I am on a very tight budget but I do have a lot of coworkers and friends that I want to share my wedding day with. How can I word the invitation so that they can come only to the church ceremony and not the reception? I simply can’t afford to do the reception with so many people.
We all want to share our wedding day with as many friends and coworkers as possible, even when budget is tight. While you may feel that in inviting them to the church and not the reception is a good compromise because they will be there for part of the experience, remember that they may also feel somewhat left out or not “as valued” as some of your other guests who have been invited to both the church and reception.
Simply put, if you invite them to the church ceremony, they should be invited to the reception as well.
With that being said, rather than putting it in an invitation, you can verbally tell coworkers and friends that you are having a small reception and encourage them to be at the church ceremony. (e.g. “My fiancé and I are having a very small reception but I’d love to see you guys at the church ceremony to see us married.”)