r/weddingshaming • • 5d ago

Cringe Stop inviting me to your wedding after party

I’m tired of being treated like a C list friend and getting invited to only the wedding after party. Just don’t invite us! I got a text last week inviting me to the bar at 10:30pm after the full wedding has ended. So you want me to show up when you all are drunk and tired and dressed up? I find this trend to be rude, just don’t invite me!

Edit: this has happened twice to me. Once, I flew to another city only to realize I was invited to JUST the dancing, arriving after dinner had been served.

The second, I got a text a few days to come to a dive bar at 10:30pm after the ceremony and reception. I also happened to invite this person to my wedding earlier in the year, not that that entitles me to anything.

3.0k Upvotes

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u/thewhiterosequeen 5d ago

Can't say I've ever really heard of this. You can just ignore it, but you definitely don't have to dress or get a gift. I don't know who I'd invite to an after party but not a wedding. I thought usually an after party was just a couple of your close friends going from site A to site B.

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u/EaglesFanGirl 5d ago

That's what its supposed to be. Its usually people who want to hang out after the wedding is over somewhere.

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u/Emma172 5d ago

It's quite common to have a separate set of "evening guests" in the UK. I personally don't like the concept but it's not unusual

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u/Sixforsilver7for 5d ago

I’ve been an evening guest to a couple of weddings. It’s usually friends of friends you’d see at parties but wouldn’t hang out one on one or colleagues. I like it cos you get to have a party and don’t have to get too dressed up or buy a gift.

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u/spacecoyote555 5d ago

Yeah but not starting at 10:30pm 😅

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u/wickedkittylitter 5d ago

And there's food provided in the UK for the evening guests.

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u/Emma172 5d ago

Yeah you're right. A 7 or 8pm arrival is common

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u/quaylalikedelilah 5d ago

That's what an after party is, late at night

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u/Raccoonsr29 5d ago

But they were talking about evening guests to come to just the reception, not the after party

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/External_Survey8400 5d ago

I really like it for people I'm not super close to. Get to skip the speeches etc and just have a party

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u/FionaGoodeEnough 5d ago

That’s so interesting. In the US, the afterparty is for people you are closer to. They were at the wedding and you still aren’t tired of them, and you have been waiting for elderly relatives and colleagues and parents’ friends to leave so you can really let loose.

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u/primalprincess 4d ago

Yes here in the US the after party is the best part, it's only the people who can hang late AKA the fun ones!

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u/mettyc 21h ago

I think we might have more of a drinking culture in the UK - my elderly relatives and parents' friends certainly let loose!

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u/PhotographSad6053 5d ago

Perfect description! 👏🤣

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u/External_Survey8400 5d ago

That is interesting! I went to a wedding a few weeks ago, there were 30 of us for the ceremony and meal, then another 30 or so joined at 7pm for the dancing! I've been to a few as an evening guest - mostly coworkers that I would go on a night out with but I don't know their family.

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u/Dajmibuzi_dzieki 4d ago

The after party is not the dancing part of the reception. It’s the part after the wedding venue closes at 10 and all the people that are close friends or younger drinking age family find a bar and get more drinks and try to find drunk food.

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u/External_Survey8400 4d ago

Oh that's mental that you would invite someone to that separately. In the UK the venues close at midnight or 1am and that's when the night ends generally.

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u/hereforlulziguess 3d ago

Lots of venues in the US are open until midnight or 1am, so this reads as unusual to me as well. I've certainly gone to weddings where we kept celebrating after the reception portion at the venue was over, usually at bars, but that's different than what's being described.

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u/FionaGoodeEnough 5d ago

I think even when we divide it up, the ceremony is one thing, and then the dancing and meal are the reception. We’re generally pretty loose with ceremony invitations, because the receptions are where the caterers need headcounts in advance. My reception was adults-only, but I told parents that could bring their kids to the ceremony if they wanted to. Some did.

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u/Remarkable-Row3719 5d ago

Don't have to take the day off either!

(And, as colleagues are usually invited as evening guests, it also stops the boss from having his entire team wanting the same day off. Lol.)

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u/a-ohhh 5d ago

You guys get married on weekdays?

