{"id":51570,"date":"2014-12-18T13:54:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T13:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.topweddingquestions.com\/blog\/?p=7642"},"modified":"2014-12-18T13:54:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T13:54:20","slug":"small-ceremony-larger-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/wedding-ceremony\/small-ceremony-larger-reception","title":{"rendered":"Small Ceremony, Larger Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"

Small Wedding Ceremony With\u00a0a Big Reception?<\/h1>\n

Hi! My fiance and I have always wanted a small, intimate wedding. Partly because I have some serious stage fright and the idea of standing up in front of 200 people terrifies me, and also because we both want it to feel personal and share it with the people that know us as a couple the best. However, we both have large extended families that our parents want included and my fiance has a LOT of friends (he’s been in 13 weddings!) that he also doesn’t want to exclude.<\/p>\n

So we were hoping to have a small ceremony with our immediate family, grandparents, and our closest friends and then have a larger reception after. Overall the ceremony would include about 50 people (that includes significant others) and we’re inviting 250 people to the reception. Is this acceptable? I really don’t want to offend anyone, but I don’t want us to lose our dream in the process.<\/p>\n

Wedding Queen<\/h4>\n

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I completely understand your trepidation of having a large wedding. Being a bride can be overwhelming. But once you are already having 50 people at your \u201csmall\u201d wedding, you are going to have a difficult time explaining to the rest of the guests why they are important enough to invite to the reception (and presumably give you a gift), but not important enough to witness that actual wedding. This may be the perfect time for you to overcome your fears.<\/p>\n

If necessary, speak with a therapist or join toastmasters for practice in advance.<\/p>\n

I wish you all the best.<\/p>\n

The Wedding Expert<\/h4>\n

Hi…<\/p>\n

Having a smaller wedding ceremony that includes only the people you love and feel comfortable with is perfectly appropriate, and in your case understandable.<\/p>\n

Crane’s, in their\u00a0“Wedding\u00a0Blue<\/a>\u00a0Book” states, “Wedding ceremonies and receptions do not necessarily have the same number of guests… Many couples have… small, intimate ceremonies with larger receptions afterwards. Since more people are invited to the reception than to the ceremony, the invitations are for the reception. Guests invited to the ceremony are sent ceremony cards with their reception invitation.”<\/p>\n

Reception invitation:<\/p>\n

Jennifer Lynn Randall
\nand
\nGeoffrey John Smith
\nrequest the pleasure of your company
\nat their marriage reception
\nSaturday, the twenty-third of May
\netc.<\/p>\n

Ceremony card:<\/p>\n

The honour of your presence is requested*
\nat the marriage ceremony
\nSaturday, the twenty third of May
\nat five o’clock
\nChurch of Saint John
\nBedford<\/p>\n

*Used only in a house of worship. Otherwise, “request the pleasure of your company” is appropriate.<\/p>\n

Ohio Wedding Planner<\/h4>\n

While it is acceptable to limit the number of guests you invite to your ceremony, you will end up offending quite a few people. Who do you decide isn’t welcome to the ceremony? Will you have a firm line on who is\/isn’t invited (maybe ONLY relatives?) if you do not have a firm line, people are going to want to know why they weren’t included in your ceremony. While there may be some guests who aren’t all that concerned with being a part of the ceremony (they really only want to celebrate) many will wonder why they were important enough to you to include.<\/p>\n

With all that being said, you can still have your small ceremony just try to figure out your explanation to the people who you will not be including.<\/p>\n

Bride Next Door<\/h4>\n

It is totally acceptable,\u00a0however, before you make this decision ask youself whether you will\u00a0look back and regret the fact that everyone you know won’t get to see your marriage ceremony. Assuming you are ok with it, the next thing to do is think through how you cut down the ceremony list to a few key people. That’s where things get tricky. It is\u00a0inevitable that some people will be unhappy.<\/p>\n

Think through how you communicate to people and ensure them that they can still be part of it. Have your ceremony recorded\u00a0and set up a TV at the reception so guests can catch the highlights. Also, ask the DJ or band leader to announce all the “firsts” at your\u00a0wedding reception\u00a0(your first toast, meal, dance and bite of cake as hubby and wife). By making a big to-do about these first moments, people will really feel like they are a part of your wedding day without seeing the actual marriage part.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Small Wedding Ceremony With\u00a0a Big Reception? Hi! My fiance and I have always wanted a small, intimate wedding. Partly because I have some serious stage fright and the idea of standing up in front of 200 people terrifies me, and also because we both want it to feel personal and share it with the people that know us as a couple the best. However, we both have large extended families that our parents want included and my fiance has a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":7645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6174],"tags":[1558,6792,6297],"class_list":["post-51570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wedding-ceremony","tag-ceremony","tag-small-ceremony","tag-wedding-ceremony-2"],"yoast_head":"\nSmall Wedding Ceremony With a Big Reception<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While it is acceptable to limit the number of guests you invite to your ceremony, you will end up offending quite a few people. 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