It is an honor to be invited to share in such a special event as someone’s wedding. A wedding is one of the most sacred times in a person’s life, a time to be spent surrounded with close family and friends. So if you made the guest list, feel special.
With this excitement, wedding guests need to remember a few top etiquette tips for honoring the couple and celebrating the event with gracious style.
1~ RSVP Quickly. A quick response shows respect, and the fact that you are excited to attend the wedding. It demonstrates that you have made attending their event a top priority. The proper time to respond to an invitation is within 24-hours. Seven days is the absolute longest that you should wait. A special heart-felt touch is to add a little hand written note on the card letting the couple know that you are looking forward to their big day.
2~ How to Decline. If you can’t attend the wedding, it’s important to still respond to the invitation promptly. Simply write the couple a short note, explaining why you are unable to attend, and let them know that you will be thinking of them.
3~ Send the Gift. Wedding gifts are not normally opened during the reception. For that reason, it’s thoughtful to have the gift sent to the bride’s home, prior to the wedding. Doing this allows the couple the opportunity to open the gift and write thank you notes slowly instead of having to write hundreds after the wedding. It also makes life easier for the couple’s family, who would normally have to load all of the gifts into a vehicle after the reception is over.
4~ What to Wear. You are allowed to wear white to a wedding as long as the dress isn’t made of lace. Black can also be worn if it doesn’t resemble something that you would wear to a funeral. The wording on the invitation is usually a good indication of how formal the wedding and reception will be.
5~ When to Arrive. A safe time to arrive at a wedding is 15-minutes before it’s scheduled to begin. This allows you time for parking, signing in the guest book and a chance to say hello to friends before being seated.
6~ Turn Off Your Phone. Before you are seated, make sure that your phone is on silent or turned off. When the venue is completely quiet and the couple is exchanging their vows, you don’t want to be the one who’s phone is vibrating in your purse. Avoid even looking at your phone until the ceremony is over.
7~ Go Through the Receiving Line. Even if you don’t know many people in the wedding party, if there is a receiving line after the service, take the time to go through it. Be sure to keep your good wishes brief so that the line continues to move along. For the awkward moments when you are unsure to say to different wedding party members, just try shaking their hands and complimenting them on how nice they look, and how they represented the new couple very well.
8~ Ask Before Snapping. Make sure that it’s okay with the bride and groom to take pictures of them before you snap photos at the reception and put them on social media. You can always take pictures at the table of you and friends, but the new couple may want to be the first to post ones of them online. If the new couple is okay with posted photographs, find out if they have a hashtag, where you can post the pictures on Twitter for them.
9~ Monitor Your Drinking. Weddings are a time of celebration. Many people enjoy a few drinks at the reception, but it’s important to keep track of how many alcoholic beverages you’ve had. Being completely drunk is ugly, and will be something that won’t be forgotten. A good rule is to stick to only consuming two drinks. This helps you to be in control of your actions and shows respect to the couple and other guests.
10~ When to Leave. If you need to leave the reception early, try to do so as quietly as possible. Once guests see one person leave, others tend to follow suit. You also don’t want to be the one person that makes everyone stay up all night because you feel like keeping the party going. Respect that the bridal party may be tired. Try to stay until the couple cuts the cake and you start seeing others leave.
Even if you have attended dozens of weddings in your lifetime, it’s still important to remember a few wedding etiquette rules that will help make it a memorial day for both you and the bride and groom.
