Invitation Etiquette

[Heyitsnicolelee]

What rules did you follow for invitation etiquette? I have a huge family, and it would be impossible to invite them all on the boat, so we are having a reception back home with everyone and are just including immediate family, bridal party, and aunts & uncles on the boat. My maid of honor is set on throwing me a shower, but I don't know if we should invite the whole family or just those invited to the wedding.

[Carnival_Brides]

Bridal shower invitations are typically reserved for those who are invited to the wedding/reception. There are a few exceptions, but this can cause a lot of hard feelings.

[grooveynurse]

You are smart for doing it that way...only immediate family at the wedding. We are getting married in 42 days and the invitation/guest list has been THE biggest hassle of the whole experience. I made like 1000 lists including/excluding people.....and I sent my invites out super early. Once I got some "Not attending" RSVPs...I sent around additional invites. Now my list is full and people who initially declined are wanting to come :( Such a headache.

 

I know I wasn't much help, but I wish you mega luck with your journey!

[SuiteTraveler]

For those who cannot attend the wedding, the correct etiquette is to send out post wedding announcements and invitations to the on-land reception. Here's a typical example of the wording:

 

He slipped the ring on her finger, a promise made for life...

Join us as we share their joy now that they're man and wife!

A party to honor the newly married

John and Susan Smith

will be held on August 15, 2015

5:00 pm

The Golden Ballroom, Dubois Hotel

1526 Decatur Street

Omaha, NE

 

RSVP: 555-555-5555 Regrets only.

 

The announcement typically comes from the parents of the bride or groom or both depending on who is paying for the event.

Edited February 7, 2015 by SuiteTraveler

[dbrown13]

I agree, typically you will want to exclude those who are not invited to the wedding from the shower. It will save you the guilt that you will get from those that didn't get an invite and also save the hassle of having to change your guest list and plans to accommodate more people than anticipated.

[dbrown13]

You are smart for doing it that way...only immediate family at the wedding. We are getting married in 42 days and the invitation/guest list has been THE biggest hassle of the whole experience. I made like 1000 lists including/excluding people.....and I sent my invites out super early. Once I got some "Not attending" RSVPs...I sent around additional invites. Now my list is full and people who initially declined are wanting to come :( Such a headache.

 

I know I wasn't much help, but I wish you mega luck with your journey!

 

That's actually great insight! I hadn't thought of that coming up, but I will be sure to send invites to only once. I can't imagine having to change everything because people who initially declined decided to come anyway!

 

**Note to self, don't send more invitations out as guests decline**

 

Thanks GrooveyNurse!

[mrstriceasnice]

It was certainly not an Emily Post moment but how I did mine was that only our immediate family were invited to the ceremony, everyone else was invited to cruise with us. On their dime. We made the decision that we wanted it to be a very small wedding and that we would rather party for the duration of the cruise with our friends than have a wedding here where they still couldn't all be invited. Those invited to the ceremony had a special invitation card inside of their invite to join us. The rest had a simple invite to join us on our cruise.

[NL2134]

What rules did you follow for invitation etiquette? I have a huge family, and it would be impossible to invite them all on the boat, so we are having a reception back home with everyone and are just including immediate family, bridal party, and aunts & uncles on the boat. My maid of honor is set on throwing me a shower, but I don't know if we should invite the whole family or just those invited to the wedding.

 

It's usually best to just invite people who are invited to the wedding. For the others that are just attending that reception at home, if they really want to give you gifts, they will do so at the reception or send it to you another way, even if they aren't invited to the shower. I had a couple people offer to throw me showers that I declined, because the people they wanted to invite weren't invited to my wedding.