A friend at work is getting married and she asked my advice. She wanted to know whether she should have a small dinner after the wedding followed by a larger party, or a dinner and party of roughly the same numbers. The venue had offered her a deal and now she was in a quandry about what was the best thing to do. I asked her what she really wanted and she replied that originally she had envisaged her wedding with close friends and family followed by an intimate meal, then a larger party for wider friends, but now the venue had come back to her with a deal she was unsure about what was the best thing to do.
My advice when planning your wedding: imagine your dream day and create it. Don’t let deals, discounts and special offers from suppliers compromise your dream. Take advice, but keep your dream foremost in your mind and you will always have a guiding light in your planning process.
So true of many special offers, yet so hard as it’s a special day.
What I don’t get is why Australian custom has you inviting everyone to the church and only close friends and family for the dinner/party; yet in the UK, it is the other way around.
Surely you want every at the church service to witness you getting married; the reason for the day to begin with? Has this always been the way in the UK or is it a trend?
Hi Dan, I’d never realised your point about different customs in the UK and Oz. I never toastmastered in Australia but I think the ‘tradition’ has more to do with finacial concerns. It’s so expensive to have a big party that it tends to be close friends and family only, I suppose. Personally speaking, I’m not sure whether the service is the main event or not, every wedding is a celebration of love and commitment and a reflection of the couple themselves. For some the commitment ceremony might be very private and personal and the party a celebration to share their joy, for others it might be the other way around. There are many ways to celebrate the joining of two families, two lives, two hearts, but no matter how it’s done it’s always a privilege to be a part of it.
Thanks so much for your comment, much appreciated!