20 Apr Inviting Wedding Guests to the Ceremony but Not the Reception – So Not Cool!

If you are considering inviting more people to your ceremony than to the reception, don’t! Yes, the church is likely to be able to hold more guests than your reception venue, but going down this path is a sure fire way of creating ill feelings from some of your friends and acquaintances.

Etiquette states that an invitation to a wedding ceremony carries a gift obligation. From a guest’s perspective, if you invite part of the list to only the ceremony, you will appear as just a “gift grabber” and that they are not worthy of joining you for the celebration afterwards.

Possible solutions…

• Cut the guest list to fit the reception venue – when people ask if they are invited, say it’s just going to be a small wedding for immediate family. People will understand and it’s the proper thing to do.
• Find a larger reception venue.
• Create a more budget-friendly reception to allow for all your guests (i.e. a brunch or desserts-only affair).

One last thing… this also applies to those invited to any showers. Invitees to any of these parties should automatically be on your wedding guest list, no exceptions!