Getting to announce and promise your love to your betrothed in the presence of your friends and family is a powerful moment, and the reception afterwards is always a good time of dancing, eating, and drinking. But your wedding wouldn’t be as magical without the right friends and family there. While sometimes you can’t avoid scheduling conflicts for the important people in your life at your wedding, you can do some things to help. Here are a few ways to make sure the people you want are at your wedding.
Be Mindful of the Date
The first thing you can do to get more of the people you want at your wedding is to be mindful of the date. The date of your wedding is the most important factor in whether people can join. Setting a weekend date is infinitely helpful in getting people to attend. Friday or Saturday are the best options. In general, people are more willing to take a long weekend or a half day on Friday for a wedding than they are to take a random Wednesday off. Weekends are also great because they give guests the time to travel if necessary.
Send Announcements
The next thing that you can do to help get the people you want at your wedding is to send out wedding announcements, not just invitations. Announcement cards are different from invitations and should be sent out a few months (3-4) before your invitations. Announcements will give the date and location of the wedding much farther in advance. You can make printable announcement cards if you get professional quality photos. Announcements help put the event on people’s radar early, so they can block it off in their calendar on time.
Don’t Do a Destination Wedding
The final thing that can help you get more people you want at your wedding is to avoid a destination wedding. When you do a destination wedding, you are asking a lot of your guests. They now need to travel by plane, get a hotel for at least a night or two, and be gone for at least a few days, often using vacation days to be away. If you really want people to attend your wedding, then it’s better to plan the wedding in a location that is just at a driving distance for most of your guests.
Your wedding is one of the most important events of your life. And the best way to make it special is to have the people who are special in your life present. Follow these three tips to make sure that the people you really want at your wedding get to attend.
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