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u/ulose2piranha 5d ago

Friday weddings are not uncommon. Obviously Saturday is the standard, but — as someone in the wedding industry — I'd say that Friday weddings are much more common than Sunday weddings. It allows people time to recover and possibly get together for brunch on Saturday and then travel on Sunday (when all rested) for out of town guests or if the couple is going on a honeymoon.

I have also done the rare wedding in the middle of the week. That's usually because the date is very important to the couple and happens to land on a Wednesday. Every once in a while, the couple has their heart set on a specific popular venue and the only openings are off-days.

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u/Remarkable-Row3719 5d ago

Friday is the most popular day here; Monday and Tuesday still beat Saturdays and almost nobody marries on Sunday.

https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/dashboard-bevolking/levensloop/trouwen

(The pink heat table is for weddings, the blue heat table for registered partnership.)

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u/axbosh 5d ago

Some people work at the weekend

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u/knittedbeast 5d ago

I got married midweek! That's when the registry office had free slots.

Registry office in their 'big' room that seated 50 people, then the after party in a room that could handle a couple hundred.

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u/SpecialistTime6248 4d ago

Yes. But the after wedding party would start around 19:30. Not 22;30. Bonkers. Often for work colleagues etc.

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u/subcommunitiesonly 1d ago

Just getting a UK vibe check: my fiancee and I are getting married next year on a Friday, and we are planning a smaller more intimate wedding of 40-ish guests, and then opening up the after party (band, Dj, food, drinks) for 8pm to our extended friends. Is that pretty common or is it seen as rude?

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u/ayeayefitlike 10h ago

Totally common. We had 90 at ours and another 40 at night - mainly cousins and their partners, work colleagues and parents’ friends. I’ve been to a lot of wedding receptions myself where I didn’t attend the full day.

But you’d expect to be arriving at like 7-8pm, and there til midnight or later, and get fed some kind of evening food (hog roast, buffet, food trucks etc are common).

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u/tinatspoon 1d ago

It’s pretty common.

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u/tigerspots 18h ago

Big difference inviting people to a party at 8 vs 10:30.

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u/Bumbleberrypie46 2d ago

I've heard of it with Dutch weddings. I don't really know how to feel about it

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u/IWasGoatbeardFirst 5d ago edited 4d ago

Same. I would decline if I were in OP’s your shoes.

Where I live, the after party is for a smaller subset of the guests from the reception, usually just the wedding party and the bride and groom’s closest friends.

If someone isn’t close enough to make the guest list for the wedding itself, they wouldn’t be invited to the after party.

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u/ertri 5d ago

I’ve been invited to two of these but both times it’s been couples where we became friends while they were planning the wedding so we sort of missed the invite cutoff but otherwise would be. And the after parties were local. 

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u/notasandpiper 5d ago

That makes sense. Were the after parties fun?

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u/ertri 5d ago

Went to one because I was at a concert that night anyway, pretty fun. But didn’t know a ton of people so bounced kinda early 

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u/GoodyWolfe 5d ago

This feels like the only acceptable time to do something like that. My husband and I both changed jobs between the time our invited went out and our wedding. And while we didn’t have any after party, I could see why inviting new work ppl to only the after party locally would make sense.

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u/Bi_Steve_83 5d ago

I know of a case where basically the formal wedding and reception was basically family and friends of the parents, and it was a total gift grab.

There was then basically a second reception for the peer friend group, work friends, etc. of the bride and groom… those attending it were told to either make a charitable donation in their names or bring a gag gift, but please nothing from the gift registry.

No one sane and rational invites their peer friends as a gift grab, you invite old people with a lifetime of savings as a gift grab... and the old people know it, and go along with it anyway, because it isn’t like they have anything better to do, they are happy to be remembered and to get a chance to do something fun.

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u/devilshottie 5d ago

friendship bracelet earned post-seating-chart, that's a reasonable loophole.

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u/LexiAOK 3d ago

Oooo this happened to me too. For this friend, they actually had a second separate wedding reception in Europe and I happen to have moved here for a program! The travel was a hassle, but I’m trying to see as many countries as I can while here so really glad I got to go :) it was also for a kind of niche subculture and I’m very Interested in culture and language and things like that so I really wanted to see what that would look like. Overall fun time zero regrets

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u/londonschmundon 5d ago

Is a gift expected in those cases? It feels gift-grabby to me but I've only been invited to the whole thing, not a piece of a wedding.

