To only invite people to only evening wedding reception?

evening only are fine for people who live close to the venue, work colleagues, old school friends etc. If I get invited to an evening only do which would involve an overnight stay I’d be unlikely (depending on circumstances) to accept and assume it was a duty invite….

but otherwise it’s fine and normal. I quite like an evening invite….have a bop and and a beige buffet.

Evening invites are perfectly normal.

ive been to a few evening receptions,

dh and I had close family during the day for our wedding and then invited extended family and our friends at night. No one batted an eyelid.

my mum was adamant she was paying for the full reception so we did it this way to keep it cheaper for her. (Obviously without her knowing that was how we felt) I would have loved my friends during the day but it also meant inviting dh’s friends which I wasn’t as keen on 😂

Nobody suggested otherwise…

Unless it’s less than a tenner taxi ride home, I wouldn’t accept an evening invite. Absolutely not offended to receive it, just not something I’d budget for

It is completely normal and acceptable, but normal for some invitees to decline due to cost for what is a few hours, if it’s a trek.

I would be neither upset nor offended at an evening only invite, but it’s a different vibe to another type of evening party where people arrive at roughly the same time.

I think it’s fine if they live nearby (as in a taxi would be less than £20 each way) and they aren’t really expecting to be invited, things like parents’ friends. It would be awkward if they were expecting a full invitation.

I never see people in real life react to evening invitations in the way MNers do. They either go and enjoy themselves, or they politely decline because it’s too far, they have other commitments etc… and the world keeps turning either way.

I don’t get the sneering over “B list” guests either. Okay, it would be upsetting if someone I thought was my best friend only invited me to the evening, but that must be pretty rare. Most of the time adults can accept that some friendships and family relationships are closer than others, but that it doesn’t mean people don’t care.

Evening invites aren't unusual in the UK, however I would tend to politely decline - I'm not a fan of weddings in general, and would only really make the effort if I'm close enough to be invited to the whole day. That might sound harsh to some though.

Evening invites are common in the UK regardless of peoples thoughts about them.

Your situation sounds fine - guests are local and sounds like people will be well hosted.

As long as you’re clear they are being invited to evening only, they can choose whether to come or not. I went to a colleague’s evening do and loved it, but declined an evening only invitation to a friend’s wedding.
I also think people should invite who they want to invite. We had parents telling us we absolutely must invite various distant relatives. We ignored them.

Nothing wrong with it op.
I have attended numerous weddings over the past 40 years as an evening guest only. I sort of expect it if I am not a close relative. I’d rather be invited to just the evening do rather than not at all.

I absolutely do not think it's offensive. I think it's even more ok due to how small your ceremony etc is.

Honestly the people who get the hump about evening only invites are very tiresome. Instead of feeling good that people wanted them to be part of their day, they moan about not being invited to the whole day.

I love an evening only. I love weddings but the whole day can be very long.

I’m really close to some of my cousins but not so much with others. We get on well when we see each other but I don’t see a problem with only inviting them to the evening

I did some cousins all day/some just for the evening. Mind you I have 29 first cousins and my DH has only one he’s never met.

I think it's fine - we had evening guests nearly 40 years ago. But they were friends, neighbours. I think you can't eg invite some cousins and not others to the meal. You should set a rule about relationship to yourself and your partner and stick to it.

I absolutely don’t think it’s a thing to get an evening invite, I’ve only heard of it being one on mumsnet. In real life everyone I know thinks of an evening invite as understanding you aren’t in the bride and grooms top 40 or whatever but they would like to have you there to celebrate with them.

It’s just requests from parents / family who they would like etc

In that case I see no problem with it - after all "evening only" invitations are common enough - but do be prepared for them to assume they've only really been invited for the sake of extra gifts

It’s completely normal to invite some people to the full day and some to the evening.

completely normal and not rude at all

I presume the people who’d be upset/offended by an evening only invite would turn down an invitation to a ‘normal’ party

I think it's perfectly ok as long as the guests are local. Maybe it depends where and when you were brought up but in my experience it's always been the norm to invite family and close friends for the whole day (though with older relatives often going home fairly early in the evening) and for less close friends, work colleagues, neighbours etc to join in the evening.
However, I think perhaps it's become more of an issue as it has become commoner not to get married in the community where you either grew up or now live. If you're getting married in an hotel in the middle of nowhere people may well be prepared to travel a long distance and stay overnight if they're invited to the whole day but not if it's just for a few hours in the evening. So I do think couples need to be prepared for people to decline if that's the case.
But the OP is basically inviting local people to a party. I don't see why anyone would be offended by that. I've been invited to the evening reception at colleagues' weddings and more recently to a couple friends' children's weddings. I'm delighted to be considered important enough to them to be invited to share in any aspect of the day, not offended that I'm not significant enough to be invited to the full day.

I had immediate family only at the ceremony, due to the size of the room in the venue and everyone else was invited to the evening do.
Some people chose not to come, but that was partly because I booked the ceremony six months before we got married! Plus it was August so many people were on holiday themselves. Also 3 other colleagues got married within the same week as my date (we worked in a school) and I was last to book.
I had a lovely day and don't regret it at all

Evening only guests are completely normal and acceptable, don’t listen to anyone telling you otherwise. The only time it’s not acceptable is if your wedding is miles away from home and you’re expecting them to travel hours or stay in a hotel for a few hours worth of partying.

No one should be getting offended, I’ve been invited to an evening only reception for a work colleague, completely fine with it, never in a million years would I expect a full day invite.

I don't know what planet some of you are on. Evening only guests are definitely a thing and have been for decades!

For my wedding next year, we will be inviting close friends and family only during the day. Our other friends will be invited to the evening party, with buffet. There will not be welcome drinks in the evening because we simply can't afford it. The last evening do I went to did not have welcome drinks either.

Edit - we're not asking for or expecting presents from any of our guests

I meant much better if I wasn’t asked at all.