Dos & Don’ts for Wedding Guests

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It is not exactly breaking news that weddings are absolutely fraught with situations where bad etiquette can thrive. No one is safe from potentially committing a faux pas—not the guests, and not even the engaged couple themselves.

Sometimes, honest trip-ups just happen. Sometimes, the breach was never going to be avoided because the offender just flat out doesn’t care about their bad form. But sometimes, ick situations can be avoided when awareness is raised about a certain issue. As an example, I think that these days, wedding guests realize that not every couple wants pictures of their wedding splashed all over social media before the reception is even over; even just a year ago, people would post willy nilly without such a second thought.

This article in the Washington Post covers a few of these such issues, mostly on the part of guest behavior. The social media thing is in there, as is wearing white to weddings (apparently, lady guests have gotten a bit lax with this; brides have not!)—but it seems the number one crime committed by wedding guests these days is not RSVPing to weddings.

I absolutely can attest that this is true, both from where I sit professionally, and as I’ve watched oodles of friends and family members get married in the past few years. Whether it’s because people are busy, or because they’ve given verbal confirmation to the couple or what, I don’t know, but for soon-to-be marrieds, it is like squeezing blood from a stone sometimes, trying to scrounge up the RSVPs that they are more than rightfully owed.

What other guest issues do you need help handling? Have you encountered any situations where you weren’t sure what to do? 

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