Got Wedding Etiquette?

  The purpose of an invitation to a wedding is to invite, with the main objective of ensuring guests know the who, what, when, and where of the event.  Thus, it can be made by word of mouth, by phone, or by email.     Although this invitation is much the same as any other invitation, it is more than just a simple invitation.  It is a visual statement before the guest even reads the words. Somewhat like a logo, conveying the formality and tone of your event through the formality of the paper, letter font, and style.  The more formal your wedding, the more formal the invitation.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be prudent to invite your guests via email, phone, or word of mouth to formal weddings.  Note If you choose to invite guests for informal weddings via email, it is best to list a land address for those uncomfortable with email.  Q & A: Wedding Invitation Interview Q: Rebecca, let’s touch on invitations first. Today, we do a ...

Groom’s parents considered an ATM with no voice Our son is marrying soon and has requested us to pay 1/3 of the cost of his wedding. However, he made it clear that we no say in any of the planning whatsoever - bride and her mother were handling everything.  Our son, bride, and her mother have been so very cruel—very disappointing and painful.  So, we stayed out of the way, kept quiet, and handed out cash. Even more hurtful was the bride's parents listed as hosts and we as "parents of the groom".  All are quite shocked, we are devastated, and our son and bride think we are ridiculous.  So that is done and there is nothing we can do.  But my husband would like to stand with the father of the bride to greet guests and he wants to give a speech at the reception.  They feel differently.  We feel so betrayed and hurt, but don't want to ruin our son's wedding.  What do you suggest? Hurt Parents Reply by The ...

If couples care what their guests think, the number one wedding invitation rule is: never ever include gift registry information! Additionally, we never list gifts on invitations, even if we don’t want any.  Requesting cash, in any manner?  Yikes!  This just may be the talk of the next few years.  It’s typically viewed as clueless and crass.    We may convey this message through word of mouth or on a wedding website, but never on the first page.  How to include registry info in the announcement?   Dear Polite One, My fiancé and I are planning a destination wedding to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica to save money.  We are only inviting immediate family and a couple of our closest friends.  Since we are planning this wedding on a shoestring budget and we don't need anything else since we've lived together for many years, we have registered for our wedding/honeymoon.   I want to send announcements of our we...

Am I expected to drop a cash gift in a card box at the anniversary party?   Dear Polite One My friends invited me to their 25th  wedding  anniversary.  The invitation stated that no gifts are expected and yet included that there will be a card box available.  Am I expected to give cash? Card or cash? Dear Card or Cash, Since the couple requested no gifts, they are expecting none. However, you may give a gift card to their favorite restaurant or something similar if you wish. But you are not obligated to include cash with the card.  It is unfortunate, however, that they mentioned a card box, which typically implies they expect guests to give them cash.  This is viewed as poor manners. Hopefully, they meant that the box is available, so the cards do not get lost.  We can only hope.  Sincerely, The Polite One Request for Charity Gift Dear Polite One June 10, 2006 my husband and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary w...