Marry Now, Reception Next Year?

If you're planning something small, why not do it at a national park or local park with just family. Depending on size, you may not even need a permit.

We were originally planning a mini-mony for Acadia National Park - 10 or less and no permit required. (We wouldn't have met that number our minimum was always 18) But we always kept that as one of our options.

We had to postpone with our venue till next year but still got married on our day. Just our immediate families there. We did it at a local park. We found a nice, secluded area with a mountain overlook. It was free and didn't require a permit. It was perfect! Beautiful, intimate, and special. There was even a picnic table nearby where we set up cake and punch for everyone afterwards. For having to scramble around the week of our wedding to find a place to get married, it couldn't have turned out better!

We got married last year, but if we were in this situation we would have gotten married on our original date then had a reception later on. I would imagine we would have picked the state park we got engaged at if we were in this situation. The park is very meaningful to us as it is not only where we got engaged, but it's the state park my mother-in-law worked for for 19 years. There is also a tree there my mother-in-law planted in honor of her dad (my husband's grandfather who my husband is named after). We also had our engagement photos taken there. Do you have a special spot that you could go?

We have the same idea. Itll just be us and our parents. We plan on going to our local botanical gardens and then having lunch/dinner. Just a small thing. And then having the rest of it about 6 months later. A lot of his family is from the New York area so they're not quite comfortable flying/traveling.

We're using my parents' yard. Do you have space inside or outside of your home (or someone else's home that you could borrow) that could be turned into a venue?

I also vote for someone's home or checking out the most scenic local parks! Or even reach out to botanical gardens and see if they can accommodate small groups for events!

Hi Everyone! Just wondering for those that are having a small ceremony now and their reception/celebration next year or at a later date - what do you plan to wear for your reception and are you planning on doing all of the typical "wedding" stuff (cake cutting, first dances, speeches etc) ?