Wedding Wednesdays Q&A: Destination Wedding and Home Town Reception
Hello hello! I hope you are enjoying your week and your wedding planning. I’m still in Hawaii showing some of my awesome couples around and as always it’s fun seeing what they end up liking for their destination wedding. If you’re thinking about having a destination wedding, I’ve got a great question to share this week.
Q: We want a small intimate destination wedding with just a few really close family and friends. But, we are thinking of having a larger home town reception after the wedding. Is this ok to do? And how can we do this without hurting people’s feelings?
This is totally ok! I think the home town reception is a great idea that many of my destination wedding couples end up doing as a way to include everyone they love, but just can’t celebrate with at the actual wedding.
With that being said, when you choose to have a smaller destination wedding, part of that choice is understanding that since you won’t invite everyone there is a possibility that you might end up hurting some feelings no matter how tactfully you handle it. Some people will just be surprised that they weren’t included in your inner circle, but honestly I’d say that is the minority. Most adults are mature enough to understand their relationship with you and get it when they perhaps aren’t invited to the smaller event.
The one thing to always remember (whether you are having a destination wedding or not) is that this is YOUR wedding, and if this is what you want, then do what is right for you. This is a special day and you should be able to spend it the way you two want. For the people who may appear sad or hurt, just explain to them that this is the wedding you two want, but that you love them and can’t wait to celebrate with them when you get home. They want you to be happy, so if this is what makes you happy, they can’t argue. And then when you have your home town reception you can share a part of your destination wedding (e.g. photos, video, local favors from the location, etc…) with your guests so that they feel included and get to experience a little bit of it as well.
(Photo credit: Sherman Chu Photography)
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