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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Something Old. Something New. Something Borrowed. Something Red White and Blue?


Break out the fireworks and bikinis!

Are you busy getting ready for a great backyard BBQ or are you confirming hair appointments and picking up your bridesmaid dress from the tailor for the upcoming weekend?

As we get ready for the 4th of July festivities, Bridelines wonders...holiday weekend weddings: a great way to have extra time to celebrate or a guarantee that your friends will be angry at you for ruining their beach getaway?

The ongoing debate about holiday weekend weddings (especially in the summer) will likely never be solved. For the bride and groom it’s a chance to have out of town guests relax and arrive with time to spare, for the guests it’s decidedly more of a conundrum. Some people are delighted to receive an invitation especially for a destination wedding over a holiday weekend; others cringe at the thought of having to take one of their few designated work holidays to celebrate anything other than not having to go to the office. Unfortunately, for the bride, the majority of our readers identify with the latter.



If you are one of the brides who decided to have a Memorial Day, Independence Day, or Labor Day weekend wedding, you are probably aware that your guests will have mixed emotions.

Think about how you would react to having to trade in margaritas by the pool and flip flops for fancy toasts and high heels. As we recommend for any bride, be considerate! The holiday weekend bride needs to be even more so. If you are having a destination wedding, your guests will still get to enjoy the weekend away and as a bonus get to attend a great party. If you are having your wedding on the Saturday or Sunday of the weekend, do not expect your friends to attend multiple other events (rehearsal dinners, brunches, etc).

Also, keep in mind that things tend to be more expensive around holidays. Try to keep costs down in other areas, because there is no doubt that guests will be spending more money (and time sitting in traffic) to attend your big day. We are not condemning holiday weekend brides, only a gentle reminder to be aware that having to go to a holiday weekend wedding for some is like having to work on Labor Day. It just feels wrong.

Keep in mind, this weekend is Independence Day…..a celebration of liberation and freedom….does wearing Spanx and catering to the bride really fit in with the theme? We leave it to you to decide!

Tell us your comments by posting below and visit the discussion on Bridal Tweet!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went to a July 4th wedding several years ago in the Bahamas--it was nice to go on vacation but sad that we didn't celebrate our Independence Day. Not to mention, the bride only invited me to the ceremony!

Anonymous said...

I couldnt agree more with this post.
I love holiday weekends..I also love the idea of destination weddings where the "destination" is somewhere nice-like the caribbean, cali, mexico, etc.
But having to travel to a wedding thats far away-yet not a destination that I would ever choose to go to-on a holiday weekend, is 100% miserable and a huge inconvenience to guests... It's way more expensive and I actually find it extremely inconsiderate.
If you plan on having a destination wedding on a holiday weekend in a place like Indianapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc-it better be a blast and consider doing something extra special for your guests and attendings!!

Bethany @ Budget Bride said...

If you're having an intimate wedding with your closest friends and family, there should be no concern about whether these people are going to prefer to be lounging in a deck chair to being with you on one of the most important days of your life. If you're inviting everyone under the sun however, then yeah, some won't show if you're having your wedding on a holiday weekend. But do you really need those people that don't care so much there? Do you really want them there, even? If someone I loved was getting married on a holiday I wouldn't throw a fit because I wanted to go to my timeshare.

The Professional Bridesmaid said...

Great post. I love how you guys delve into the more 'controversial' issues. Have a great July 4th.