What are your thoughts on Sunday weddings?
Specifically, would you come to a Sunday evening wedding between 1/2 and 1 hour away from home?
Would you come to a Sunday evening wedding if you found out later that you had to work the next day?
Would your views change on either of these questions if either were very close to the bridal couple or you particularly weren’t that close?
I would attend. If I had to work the next day, I might leave earlier than I would otherwise.
The last question leads me to a little clarification, though: I am not one to feel obligated to attend anything I am invited to, so if I wasn’t particularly close to the couple, I would have no problem sending my regrets. (I am also one who might not send a gift in that case, if I am really not close to the couple.)
I would attend if it was a wedding that I would normally attend if it was on, say, a Saturday morning. 1/2 to 1 hour away from home doesn’t seem bad at all.
The fact that a wedding was on a Sunday a 1/2 hour to 1 hour away and on a day before I had to work would have zero bearing on whether or not I would attend. It would not present a different dilemma for me than if I were invited to the same wedding on a Saturday.
I would be somewhat indifferent between a Sat and Sun evening. However, in the branch of my family that stays at a reception until the keg is empty, having to work the next day would be a problem.
It’s both a general and a specific question. Probably worded badly.
My Special Snowflake is getting married next year(!) and without doing proper due diligence, selected what she expected to be the Sunday after the last day of school. It’s not. It’s the day before the last day of school. So the specific part of the question pertains to a small group of friends. They are all teachers, so it impacts them a lot. One of the group is going to be a bridesmaid, so that’s what I meant by close, and the other two are just guests, so that’s what I meant by not close.
Fun CC Factoid: this group met several years ago when our own Sybbie helped my daughter get a job and she made these wonderful friends, including one who now works with her at another job and will be a bridesmaid.
I am one of those people who will find a way to travel anywhere at any time to a wedding of those I care about. Yes, you might lose the “fringe” co-workers, long time neighbors who watched your kids grow up, or older relatives that are not able to drive at night (if your wedding event hours continue into the night).
I imagine there are many factors coming together to decide date/time of a wedding event, including venue availability (and possibly a discounted price) and the more immediate family and wedding party availability. So I think if you are leaning towards a Sunday wedding due to budget considerations, I encourage you to stick with your date.
I don’t know about different religions and possible travel restrictions on Sunday. Again, if it matters to those you most want to be there, you will have to decide your priorities.
I prefer a Sunday afternoon wedding over one that doesn’t start til Sunday evening. Having time to drive back home Sunday night and get to bed before midnight would help with getting up for work Monday morning.
There is no way to please everyone. Plus, you do end up having someone wake up with a fever and can’t come, or a soccer championship tournament that falls on the same day, or an emergency surgery, etc.
Good luck with your plans! I think a Sunday afternoon wedding sounds delightful.
ETA: Forgot about dancing! If the bride and groom have their heart set on dancing the night away at their reception, then a Sunday afternoon event might not have the right “feel” for a dance party. Again, depends on the wishes and dreams of the bride and groom. (Can’t believe I forgot the dancing! And my husband is a Wedding DJ !)
I would attend.
I’m confused. Is this your D getting married?
I am a teacher and got married on a Sunday. But I chose the Sunday preceding a Monday holiday. I also had an afternoon wedding. I didn’t hear anyone complain about the timing of it but I will agree that it had a bit different atmosphere than a Saturday night wedding and not as many people stuck around or went to the after party.
For the teacher that is a bridesmaid, can she take the last day of school as a “personal day”? We are allowed three of those by contract in my system. As for the other teachers, having only one day left of school, i would just suck it up the next day and sleep in the rest of the week :).
I have a friend who’s son is getting married next summer. They are having a location wedding and scheduled the actual wedding for a MONDAY NIGHT!!! They are getting a great deal of the venue. Awesome for them but who wants to go to a wedding on a Monday night? IMO, choose a more humble setting and have the wedding when more people can happily attend.
I’ve never been to a Sunday evening wedding which wasn’t the day before a Monday holiday. OTOH, I have been to Sunday afternoon weddings that were not on a holiday weekend. Since I don’t work I have no problem attending a Sunday evening wedding regardless, but if there is going to be out of towners, I wouldn’t plan a wedding for Sunday night.
ps - congrats to you, your D and future SIL.
EPTR, yes it’s my daughter. She picked the Sunday after what she thought would be the last day of school because she thought (her fault) that she and her friends would all be off until summer school starts. The following weekend is 4th of July and the Saturday was already booked, so they went with the Sunday. but it turns out that the day after the wedding is the last day of school and many teachers don’t like to take that day off and she’s pretty upset with herself. My thought was that most people will still come because it’s not THAT far away, but I wanted to see what other people thought.
A Monday wedding? Never heard of that in my life.
Emily, thank you for the good wishes. The only true out of towners are absolutely immediate family, so I don’t think it will matter to them either way, and they happen to live in areas where schools close earlier than New York, so their kids won’t miss school.
I would attend. Its an honor to be invited.
I’d go. Free cake outweighs one short night of sleep.
I would attend too. But having said that, is there any chance she could move the time to the afternoon?
“A Monday wedding? Never heard of that in my life.”
My parents were married on a Tuesday evening. I have no idea why- just that it was the day after Labor Day.
If most of the people are fairly local, I am sure they will come. They just might not stay until the very end if they have to be at work early Monday morning.
Thank you. That’s what I though, too.
EPTR, I would have preferred an afternoon to evening wedding as would, I think my daughter, but my future son-in-law is adamant.
I would think that the bride’s friends will attend. You may have 1 or 2 who might have to leave early if they have to deal with babysitters and young children, but I am guessing that is not the situation. Back in the dark ages I got married on a Sunday evening and there wasn’t any issues with people because of work the following day. Some of my cousins might have had challenges with childcare and in retrospect I probably was not thinking that aspect through but that was only a few people and did not apply to any of our friends even though a few did have babies already.children.
Thankfully, she won’t have childcare issues because all of the kids are invited and wanted. My D adores kids as does her fiance.
I just went to a Sunday evening wedding, it was an hour and a half away and at the last minute I had a Monday meeting I couldn’t reschedule. It was 5 - 9, dinner, dancing the whole nine yards. We all had a great time. My preference would have been Saturday, but it was fine.
I agree with what others have said, that Sunday or Saturday night would not influence my decision to attend. Just curious, was Monday the planned last day of school for the district, or is this a result of snow make-up days? I often wonder what the powers to be are thinking when they come up with school calendars.
So the children who are invited to the wedding will also have a late night before the last day of school? Depending upon age, this could pose more of an issue.