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u/ertri 5d ago

No, this was literally just “hey, wedding after party is at X bar at Y time, if you all want to come by”

And, again, couples that we didn’t know super well when the invites went out but who we now see regularly

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u/londonschmundon 5d ago

Cool, got it.

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u/ohrofl 5d ago

Absolutely not.

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u/ertri 5d ago

Yeah unless you’re invited to ceremony + reception, no gift required. 

I had to miss a wedding once but was at the rehearsal dinner (was invited to the whole weekend, distant family thing) and did get a gift, but again was invited to the whole thing

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u/turBo246 5d ago

I have never personally been invited to only an after party.

The closest I've gotten to this was a guy I was seeing was invited to go to the reception hall after the speeches were done to enjoy the party portion of the reception, and they said he could bring me.

But to get married, have the full reception, and then tell other people who were not invited to any portion of the wedding to join you at a bar, is....so weird....

Honestly, I think it would depend on the relationship to the person as to what my reaction would be to this. Like if it were a coworker, I would probably just tell them to have fun and I'll see them and listen to their stories the next time we worked together.

If it were someone I considered a friend, I probably wouldn't interact with them after that. If I'm not good enough to come to the wedding, I don't need to be an after thought.

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u/Annual_Astronomer918 4d ago

In the case where my partners "close childhood friend" invited us to the after party and not the wedding, I just can't take that friend seriously anymore, I'm polite when I see them and that is about it.

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u/gurlysoftmist 5d ago

yeah, I’d feel the same way tbh. Being treated like an afterthought by someone you consider a friend would hurt

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u/Blue_Eyed_Devi 4d ago

You know what’s worse? Know the date of the wedding for 2 years, and not getting an invitation until the week before because someone from the A+ list cancelled at the last moment.

I mean, we still went but it did feel like we were the backup guests. If we hadn’t known about the wedding for 2 years, and the bride hadn’t said “I’m so glad so and so couldn’t make it so we were able to invite you” then it would have been fine and just had the feeling we were backup guests but because of those two things it was confirmed.

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u/turBo246 4d ago edited 4d ago

Sorry, but if you don't want to be a backup friend, then don't allow yourself to be a backup friend.

I personally would not have attended, and I would have told them why.

Being invited to a wedding one week before the date is confirmation of being a backup. It wouldn't have "been a feeling" because people don't do that.

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u/terisews 4d ago

Agreed! I will not be your back up invite. I am ok not being invited at all because I know things are expensive, but I don't want to be a back up.

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u/John_FarsonBU 5d ago

Just found out we're one of the only couples out of our friend group to not make the cut and got an after-party only invite. Sucks man. 

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

This is also part of it for me. I didn’t get the wedding ceremony, or the reception, (come people got both, others JUST the reception) I got a literal text for a dive bar. Like I might a normal night out.

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u/SuitIllustrious7324 5d ago

Oh wait that makes it even worse! The fact that some people were specifically invited properly to one event or both and then you just get a text? I don’t know. Somethings weird.

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u/LexiAOK 3d ago

Yeah, this really seems pointless. I don’t even think I could bring myself to invite someone to the after party strictly

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u/Impossible_Worth_874 5d ago

Weddings are crazy. Etiquette has gone out the window. The budget for a wedding is pricey so it’s understandable to invite close family and friends. What’s not proper or acceptable is inviting guests in so called tiers. If a couple cannot afford to host a wedding in its entirety don’t do it. It lacks etiquette and it’s rude and tacky. Host a champagne toast with friends and relatives that were not invited and maybe cake. But don’t invite certain guests to only certain parts of the wedding.

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u/JeffBezosLizard 5d ago

Is a champagne toast not exactly this (inviting people in tiers)? Genuinely asking what the difference here is.

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u/ShineOk2976 5d ago

This happened to me once. I also think this trend is in bad taste. I wasn't a close enough friend to come to your wedding and celebrate. Did they still want a gift? I'm not sure, I ignored it

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u/CampClear 5d ago

I've never heard of that before but it sounds really rude and tacky!

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u/hawkcarhawk 5d ago

That seems super awkward and rude. Like “Hey! We’ve all been celebrating all day together because most of us were invited to all the festivities, but it’s cool you’re here now…”.

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

Exactly! I don’t need to be invited to the wedding, it just feels like a weird pitty invite or an after thought, not intentional.

