Announcments Dilemma/Help needed+

[InspiredBride]

I could really use some feedback about this...

 

I posted a few days ago about some drama going on with family members being upset they weren't invited (after my mom sent out a mass email about our wedding plans). I am still feeling a bit bad that some people can't be invited and have had a few ideas about how to handle it.

 

Keep in mind that the only reason we aren't inviting everyone is due to financial constraints. There are actually a lot of family members who I would love to see come, but it just doesn't seem right to invite some without inviting all, so we just decided not to invite any (they're all out of state). Also, my mother (who is paying for the wedding), specifically stated that she does not want to pay for the whole family to come.

 

So here are my current options...

 

1) Send out post-card announcments/invitations that invite people along on the cruise immediately following the ceremony. This way, people can come on the cruise to celebrate with us, but not to the ceremony.

 

2) Send post cards/announcements from our cruise to those who weren't invited just to let them know we're thinking of them.

 

3) Send out announcments before the wedding letting people know why we are keeping the wedding small, and that it isn't because we don't love them. We can say something like "we hope we can get together to celebrate with you in person sometime in the near future"

 

4) Do nothing.

 

Can you guys tell me which of these ideas, if any, you would personally be offended by? I just feel like

[InspiredBride]

...sorry. the end of the last post got cut short...

 

I just feel like no matter what I do there will be hurt feelings. I know I can't please everyone, but I guess I'd like to get through this with the least amount of hurt feelings as possible.

 

Thanks!!!

[GracieBebe]

I like option 1. If I were a guest, I would totally be up for that. Besides, any excuse to go on a cruise is a good thing! I totally understand about budget constraints and so I would be happy to be part of the honeymoon and celebrate with the bride a groom. So for me, definitely option 1.

[sunsetbride1]

I agree.. #1 would work for me. Say something like, we would love to celebrate our marraige with you on the high seas.. or something to that effect. And maybe have everyone have dinner together once they arrive.

[InspiredBride]

Okay thanks ladies. So now the question is how to word it so that it's clear they can't attend the ceremony without sounding rude. I ordered some vistaprint postcards and was thinking of writing individual notes on each one (so it doesn't seem like a formal invite). What do you guys think of that idea, with the example below...

 

Dear Cathy,

You may have heard that we're having a non-traditional/small wedding ceremony on a cruise ship on 10/1/09. While we can't invite everyone to the ceremony, we are hoping that all of our friends and family who are able will join us on our post-wedding cruise to Cozumel (immediately following). Check out our website or call me for more info. Either way, please know we will be thinking of you and that if you can't make it, we'll just have to plan another way to celebrate together in the future.

Much Love,Kimber and Justin