Thursday Evening Wedding

I'm getting married on a Thursday because my honeymoon vacation home wont let us check in till 4 pm on Saturday (hilton head island, SC) and we live in Wisconsin and will be driving. We have people who won't make it, and honestly I don't care. This wedding is for my fiance and I and close friends. I won't lose sleep over it.

I've been to two Thursday evening weddings. One was "local." It would have been a heck of a lot more convenient if it hadn't been a 45 minute drive out of the city. It made it a lot harder to get there after work. I also recall a few people who were in the BP grumbling behind the bride's back because the rehearsal was in the middle of the day on Wednesday.

The other one, I flew across the country for, and only did it because it was my cousin's wedding. I ended up traveling on Tuesday, spending Wednesday with my family, got to the town the wedding was in on Thursday afternoon, attended the wedding that night, left the hotel on Friday, and didn't bother flying back home that day because it's not like I'd make it back before the weekend started. One of our other cousin's couldn't come at all because she is a school teacher and could not take off that many days in the middle of the week. Another cousin couldn't stay for the whole reception because she needed to get her kids home so they could go to school the next day (they lived a couple hours away). The bride's brother and his wife also took off before the end of the night so they could go to work the next day. My brother had to use two of his vacation days in order to get there and stay for the whole reception, knowing he would not make it to work the next day if he stayed overnight in the state where the wedding took place.

I think if you have a lot of OOT guests, you need to recognize that you're asking a lot of them by having a Thursday wedding. I was OOT for four weekdays to attend that wedding. If the wedding had been on a Friday or Saturday, the amount of weekdays I'd have spent OOT would have been significantly less because some of the time required to attend the wedding and travel would have fallen on a weekend.

Even of your local guests, or guests that live within an hour or two driving, you are still asking a lot, especially if you choose an inconvenient location or choose a start time that is too early. You need to make sure you start late enough that your guests have enough to time to get there once they are off work, but like others have said, you'll also need to be aware of your end time because not everyone will want to stay and party as late as they would on a Friday or Saturday if they have to be at work the next day.

@GymRat you didn't ruffle my feathers. It appears I ruffeled yours. I am a 30 year old professional who works Monday to Friday and have the right to state that I would prefer to attend a weekend wedding so I don't have to miss work. Everyone attending my wedding is my age or older and most are also professionals with a M-F schedule. You have the right to have your wedding any day of the week you like. Perhaps you are younger and your guests party everyday of the week. That is not my lifestyle. My opinion is based on my circumstance, your opinion is based on yours. Nothing is wrong with either.

@GymRat if 50 people is what you want at your wedding then fine. Small weddings are great. All I'm saying is that the majority of venues in the tri-state area, which we both live in, have minimums. So if your venue has a 150 person minimum and only 100 people show up, you still are paying for 150 people. But clearly you are too defensive to actually correctly read what other people post. Oh well. If you are choosing to have a Thursday wedding then be confident in it, not defensive. Seems like your the one with ruffled feathers. Nobody is shitting on your wedding, they are just stating their opinions, as are you. It's not that serious.

It depends on the time of year. I work flex hours most of the year ( except tax season) so a weekday wedding isn't a big deal. I've taken off Fridays before weddings I've been in if it's an OOT wedding anyway so, it's not a biggie.

I think that would be a great idea if you want your guests to hate you

@Miami - awwww your feathers weren't ruffled? LMFAO Are you absolutely sure Miss 30-year-old? That's cute lol. You'll need your vitamins to keep up with us older folk.

@Natalie - you keep typing, yet you're not making any sense. Or you're backpedaling - can't figure it out. Venues have minimums in our area? My goodness you are a such a wealth of knowledge. I'm prepared to pay for my 125 minimum if 177 don't show up........aaaaand? Maybe that means an eleventh entree, or more apps. I mean, I have the money to pay for MY wedding so....

I always ask people, when I'm initially interviewing them, how many guests they are inviting. And when we do our final edits, I ask again. The decline rate is no different than my weekend ones.....

@GymRat excuse me? I thought that you were trying to state that I must be older than you because I do not go out during the week. I wake up for work at 5 am and typically go to bed at 10. I also have an hour and a half commute each way. I live in the DC area. This is the life of most people I know around here.

Again I do not know why you are taking this so personal. I am sure your wedding will be great. I am not trashing your wedding. A request for opinions was made and I provided mine.

@GymRat I cannot control if you cannot comprehend what I am saying. That is on you. I have not back pedaled and my responses are very clear. And I also have the money to pay for my wedding as well, as do the majority of the people on this forum. This is a public forum and people can state their opinion whether it agrees with yours or not. Respect other people's opinions. Be mature. You clearly have nothing better to do than to go in on @Miami and myself. It's WW, it's not that serious.

I don't see anything wrong with having your wedding on a Thursday or any day as long as you give your guest advance notices enjoy your special day.

Im getting married on thursday all of our guest with the exception of like 5 are out of town.. It's in Charleston and they are using it as a vacation...

Thursday wedding here! It's in the summer and we have a small but important guest list! Know your crowd! We have to end the reception by 11 p.m anyway (the venue rental ends at midnight with an hour needed to clean up). Plus our guests have plenty of notice!

ETA: GymRat... Dear God! Your wedding sounds fantastic!!!

If you're only inviting close family and friends, I'm sure everyone would be able to make a little sacrifice. I would.

I went to Friday wedding, the Ceremony was at 1, an hour away. There was a big gap, we went to the groom's mom's house with many others. The reception was 6pm to super late! I was also asked to drive the groom's grama around all day and she's in a wheelchair! It was a 15 hour hard long day. And yes, the rehearsal dinner was on a weekday, too.

The point is, if people want to be there on your day, Monday, Thursday, or whenever, they'll do it. It might be difficult, but you find a way to make it work.

@Gymrat i feel like you are talking about my wedding! Same timeline and everything! So far we have gotten one decline and a lot of them are coming from out of state and country. We saved a ton of money and before we booked ANYTHING we made sure all of our VIPs would be able to make it.

I wouldn't go to one that wasn't local, and probably wouldn't drink. YMMV.

Everyone denying it is crazy. It's a wedding. You make it work. You take time off. That's what time off is for! Make a damn trip out of it. Stop worrying about GymRat's wedding and start worrying about your own. I can assure you, hers is kickass.

It *may* be more difficult for OOT guests to make it but I'm sure they'd be willing to sacrifice a couple of vacation days to attend a wedding, especially with advance notice. Shit...I'd turn it into a mini-vacay. And if it's local, it's just an excuse for me to take Friday off and have a long weekend.

TLDR; I'd make it work regardless of if it was local or OOT

ETA: I'm totally going to be lurking in the bushes at @Gymrat's wedding.

When I picked my date I talked to my dad. I mentioned it was on a Thursday and I asked if that would be alright. He laughed and made a joke about it. I didn't get it. My dad and step-mom got married on a Thursday. I was there and it was less than five years ago. I literally did not even remember that it was on a Thursday. That's how much it didn't matter to me. I just took the day off from work.

I don't work M to F and I love it when people recognize that not everyone can just pop out to party on a Saturday. Go Thursday weddings!