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u/MartinisnMurder 5d ago

Ya… and possibly gift grabby.

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u/tulip27 5d ago

Did they expect a gift?

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u/WildColonialGirl 4d ago

The idea of inviting people to some aspects of the wedding and not others still baffles me. Invite them to the whole thing or not at all.

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u/dutchhopeDJ1 5d ago

That’s an easy pass! lol too cheap to invite all they want at the wedding and expect people to show up for a party at 1030? No. Lol there’s always an after party with the invited guests after every wedding when you go back to where you are staying or just stay at the wedding venue if it’s a hotel. This isn’t a new concept at all when the bride and groom hang out with their friends mostly But inviting the people you didn’t want to pay for to go to the full wedding is new. And cheap lol

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u/onlyoneicouldthinkof 5d ago

I think it's rude too. Definitely feels like a cash/gift grab and that you're not worth being there for the whole ceremony.

I know people keep saying the party is the best part, but if you're not that much of a partier then it's really a slap in the face. And even if you are, it kind of sounds like they only want you in a party sense too.

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u/ComicsEtAl 5d ago

Although it is the best part, it’s only the best part if you actually attend both parts. Arriving to the party after everyone is drunk and wilding is not even a good part.

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u/TooLongDugong 5d ago

I would expect you'd turn up drunk for this as well, especially at 10.30pm - getting pre-drinks for a 7pm after-dinner wedding guesting is certainly possible but the later the hour the drunker you should be.

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u/ComicsEtAl 5d ago

You might turn up buzzed, but you’d still be on an entirely different plane from those who ware already there.

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u/TempoHouse 5d ago

Don't turn up buzzed. Turn up vomiting and fighting drunk. Serves them right.

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u/justcelia13 5d ago

Fighting drunk. Ahhh. Those were the days. 😝

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u/notasandpiper 5d ago

I've seen a lot of these where the ceremony and immediate reception are very family-oriented, and so the after party is when the kids and olds have gone home and the young adults can finally hang out and play the good music.

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u/I_wet_my_plants 5d ago

Is it normally also a text invite? That sounds so tacky!

When I’ve had invitations for the after party it was still an invitation card inviting me to ceremony and reception (after dinner ended) and the card was clear about it being a party only invite.

Also, we served pizza or something at 11pm when everyone was winding down the party.

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u/IndigoTJo 3d ago

We aren't talking about the reception. The after party is usually at someone's house or a dive bar after the reception. Basically for your closest friends not ready to go home yet. Sometimes friends of friends get invited, etc. People you know casually but aren't close with. Yes it typically happens via text, just as if you were inviting friends to a bar crawl or something.

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u/Equivalent-Low-8071 5d ago

But they aren't invited until 10:30? No way would I go - its like you're an after thought. 

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u/MartinisnMurder 5d ago

10:30 I am already comfy, snuggled up and had a glass of wine most nights haha

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u/Equivalent-Low-8071 5d ago

Lol...me too!

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u/FuckChiefs_Raiders 5d ago

This is a wild sub. Most of the sub is mocking people for how much they spend on weddings and many of the guests doing stupid shit to ruin it.

This simply saves the people money, gives them an intimate wedding ceremony with the most important people in their lives, and eliminates the brides co worker wearing a white dress and being in pictures.

You literally don’t have to go. Unless the person is literally my best friend and/or family member who I make a priority in my life, I in no way would be insulted.

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u/Puzzled452 4d ago

It is rude as hell.

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u/notasandpiper 5d ago

Totally depends on the couple and the invited. Are they in their 20s and love to party? Or are they 30+ homebodies?

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u/ForeignCup6977 5d ago

If I'm not invited to the ceremony, I'm not bringing a gift.

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u/CleverGirlRawr 5d ago

I definitely wouldn’t bring a gift if I’m just meeting up for a drink later. 

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u/Massive-Idea2302 5d ago

No cake equals no gift

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u/foodiebabe69 5d ago

If I get invited to the after party I’m not bringing a gift lol they didn’t pay for my plate or my drinks atp so I wouldn’t feel guilty. Unless I’m misinterpreting “after party”. I feel like at 1030 that’s post reception and perfectly acceptable to come empty handed

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u/PabloDabscovar 5d ago

Oh, they expect a gift?! At the after party?

