Happy anniversary! Are you doing anything to celebrate? What kind of wedding did you have? I'm pretty relaxed about stuff so think I'd be alright with it all. Maybe. Possibly! I guess that's the thing, it's not just that they come along and eat and drink what you've paid for, they bring gifts which, I've found, are usually quite generous. Though that said, not quite sure that the value of all the gifts covers the cost of the wedding but that's not the point of it anyway. I think at my wedding there'd be an arrival drink, few bottles of wine/beer on tables with food and a glass of something bubbly for the toast so they'd get a bit out of me but other than that they'd have to buy it at the bar. I know someone who got married recently and they paid for the bar but as we're now at an age where lots of people are in serious relationships they said that there were no plus ones but that if you did want to bring your partner you could let them know in advance and pay the extra for them. Seemed strange at first but actually I can understand that, I wouldn't want to pay (£45 a head in their case) for partners of friends when you don't actually really know them.
I see it like you Mel, it's a great big party and a chance to celebrate with my friends and family. I completely respect the choice that you've made Nef to have a smaller ceremony and then dash off on honeymoon but I couldn't imagine having that! Even Aaron when it has been something we've talked about has said he'd want a great big party in the evening, doesn't mean expensive, just all friends and family there. You only get one chance at a celebration like that and for me I'd feel like I was missing out.
I like the idea of placing your own seats, I know when my sister got married she struggled with seating plans cos our mum and her dad were separated and had new partners so they didn't end up having a top table. That's a nice attitude to have to wedding gifts, I think now that I'm not a poor student that's an approach that I'd like to take. That said, now that I'm not a poor student I've had no wedding invites in ages!