Congratulations, you’ve been invited to a wedding! If you have received a wedding invitation, you should feel honoured that the bride and groom love you enough to include you in their special day! Although weddings are a blast, they aren’t your average night out with you and your buds, so there are a few rules of thumb you should know about before you put on your party pants and head out the door! Stick with us, and follow the below wedding guest ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ and we’re sure you’ll be invited to many more weddings in the future…

DO

  1. Purchase a gift from the registry: The items you find on the registry have been carefully and thoughtfully chosen by the bride and groom – they will appreciate that you bought a gift from the registry, and you can feel good knowing they will actually use it.
  2. Arrive on time: As a wedding guest you really only have one job – show up on time. Prepare for traffic, weather and other ‘emergencies’. Always remember, better early than late.
  3. R.S.V.P: Okay, as a wedding guest you have two jobs. Show up on time, and RSVP. Make sure the bride and groom know you’re coming and what you’ll be eating.
  4. Respect the couple’s wishes with regards to photography: Some couples’ only want their photographers taking pictures, and if this is the case, keep your phone away and enjoy.
  5. Dance!: It’s a wedding, you need to dance! And don’t worry about looking silly, no one will be focused on you, they’ll be too busy dancing.

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DON’T

  1. Try to upstage the bride: Ladies, a wedding is not the place to look like J.Lo at the Oscars, you want to make sure the bride is the best dressed in the room (and in case this isn’t obvious, don’t where a gorgeous, all white dress either!).
  2. Party too hard: No one likes having to carry their drunk friend to the cab at the end of the night (or worse, in the middle of the day) – make sure you eat and stay hydrated, because there will be professional photographic evidence…
  3. Expect the bride/groom to answer your texts: It’s their wedding day! The last thing they need to do that morning is give you directions to the venue or answer any other questions.
  4. Bring a plus one if you weren’t given one: Do not show up with an uninvited guest and expect the bride and groom to accommodate you. It’s rude and seating charts are hard enough as is.
  5. Bring your kids if the wedding is kid free: Similar to the above, but the same principle applies. The bride and groom have chosen to include or not to include kids in their wedding for a reason – respect their wishes and get a babysitter that night.

wedding guestPhoto Courtesy of Lindsie Grey

Being a wedding guest is not a difficult job, but it is an important one. The happy couple will remember their wedding day forever and you want to help make those memories happy ones.