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u/MissKrys2020 5d ago

Going anywhere at 10.30 PM is not an option

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u/ChaserNeverRests 5d ago

Right? I feel so old. I'm happily in bed and reading by then!

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u/Ceral107 4d ago

I feel like such a proposal is made by people who think a party has to last at least until 2am or the wedding is a failure and get upset when people leave before midnight (yes, I knew such people).

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u/lala_whocares 5d ago

People are bold man. I didn’t even know this was a thing

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u/CleverGirlRawr 5d ago

Wow I have never heard of this. Seems extra rude. 

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u/Dull-Complex6686 5d ago

I agree. I don't mind not being invited to the ceremony, but if I'm not invited to the reception for dinner and drinks, don't bother inviting me because I'm not coming and you're not getting a gift.

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

Exactly!

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u/RMW91- 5d ago

I can’t believe how often I’m hearing of people doing this nowadays. OP, I agree with you - if I’m being rated “C” list, I’m not interested.

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u/girlfromarea511 5d ago

I have never understood some wedding etiquette. I live in the US and a friend had her wedding in Ireland, I had travel plans which I altered so I can make it to her wedding. She didn't take a single photo with me, I was mostly just standing on the side. She took a ton of photos and constantly called her college friends but me and my mom who traveled (we planned a travel around her wedding) to Ireland didn't get appreciated for making the effort at all. 

It left me with a very poor taste 

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u/classychimichanga 5d ago

I find this ridiculous. I’d rather invite guests at least to the ceremony (which is friggin free) and cocktail/ finger food, if you really can’t afford paying a full dinner.

That’s what a colleague did with me and some other colleagues. At least I could see the actual celebrations and enjoy a drink with some finger food. Didn’t make me feel “unwanted” and much more elegant than asking people to come so late…

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u/Few_Policy5764 5d ago

This generation of couples getting married can be so tone deaf and tunnel visioned. I dont think id accept that invite and yeah it's tacky tbh

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u/Hot_Spite_1402 3d ago

This happened to me once. Showed up to the party and even the groom was like why didn’t you come to the wedding? There were plenty of seats! 🙄

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u/Archi_penko 3d ago

Noooooooo

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/External_Survey8400 5d ago

We do it in the UK - not at 10pm but evening guests just come to the party bit

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u/buddy0813 5d ago

I think what OP is talking about is different than what you are talking about. OP sounds like she is being invited to the bar after the evening party is over.

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

Correct.

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u/External_Survey8400 5d ago

Yeah fair, that would be bizarre and I would decline

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u/Catz2019 5d ago

Yeah but this is after the reception is over and people want to carry on so head to a bar or something. Not an evening guest invite.

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u/External_Survey8400 5d ago

That is completely bizarre, didn't even occur to me that anyone would do that

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u/xtiz 5d ago

Oh this is insanely rude unless it was like a family only 20 person micro wedding

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

Nope- it’s a full wedding with a reception.

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u/lowkeylovestea 5d ago

I had a wedding like this! Our elopement location only allowed for 15 guests max, which were our immediate families & their spouses only. We had a Happy Ever After Party but did not expect any gifts at all! We wouldn’t have even done a registry if it weren’t for our parents and their old school demands 😆

Editing to add: I was probably home by 10:30 and would never expect someone to head out to a party at 10:30 at my old age of mid 30s 😴

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u/xtiz 5d ago

That sounds lovely!! These are the kind of situations where it’s not rude at all. I would just feel so offended if it was a 100+ person wedding and I was just invited to the after party

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u/lowkeylovestea 5d ago

FOR SURE!! Feeling like a C list guest that only made the after after party for a cash grab is so rude!

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u/a-ohhh 5d ago

Yeah it sounds like you’re describing a typical reception. It’s pretty common to have a small ceremony event, and then a separate reception (even on different days!) OP is talking about an after party AFTER a full reception which is crazy.

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u/adorableoddity 5d ago

Wait….weddings have after parties????

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u/Neuvirths_Glove 5d ago

I've never heard of a "wedding after party." I know once our wedding reception was over the last thing I wanted to do was go to another party.

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u/schlomo31 5d ago

Thats fucking rude of them!

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u/Tripping_on_sunshine 5d ago

I had a colleague I barely knew once say to me “oh it’s a shame you are going to that festival thing as that’s my wedding day”. I asked her what she meant and she said “oh you could have watched me walking into the church in my dress”. So no invite to watch the wedding, just make the effort to go to her wedding venue to be part of a crowd watching her walk into the church. Yeah how about nooo princess.

