Sequel wedding

[StrongInside]

Hi,
This is something I’d never considered doing until we had to postpone our wedding yet again. I’ve found out a sequel, or two-part, wedding is a common thing. We could get legally married with our family and a couple of friends there towards the end of this year and then keep next year’s date as our celebration. I haven’t been able to get my dress fitted yet and I want us and our families to be vaccinated before we gather, so autumn is my preference.

My question is, what to do after the ceremony? We obviously don’t want to just go home and do the dishes. We aren’t pubgoers, garden will be too cold for a autumn/winter picnic. Having an afternoon tea at a restaurant would be nice, but that’s an 1-1.5 hours, then what?

Guests could go home and if we were childless, we could go away locally for a weekend, but we have no one to leave our child with for various family/personal reasons, so I was thinking a spa for two and home the same evening, but do I just rock up to a spa in my long dress? Struggling with the logistics of travelling between three different locations (ceremony, restaurant, spa etc.). Seems like too much effort for something we don’t have to do when we have an actual pretty location booked for next year, but just want to be married and celebrate a little this year.

I haven’t found a place where we could get married and eat aside from hotels, and I would rather not spend on hiring decorations twice so found a pretty park for the ceremony. Other than a spa, any other ideas for some alone time as newlyweds?

I’ve been to a few or these over the past year. Most didn’t have much after the ceremony - a few had cake, one had a meal outside in a big garden but that was in August. Most of the time we threw confetti, and then watched the newlyweds leave.

Two went on small U.K. breaks - if you rock up in your wedding dress, most people will make a bit of a fuss and it might feel more like a mini moon? If you choose a spa that you can stay over at, you could get someone to drop your child off in the evening, so you still get to stay away?

Have a wonderful day. I haven’t talked to anyone who hasn’t said they’re really glad they did it.

@TakeYourFinalPosition Thank you. I would personally want to have at least cake and a drink with our guests, seems too much fuss for the sake of a 10-15min ceremony to drag everyone in their best frocks and get ready ourselves.

Maybe we could manage summer, it’s just hard to know what restrictions will be in place here in Scotland. I don’t want to have everyone in masks and unable to mingle close up.

We could get our child taken home, it’s having someone stay with him overnight that’s proving difficult to sort and staying with him on our break doesn’t sound too bad but he wakes up at night and is a early morning riser so we wouldn’t get an enjoyable wedding night or a lie-in. Should’ve had our wedding before having kids🙄

Could you have a late wedding, have a few photos afterwards and go for a meal? If you married say at 3 after photos and getting to the restaurant it would probably be easily be 4, at the earliest, and then you could spend a couple of hours easily in the restaurant. By the fine you get home it will probably be 7 at the earliest and you and DH could plan some nice snacks and drinks for when LO is asleep. Maybe do a virtual present opening the next morning with those that have attended the Wedding?

You may wish to know that many years ago, a two part wedding was the norm if you were not trying married in a Church of England church and wanted another religious or humanist ceremony. People would be legally married in a registry office and then have something else, celebration and/or service, on another date. Most people would view the service/celebration as their wedding.

So don’t fret about it. Plan your larger, all inclusive celebration and wear your wedding dress then.

It's been possible for non Anglican churches to perform legal weddings since 1837, if properly registered, and Jewish ceremonies before that.

The two part religious/civil ceremonies is more of a European thing.