The Ultimate Guide To Essential Tips Every Wedding Guest Needs To Know

So since we have constantly been providing wedding tips and tricks for you weds-to-be, we thought why not this time we do you a favour to get the word out to your guests?

As we all know, getting invited to a wedding, whether it’s for someone really close or just an acquaintance’s wedding, is always pretty fascinating. As a guest, you get to play dress up, mingle with people you haven’t caught up with in a while, and have we mentioned the food? Well and of course, sharing the joy of the lovely weds-to-be!

As the bride and groom, your wedding is meant to be one of the happiest day of your lives; the last thing you want happening is for your mood to be ruined. So, below is a list of the “Top 8 things that wedding guests do that graduated brides and grooms secretly hate” for you to share out to everyone you know, so you can do yourself a favour by helping your guests be aware while avoiding any hard feelings (even if it is directed at them), win-win!

1. Choosing Not To RSVP

RSVP, is an abbreviation for the French phrase, “Répondez, s’il vous plait,” which literally means “please respond”. This allows the couple to know whether or not you’ll be attending their wedding. No matter whether it’s an off line or online invitation, it’s vital to respond as soon as you know your availability. This gives them a heads up on the number of pax or amount of food to order.

If you RSVP with a “yes, I’m coming”, not only is it courtesy to turn up, but it’ll also be unpardonably rude to ditch a wedding when the couple is counting on you to be there. Unless you have a valid reason or an emergency, costing the bride and groom a significant amount of money and deeply hurting their feelings will definitely not make you feel good about turning them down!

2. Making Last Minute Enquiries

Please put this on your to-do-list now. Make sure that the day before the couple’s wedding, you have already worked out the details of your arrival, so that you can avoid any last minute confusion. No matter what, contacting the bride or groom on the day of their wedding over minute things like how to find the way or what time you should be there when the bride is getting her hair done or slipping into her evening gown is a huge no-no.

They already have enough on their plate (like preparing for and celebrating the most special occasion in their entire lives perhaps?) and shouldn’t have to get further tied up with matters like that. If you do have some urgent last minute enquiries however, here’s what you can do – just ask another wedding guest or a family member of the weds-to-be!

3. Inviting Guests Unannounced

If your invitation indicates that you can include a plus one, then by all means, go ahead. However, if it doesn’t, don’t assume. Even if they know that you and your partner have been serious for awhile and going out for 5 years or so now, do ask politely before inviting them unannounced. Remember to place yourselves in the shoes of the couple. It’s usually just a matter of budget and is something you should respect, instead of feeling hurt that they cannot accommodate an extra person.

4. Being Late

Can you imagine if this was your special day and it’s about time to begin your ceremony and your family member tells you that only a quarter of your guests have turned up? How worked up would you be?

The weds-to-be would be grateful if you came at the specified time on the invitation to avoid any unnecessary stress such as if you showed up in the middle of the ceremony. If you’re on time and the wedding ends up being delayed, there’s no harm with mingling and catching up with family and friends whom you see once in a blue moon.

5. Turning Up Without Anything

If you have been chosen to be included in a bride and groom’s special celebration, then it’s pure courtesy to bring along a gift. Well, technically also because they’re treating you to dinner.

Simple gestures like a card with heartfelt wishes and money can do the trick too if you’re not too close to the couple. If it is within your expenditure though, make an effort to find a gift that matches up to the ballpark figure of the cost per head. However, if you’re extremely good buddies with the couple, you probably don’t have an excuse not to get a larger gift or perhaps something even more sentimental and personal. If you have larger gifts, a suggestion would be to send them by mail instead of lugging it with you to the ceremony when you’re all dressed up to the nines.

To have an idea of what to give, reference to the couple’s gift registry if they have one. Alternatively, the gift of cash will do just as well. 😉

6. Getting Drunk

Now this is a sight not only the bride and groom doesn’t want to see but everyone will probably have the same sentiments. There’s no saying how wrong things can go when a wedding guest has drunk more than he can handle. The list stretches from getting sick to doing something that will embarrass the hosts and be etched in the minds of everyone for a really long time.

It is a special occasion, so indulging in some wine is natural but just be sure to keep watch of your limit. Before you start drinking, pre-empt yourself that there will be many toasts later in the night that will give you the time to do so. In the case where you know that things should be kept under control, take tiny sips only and drink a glass of water in between to keep yourself sober. It may be offensive if you’re not participating in a toast, but you wouldn’t want to risk accidentally digging up the past with embarrassing stories of the weds-to-be, would you?

7. Letting The Children Go Wild

If the invitation to the wedding includes your child, it would be your responsibility to make sure he/she’s on their best behaviour especially during the ceremony and reception. If the couple has prepared some activities to keep these kids entertained, that’s your golden ticket!

We all know that kids can sometimes be really unpredictable and will end up throwing some fits of anger here and there. If this happens, bring your child out of the room and give him/her some cooling off time and so that it will not ruin the romantic and perfect ambience of the night.

A tip would be to have a babysitter on speed dial towards the later part of the night when you child starts to get tired. This will give you time to mingle with the couple after the ceremony and perhaps enjoy the after-party!

8. Showing Too Much On Social Media

With social media being the greatest trend of the 21^st Century, you might not think twice before posting pictures with the bride or the happy couple getting married on Facebook or Instagram. Before posting though, it’s good manners to check if the couple is fine with photos of their wedding all up on social media.

At times, couples will create their very own wedding hashtag and all the more encourage their lovely guests to share the photos online. But there are also times when the couples are certainly more private and may want you to wait until after their wedding day to post the pictures. Whichever the case, it is important to respect of the privacy of the couple regardless. And don’t ever make the mistake of posting a photo of the bride in her dress on the day of the wedding before the groom has even had a chance to see her!

With these 8 Tips, if you’re going to be the wedding guests for your family/friend’s upcoming wedding, you know what to do! If you are the bride and groom and feel that this post will be beneficial for your wedding guests to know, don’t be afraid to share it out on your Facebook page!

Have more notes you would like to add to our collection?
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}The Louvre Bridal Team
www.thelouvrebridal.com