Common Wedding Etiquette

Okay, so maybe I'm not the perfect wedding guest. At least I can honestly say I've never been excluded from a wedding (or any other affair) because I'm not a "good" guest. (At least, not that I know of!) Unfortunately, my friend- who shall be known as "Jane Doe"- has. And on more than one occasion. If you want to learn some common wedding etiquette, then read this article today! You may be glad you did!

Wedding Invitations
Since you have to be invited to a wedding first, this is the best place to start. When you receive a wedding invitation, be sure to read it in its entirety. That way, you'll have all the facts so you can make a well-informed decision. Above all, read the envelope- who is it addressed to? Are you just invited? Can you bring a guest? Is your entire family invited? Or, is the invitation for only you and your spouse? If you want to practice common wedding etiquette and keep those wedding invitations coming in the mail, do not call the bride-to-be-or anyone else associated with the wedding- and ask if you can bring someone who isn't on the guest list. Trust me. It's just bad manners.

Jane Doe has a husband and five, very active, children. Anytime she happens to get invited to a wedding, Jane promptly replies. That's a good thing. However, Jane always packs up her children and takes them along. Whether they're invited or not. This is one reason why she's often not invited anywhere.

Which leads me to: Do RSVP the bride-to-be as soon as possible to let her know if you can attend her wedding. A wishy-washy guest is an unwelcome one. The bride-to-be needs to know how many to plan for. And she needs to know ASAP. So, to be a good guest, communicate back to her promptly.

And if, on down the road, something comes up that prevents you from attending the wedding afterall, then let the bride-to-be know ASAP. She should understand that "life happens" and unexpected things do arise. This is just one more part of common wedding etiquette.