I was married on Memorial Day weekend, only a few didn't show up.

I have mixed feeling on this.. We have a home in the southern part of our state and we always enjoy the long weekends away. Also, all our kids camp and enjoy the long weekends, too. I also understand the people that live a distance away. For us, if it is a family member or close friend we stay behind and attend. That being said most of the ones we have attended on long weekends have been poorly attended.

picky shopper, if you do decide to do the 3 day weekend, take into consideration...are you at or near a destination/vacation point? if you are, i'd make aarangements NOW for hotel/motel spaces.

sending out a date to remember card, is very important. better still, if you are a destination town, make a list of things to do before or after the the wedding.

time of the wedding...dd had hers at 11, and we had a wonderful brunch after..then some went golfing, others rested (me!) and we all regrouped for a evening dinner cruise (it was in ft meyers fl) that was so much fun...(despite a cranky groom's mother!)

A family (or close friend's) wedding would trump my desire for a weekend getaway. Period.

We did ours on Memorial day weekend, everyone showed up and we did it on Sunday instead of Saturday and saved a bundle.

My first wedding was on New Year's Day - worked great! Many of the guests appreciated the extra days to travel, but gifts, etc.

I vote no. I hate traveling at all on holiday weekends and dealing with the extra traffic.

I vote no also. I really like choosing my own plans for my long holiday weekends, especially because they are few and far between. Some people don't like traveling on holidays because traffic is terrible, some people have set plans they do every year for three day weekends. I would prefer even out of town weddings to be on a regular weekend, and then I can take an extra day off if I want to, especially with enough advance notice.

My friends got married on Halloween last year...and while everyone still went to the wedding, I think a lot of people were a little miffed because they were missing so many other things going on because of the wedding, which could have been any day. I personally am just not that fond of people holding those kind of events on holidays because I think most people would rather choose how to spend their own holiday.

Of course this is just my opinion, maybe I'm not in the majority.

I got married on Labor Day weekend because it best fit our schedule. It worked fine. I reserved our hotel room enough in advance and reconfirmed 1 week before the event where my new bride and I would stay the first night. Reservations are cirtical on hoilday weekends.

I vote for polling the family that has to travel the farthest and the closer emotionally they are to the Bride the more weight their opinion carries.

IMHO: tell her to elope and throw a fantastic ten-year anniversary party. Saves the couple more money up front for housekeeping and gives then (1) 10 years to save and plan for the party and (2) they can Celebrate beating the odds these days.

I would personally prefer going to a wedding during Memorial Day weekend. Then again we don't do much on that weekend anyway (at most maybe a BBQ). Memorial, Labor, and President's Day aren't really big deals around here. Maybe I'm geting old but they're like the 'clean out the garage', 'clean the gutters' type of weekends. What/where does everyone go on these 3-day weekends that they can't make a wedding? What am I missing!!?!!

I disagree with blitzyblond's opinion on polling the fmaily... big no no... the people whose opinion you don't listen to will be "totally" miffed... I did something similar for a smaller scale party and it totally backfired... you're not going to be able to please everyone. Bottom line, go with what works best for you (the hosts and the bride and groom). Sadly put, if someone would rather be somewhere else on that weekend, maybe they shouldn't be coming to the wedding to begin with.

I don't do much on holiday weekends, either, but I would *hate* to have to travel then. So I'd vote no. I'd still come if I were close to the couple, though. I'd just complain about it.:)

I agree with Susie53, long weekends are cherished in our family and I want to do what I want to do....and the traffic?? no thanks!

I say choose what works best for the bride and groom. You won't please everyone no matter what you do. Personally I would avoid the holiday weekend for the many good reasons mentioned above, traffic being the top reason, if you ask me.

listen to carla don't poll the family!! it just doesn't work! when we decided to have a family reunion, cousin and i decided on memorial day weekend, gave everyone 6 months notice and a wonderful turnout...

we had to drive from mi to kansas but didn't have to make one reservation aside from one in tiny town ks, lol...

I, personally, wouldn't be thrilled about going to a wedding on a long weekend. Those are "special" when you work. I so look forward to them for 3 days down time; doesn't mean I'm going away or have anything special, but I just wouldn't want to have to get dressed up, socialize for hours with people I probably like but don't necessarily want to be spending part of my long weekend with, etc.

I love weddings but would much rather attend one on a regular weekend.

carla, I almost always go out of town for three day weekends. Camping, road trips, getaways to little towns around the state. There are little cabins on the ocean my friends and I like to go to sometimes, etc....

So even if the wedding was local to me and I didn't have to travel, that would prohibit me from taking any other trips or making out of town plans for the entire weekend.

I love weddings, but since I only get a few three day weekends off from work in an entire year, they are precious to me and I would prefer to spend them as I choose.

My brother got married on a Memorial Day weekend. It was not a popular choice. Many guests already have standing plans for that weekend. Gas and hotel prices tend to be higher during these types of holidays and anyone traveling will have to fight the heavier traffic. I'd vote for picking a different date.

Thanks for all your responses. I just called DD and read them to her. It seems that more of you would prefer not to have to go to a wedding on a long weekend. DD had thought that it might be more considerate for the out of towners to give them one day of rest between two days of four hours of driving. However, some of you mentioned the holiday weekend traffic being much worse, and hotel rooms and gas prices likely being higher for the long weekend, which are very good points.

When it comes right down to it, most of the out of towners who have all the driving to do are close enough family that they'll come to the wedding regardless of how tiring the driving is, so DD thinks she will probably nix the long weekend to avoid the other issues it involves. Thanks for your input!