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u/terisews 4d ago

WOW!!! That is a new level of entitlement!

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u/Theunpolitical 5d ago

I saw a post about deciding whom to invite to your wedding when you’re trying to keep your guest list to a certain size. Someone mentioned not inviting anyone you haven’t seen in two years and use "acquaintances" as your after-party guests in a private area suite or bar. But what about the exceptions to that rule?

What about the friend who was there for you every day for years, listened endlessly about your complaints on your ex, supported your business, donated to your causes, participated in your walks and runs, and even hired your deadbeat son to work for her? Then you move away, and three years go by without a conversation because you realize the relationship was one-sided the moment your moving van pulled out of the driveway. Yet you still follow each other on social media and see that she got married while others in attendance had never really been true friends to her.

That’s what this whole after-party situation reminds me of. Being an afterthought. Being someone who apparently doesn’t qualify for the wedding guest list but can be included in a separate gathering afterward.

It’s not about following some arbitrary rules of who you see as a close friend. It’s about the history you share, the relationship you had, and whether that person genuinely mattered to you. The neighbor who always puts your trash cans back in or watches your house when you are gone. It's literally about the people that make an impact on your life even when that difference in your life is with just small acts of convenience.

You deserved to be at the wedding. You deserved to be considered someone important enough to share that moment with, given the history you had together. Not treated like a C-list afterthought who gets an invitation to meet up at a bar across town after the main event is over. I learned a long time ago that people who put me on that "C-list" no longer has access to my time and energy. I'm not an after thought friend and neither are you!

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u/prosperosniece 5d ago

I find this tacky too.

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u/horshack_test 5d ago

People like this think everyone else is so enamored with them and as excited about their getting married as they are like they are some sort of celebrity couple* or something. Delusional.

*Not that I guve a shit about celebrity couples, but some people do for some stupid reason

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u/HistoryPristine1029 5d ago

Feels like they care about your present more than your presence.

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u/Junior-Sloth-1516 5d ago

Damn I would be furious if I flew to a wedding and was not feed. That is tacky as fuck

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u/Spiritual_Fan_5633 5d ago

I had no idea people were doing that, it’s super rude

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u/Redmare57 5d ago

I’ve never heard of an after wedding party but then again I’m older. And if you don’t wanna go to the after wedding party, you don’t go. Don’t make an excuse for not going just RSVP now and certainly do not send a gift.

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u/kikimdmistake 4d ago

Etiquette has died

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u/whatsthefussallabout 5d ago

I think this depends where you are. An "afters" invitation is common in ireland/uk where the wedding usually starts around 2pm and goes on until 12am - 2am ish. Tends to be extended family (cousins and the like) or work colleagues you aren't that close to, who live locally would get invited to that part (usually starts around 9pm after the meal). Its less common these days as people travel further from home for weddings and its bad form to give an afters only invite but expect them to travel. There also wouldnt be any presents expected. Its just more people to come and have fun with that you otherwise probably couldn't afford to invite.

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u/buddy0813 5d ago

I think OP is talking about being invited to the bar after all of that is over.

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u/buddy0813 5d ago

I think OP is talking about being invited to the bar after all of that is over.

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u/Which_Loss6887 5d ago

I was recently invited to an after-party in the States, and am a little baffled at how offended some people here seem about this concept. I have no cause for complaint or feeling slighted. The bride had been my neighbor for a couple years; we had hung out a few times and were friendly, but not close. She meanwhile had a huge extended family, both she and her now-husband are social butterflies with a ton of close friends, and the venue for their ceremony and reception/dinner only held about 150 people, which is a number they hit easily. So some local friends who weren’t as close got invited to join up at the bar after. There was a buffet, an open bar for the first hour or so, and they hired a really good local band to play. No gifts/money expected. It was a fun time.

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u/SuitIllustrious7324 5d ago

In your situation, I understand why you wouldn’t be offended by that invitation. OP’s situation sounds different though. Could you imagine spending money to travel to another city and not being invited to the actual reception and just dancing and not be aware of it? That is not OK.

