Ceremony then dinner afterwards

Sounds like a great idea to me. That basically describes my wedding, although it was lunch afterwards. It was, truly, a lovely way to celebrate.

That sounds like a great plan!

I think it's a great idea!! Don't second guess yourself. It's all gonna work out fine. Congratulations!

We are not doing this (although sometimes I wish we were! Lol) but I have attended an event like this. One of my friends did this for her second marriage. We went with them to the courthouse for a civil ceremony, then out to a nice restaurant afterwards. It was a fantastic afternoon!

We’re not doing this but like cece said sometimes I wish I was! Lol. It sounds like a wonderfully intimate and special way to celebrate your new marriage with those closest to you!

I'm doing this too!!! Woohoo! It's exciting to see someone else doing this, too! When are you getting married?

View Quoted Comment We were thinking in the spring so March/April 😊 it is exciting!! I’m glad to see other people are doing the same 😃

I've been to weddings like this and appreciated (especially if it was a long religious ceremony) not having to be present for the ceremony and still being able to celebrate my friends.

Love it!!!


We are planning something very similar. Church wedding (trying to find my dream little white chapel) and dinner at a nice restaurant after. We’re thinking about 60 people. Perhaps it’s a big large for a restaurant reception but it will literally save us thousands $$$.
The prices were just too much at any traditional venue I looked at. Also neither of us love to dance and I’m not a huge party person. He used to be a frat boy so he’s better at large parties but he also says he’s an old man and can’t party like he used to 😂
I love this idea. There’s some unique logistics to figure out that may not apply for most weddings but it’s so much more cost effective.
Okay but get this…. One of the cheaper venue options I looked at was $6,000 for the space & table & chairs only (Totally reasonable for some but not for me.) The restaurant I’m looking at is $350 for 3 hours - includes all tables, plates, service, etc. Of course food & alcohol is additional but even all those are so reasonable.
I’m so excited that I find an alternative option so we can still have everything important to us on our wedding day, but within a budget that works for us.

View Quoted Comment Yesss! This is us to a tee 😂 after looking at all the venue options, including the cheapest which was $1000, we looked at the restaurant idea and totaled up the cost and was like yeeeeah we’re doing this instead. We like saving money for sure, and it’ll give us flexibility to plan our honeymoon! I’m excited for you and your wedding day, sounds like it’ll be so fun!!