Weddingbee Blog

My fiance and I are very poor.   I’m talking “too much consumer debt” poor.   We must invite lots of people to our wedding because each of our families dictates it.   We’re looking at a guest list of 100+ so we were thinking of having it on Dec. 25, 2009, that way more people are inclined not to come so there will be fewer RSVPs, and we can still tell them, “Hey, we invited you and you didn’t come.”   Is this a stupid idea?

jessalot

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Dear jessalot,

You know what they say about the best-laid plans…

Don’t try to find a sneaky way to get fewer people at your wedding.

Be honest to the people demanding this big wedding and say, we can’t afford it, so if you want it you’re going to have to find a way to make it happen that doesn’t involve us going into further debt.

Or, if you want to pick a day many won’t be able to come, rather than Christmas you might choose to have your wedding in the off-season (January is the least popular month). Christmas might actually be more expensive because what vendors want to work on Christmas? New Years’ and Valentine’s Day also are very popular so stay away. A weekday wedding (Friday afternoon?) also tends to draw fewer guests and be cheaper.

Furthermore, the biggest way that number of guests affects the cost of the wedding is how much it costs to feed them. So rather than focus on fewer guests, why not aim for a less opulent reception? Have a hors d’oeuvres reception, dessert only, or a potluck.

Chelseamorning

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