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u/Which_Loss6887 5d ago

Yeah, that clarification to OP’s post came after I read it. The first situation they describe is…woof. I still wouldn’t be offended by the second situation, though, not unless I was like part of a tight friend group where everyone else got invited to the full thing except for me. But there seem to be a lot of people in the comments making strident negative assumptions about these types of situations that aren’t warranted, imo.

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u/goldgoldfish 4d ago

the event you describe (buffet, one hour of open bar, hired a band) is not what OP was invited to, and OP describes these people as friends, not a casual acquaintance like your neighbor. so your situation is pretty different.

this is before we get into cultural norms and that what's considered rude is not uniform across the globe.

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u/Lianel291 5d ago edited 5d ago
  • Dafür wirst du billig angeheuert – für den Preis von ein paar Drinks –, um bei der Hochzeit als Komparse mitzuspielen und den Anschein zu erwecken, das Brautpaar sei unglaublich erfolgreich und beliebt und habe einen riesigen Freundeskreis. Meiner Meinung nach ist das Heuchelei. Entweder lädst du jemanden mit allem Drum und Dran zur Hochzeit ein – oder du tust es nicht und lädst einfach die Leute ein, die du wirklich dabeihaben willst und die es dir auch wert sind, wie richtige Gäste behandelt zu werden.

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u/Internal_Set_6564 5d ago

I am going to give you a secret that I have learned after 60+ years on this Earth (and many, many poor choices), always have an excuse to not go to a wedding for anyone who is no paying for you to attend, and be ready to be cheated by 50% of those who are paying you to attend.

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u/CatsMom4Ever 5d ago

As long as you get them a gift, right? That's the important thing. Your gift!

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u/Economy-Magazine-670 5d ago

Brides that do that wanna feel elitist. It’s saying that you are not that important in her world.

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u/Agitated_House7523 4d ago

Welp, I didn’t get invited to the wedding or reception , or any party,only invited to a “bridal shower”,with registration information. Annnnd I’ve never met the girl. Apparently my step nephew is getting married…
crazy times

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u/purplelilac701 4d ago

This is so cringe. I didn’t realize rude people were doing this. You deserve better.

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u/DearNewspaper5401 4d ago

Hubbys cousin did this to us. Ceremony AND drinks. No meal. Didn’t go.

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u/Hot_Saguaro 2d ago

If it makes you feel any better a friend of my partner's told him I could come to the wedding but I wasn't invited to the reception. My partner went as far to tell him he would pay for me to eat or we weren't going at all. The friend ended up caving. He honestly thought we should both fly literally across the country and that I should make myself scarce after the ceremony.

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u/EaglesFanGirl 5d ago

WTF. That's not a normal thing - unless they are friends in town for a wedding and want to hang out after or something, this is really weird and kind of major faux pas.

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u/Middle_Road_Traveler 5d ago

I've never heard of this "trend". There was only one response appropriate to the text invite:

https://giphy.com/gifs/864GmV2h1oGXRXzud7

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u/DrFunke74 4d ago

Eeewww! I would be FURIOUS about traveling to a wedding, only to be treated like an afterthought.

Wedding invites MUST be limited to only the guests they can afford to feed dinner. Not every person you know is really dying to be part of your day. Most of us don’t really care that much.

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u/Embarrassed_Wrap8421 4d ago

It’s a gift grab. Just say no.

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u/Tex236 1d ago

Go but don’t give a gift - easy peasy

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u/Digital_havok 1d ago

I would’ve said: “I am the gift. I drove hours to get here”

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u/T0xicCupcakes 5d ago

I can’t be the only person who’s never heard of this being a thing 😅

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u/Burn_ThemAll 5d ago

The only time this happened to me it was with a new friend and we didn’t know each other well. I thought it was totally appropriate for our level of friendship at the time, and I went and had a great time. I would be really hurt if someone I was closer to only invited me to the party after dinner though.

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

She’s my neighbor, friend for 10+ years lol. I don’t feel strongly I wasn’t invited to the wedding, I also had a small one. But yeah this invite it weird

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u/ResoluteMuse 5d ago

“Thank you for thinking of us, we are unable to attend.”

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u/Artists_dirty_tshirt 5d ago

The party is the only good bit, the earlier stuff is boring.

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u/CrossRoadChicken 5d ago

Yeah but not at 1030pm. That's the after party, not the reception.

