To have a weekday wedding?

One of the last wedding I was at was a midweek wedding. It was a Wednesday but they gave plenty of notice, it was also after a Bank Holiday Monday so quite a few people actually took leave all week. There were a few guests left soon after the meal/speeches but there were plenty of people still remaining when the Bride and Groom were leaving. Arranging things like hair and makeup was so much easier than on a weekend.

They did serve a full meal but I really like your idea of canapes but would much prefer a buffet to afternoon tea. The only actual slight hiccup was that we all had to arrive to the church very early as it was in the middle of a load of schools and we knew that traffic would be a nightmare if we arrived nearer the actual time.

I got married on a Friday in the summer holidays. Everyone came who we wanted there we just gave plenty of notice and people booked days annual leave

I think it sounds fine, I personally wouldn’t be drinking for this sort of event so sparkling elderflower as an option would be a good idea, I love a proper afternoon tea with sandwiches, hot savoury items, scones and a selection of cakes. Also again if I was a guest id need caffeine free tea or coffee, I’ve been to a similar event and the caterers looked at me as if I had two heads, I can’t tolerate caffeine. Much prefer served afternoon tea to a buffet

We had a Friday wedding it was half the price of the Saturday. My son also got married on a Friday.

DD2 got married on a Thursday last year, in the summer holidays as like you @TheLadyOfWinterfell several of her good friends are teachers. Great venue, food, band, cake. Still going strong until midnight when venue kicked us out!

Not a single person declined because of midweek date (just over 100 guests). They just took the Thursday and Friday off work and made a weekend of it.

Champagne and cake at a venue sounds expensive and not enough, lots of people dont get time to eat prior to a wedding. You need to feed your guests.
didgeridid perfect wedding! pub buffet (in your town) or bbq in your garden after registry office would be perfect and low key so people can attend after work as and when.

Normally I would say weekday weddings are very annoying, usually very inconvenient in terms of having to take annual leave etc and let's be honest, a very obvious way of saving money for the host, whilst generally making it was more expensive for the guests to attend. Also they are usually less fun because people will usually work the next day rather than have the day off to nurse a hangover.

however, if most of your squad are teachers and as you would at least be doing it during school holidays, I would say it's probably actually quite convenient for everyone involved so on this occasion I would say go for it.

Would your other option be to book the latest wedding slot? Think ours was 4 or 4.40.

Then by the time we'd taken a couple of photos we went for drinks and a meal.

That was it's only half a day or even an early finish for your local guests.

I think for a low key, non party style wedding a week day is fine.

It's your wedding, your choice 😊
We've been to weekday weddings. As long as you give plenty of notice (bare in mind some people book holidays a year in advance) ilf people want to and can come they will. You'll never please everyone so do what's right for you both

ETA we had a weekend wedding at the beginning of Dec. We married at 5pm in a registry office and went straight to the party with a buffet. No sit down meal, no speeches, no photography. Saved a massive amount and no regrets :)

Sounds fine but I’d put on some decent food rather than picky bits, weddings are a long day for everyone even if they finish early.

I had a midweek wedding. There was definitely more people leaving early as had work the next day but those close to us used annual leave and we still had a really good party atmosphere. This is what annual leave is for, I work weekends so pretty much all my annual leave is used going to various family/friend events.

We did. It was small. Only 2 people lived in a different city and they were retired. We started festivities after the work day and ended early enough for people to get to bed at a decent hour. It was short and sweet which was perfect for us.

i think if you do a weekday wedding, you should rethink what a wedding really needs to look like. Does it really need last all day and go into the night? Is heavy partying something people are going to want to do on a Tuesday?

don't be disingenuous especially with family it's often an expectation. I wouldn't go because I think it's quite inconsiderate, but I am aware that this may cause other fall outs.

It’s completely fine, so long as you are aware that not everyone will be able to come.

Ours is a Friday. Most people travelling are doing so after work on Thursday so it is just the one day of annual leave. Funnily enough, the only people not coming are those who are retired and had holidays booked.

But you didn't have to. You could have not gone if it was annoying.

I would happily take AL for a wedding. Pretty much every one I've gone to we've chosen to take at least the day before and make a weekend of it. But it's completely optional.

To be honest I think midweek weddings are very annoying, but I guess it depends on your guests.

My cousin got married on a bloody monday, it was very inconvenient! We're not very local so had to take 2 days of annual leave, just so they could get a slightly cheaper deal on the fancy hotel they wanted!

If in school holidays and you do invite kids then that sounds like a lovely mini break for them are you looking at 2027

We got married on a Friday in the school holidays, just as they broke up for the 6 weeks, it didn’t seem to be an issue for anybody as we obviously sent a save the date well in advance

It's just a marketing technique/additional option... Woman can order it too, and men can order the standard afternoon tea. No need to be outraged. Perhaps we should cancel the ploughman's lunch too?

But what is YOUR priority? Not what are you prioritising by choosing this option. It sounds like it's the venue and the people? So do you not want an evening do with band, or have you decided not to have an evening do so you can make this style of wedding work? It's not clear. I'm just asking you to take a big step back and work out whether this is what you actually want, or if you've gone so far down this route you've talked yourself into it.

A free bar would absolutely not be my priority if you're conscious of budget. There's no need, one or two drinks included is enough (+ wine for a sit down meal) and I think that money could be better spent elsewhere. Nice food and drink is lovely, but if your priority is the people then there is something to be said for a full day wedding with perhaps more standard wedding fare. The day flies by, and if it's all over by 6 or 7pm you probably won't have had the chance to even see everyone.

We got married on a Thursday - 50 guests and the only people who didn’t come were genuinely ill. We had the ceremony at 1 then a really good buffet and free bar and done by 7ish? It was perfect.

And I’d rather the savoury food!

I was going to say it’s unfair men get proper food, when we’re stuck with rubbishy old cake that would make you feel sick on an empty stomach and not filled up in the slightest.

I got married on a Saturday, but in January. It cut the budget by over half. Have you considered having a winter wedding?