Friday versus Saturday

Lately I've heard from certain people that a Friday night wedding would be "inconvenient" for guests. Although I can understand this idea I've found compelling arguments for having a Friday night wedding, along with it being my personal preference.

1.  Guest Guarantee...by having a Friday night wedding we're virtually guaranteed to have people there who actually WANT to be there. Instead of dealing with the random people who will think to themselves "Hey, I've got that Saturday free, how can I pass up free food, and free booze?" having a Friday wedding virtually guarantees that the people who are there actually want to be there.
2. The day will be shorter...think about it, a Friday ceremony at 4:30pm versus a 2pm ceremony on Saturday. Instead of having to get up with the sun at 7am to start my hair, makeup, getting dressed, etc. (not to mention the time necessary for everyone else to get ready) in time to start pictures at around 11am I can sleep in and start getting ready for pictures around 10am. Plus, we won't be quite as exhausted by the time 8pm rolls around and the real party starts. I know it'll be an exhausting day both physically and emotionally and being well rested and relaxed will help.
3. More Availability...yes, we're still a year out but by having a Friday night reception we're getting our pick of vendors. A lot of the vendors I've talked to are already booking up their Saturday nights well into the summer of 2011, but since we're working on a Friday night wedding we're still getting our pick of Photographers, DJ, Reception Site, etc.
4. Fridays are More Fun...Fridays were made for partying, our guests are more able to let loose and relax knowing that they have Saturday to recover and whatever work there is can be left until Sunday. Plus, great food and dancing is the PERFECT way to start off the weekend in my opinion.
5. More Time With Our Guests...Fridays offer us the opportunity to actually spend time with our guests at an activity the next day, we're thinking of setting up an activity like a picnic in the park or a tour of the local brewery or something for the guests the next day so instead of spending the 30 seconds we'd get to spend with them during the receiving line we'd actually have an entire chunk of time dedicated to spending time with them.
6. Looking Ahead...instead of having our 1 year anniversary on a Sunday night, we're guaranteed to have it on a Saturday night. Yes, this one requires more patience before it comes to fruition but they greater availability of stuff to do on a Saturday night for our Anniversary makes it worth the wait.

Yes, I realize I omitted one big reason to have a Friday night wedding-the deep discounts. But I omitted it for a reason, I'm not using that as a reason to pick my date. Is it nice to save money by having it on a Friday night? Absofreakinglutely it's nice, but I'm having a celebration of the start of my life with FI Fishie, and you can't put a price on that (well, technically you can since we're having this wedding on budget but you get my meaning) if I had my heart set on having a Saturday wedding I'd absorb the costs and not look back. But, I want a Friday night wedding for the 6 reasons I just stated, not for the added bonus of saving some money.


Please, don't get me wrong-I still love a Saturday wedding. If it's what the couple wants then it's perfect but, I've come to the realization that a Friday wedding is more appropriate for us and what we want.



What do you think?  Are my reasons sound? Or should I buckle under the pressure of "certain people" and go with a Saturday night wedding?