse people or be too much?
Trying not to sound like I am rambling, I just have several scenarios in my head. We are going to the beach, that is our only forsure. Who is with us and how we celebrate here at home is what I am trying to figure out now.
Thanks!
Answer:
Keep in mind that if you invite all 200 to your destination wedding, there are lots of expenses that you (or they) will have to pick up. For instance, if you have a welcome cocktail party on the day everyone arrives, as is the custom, that can be a pricy party for you! Same goes for a rehearsal dinner...you'd have to pay for lots of people to attend. When people are invited to a destination wedding, they expect to be treated to meals and activities, and if you don't pay for them, they have unexpected expenses while they're there.
If you decide to invite just close friends and family to the beach, you can definitely have a party for all when you get home! that's a big, big trend right now, and you call it a 'Celebration of Our Marriage' in the invitations you send to the guests. If you decide to go with this plan, you'll of course need separate invitations for the destination wedding and your post-party -- it's just easier to keep everything separate.
At the post-party when you return, you can wear your wedding dress and your groom wear his suit, and show lots of great photos from your destination wedding. Guests love getting to see the wonderful time you had...and don't worry too much about offending distant relatives by not inviting them to the island. People understand that a destination wedding is expensive, and they might be fine with avoiding the travel fare and other expenses.
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