I've never even heard of such a thing tbh

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u/Brooooooke30 5d ago

Yeah I was being polite when I ran into an old friend bc I had heard she was getting married. I was like ohh your getting married soon I hear. She was like well it’s a small wedding with just close family but you can come to the reception on this date.. girl I was just being nice I don’t want to come to either 👀😆

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u/CombatCrayon25 5d ago

Yeah, that’s super tacky. I wouldn’t even send a gift to someone who did that to me.

Edit: in the US, this is peak tacky behavior since it’s customary here to invite everyone and their mom to the ceremony and reception. And an after party here is usually just everyone moving to a bar to keep drinking, there’s no food provided and you’re responsible for your own tab.

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u/TankFoster 5d ago

Do you mean you only got the text at 10:30pm, inviting you to the bar there and then?

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u/Ok-Trainer3150 5d ago

God....who is desperate enough to want to attend such a thing?

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u/Agile-Entry-5603 5d ago

To me, tiered invitations are just a gift/cash grab. If I’m not invited to the entire wedding, I’m not going. If I know there’s a tight budget and very small guest list, I will send something off the registry. Otherwise, it’s pure greed.

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u/and_now_we_dance 5d ago

Is this in the UK? I've never agreed with this tiered invite system.

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u/Megs0255 4d ago

I was invited to a pool party at their apartment complex a week after the wedding. Being invited to nothing would have been better.

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u/Couple-jersey 4d ago

This is called an evening guest, where you show up after dinner. Used to be a thing. Just decline

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u/dragon8733 5d ago

This is really common in the UK, a smaller group get invited to the day (the ceremony and wedding breakfast) and then the rest would be invited to the reception in the evening

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

So this is interesting- I’m in the US and this is not common, if it was I think I could wrap my head around it. But getting a text to come to a bar at 10:30 after a full wedding and reception has happened, I feel like an after thought. But I do get the concept, it being more rare here it feels weird.

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u/Formal_Service7234 5d ago

Wait, you weren't even invited in advance, but at the time of the party? I wouldn't have gone anyway, but that's even worse.

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u/Archi_penko 5d ago

No I did get the text a few days prior

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u/Formal_Service7234 5d ago

Ok. I still wouldn't have gone, but that's just me.

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u/Impossible_Delay1023 4d ago

In the uk tho the evening party would start at like 6 or 7pm not 10:30 just to be clear. Arriving at 10:30 is insane

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u/thinkconverse 5d ago

I think in this case they’re talking about the bar everyone migrated to after the reception is over.

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u/10S_NE1 5d ago

I think that’s the thing a lot of us have trouble understanding. I’m in Canada, and I have never been to a wedding that didn’t last the whole evening. This talk of going to a bar after the wedding just mystifies me. Does that mean that people have dinner at the reception and then there’s no dancing and drinking after dinner? Here, your average wedding reception is held in a hall and most people stick around until the bar has to close (for legal reasons). I can’t even imagine a wedding reception where people leave to go to a bar, unless these receptions don’t have music and dancing, but just a dinner. I can picture a very small wedding like that, but certainly not the big, formal weddings we are used to. I have certainly never gone out to a bar and seen people in formal wedding attire.

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u/I_deleted 2d ago

Here it’s not unusual that the reception venue has a hard curfew out time so there’s often a migration to a bar for afters, last wedding I attended even hired a bus to shuttle everyone to the bar at the end

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u/Nice_Back_9977 5d ago

It’s not the same thing, the evening reception is usually 7-7.30 to midnight in the same venue as the rest of the wedding and you get fed at about 8.30 to 9.

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u/EnnuiPigeon 5d ago

I had not idea people sometimes only invite to after party. How are they out here calling it an “after” party if people weren’t at the main party?

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u/General-Swimming-157 5d ago

My husband's cousin invited all of their wedding guests to an after party. My husband and I declined the invite to the after party on the RSVP and ducked out at 9:30. The following day, we learned the bride went upstairs to sleep at 10 and her new husband went out with a few close friends for a couple of drinks, and joined her well before midnight. If the bride and groom in your case are like that couple, then the "after party" might just be a few people and very short. I would definitely skip it either way.

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u/Grouchy_Treacle_1639 5d ago

My husband and I got married at the courthouse and then went out for a beautiful lunch together afterwards, just the two of us. We invited no one and it was seriously the best day. I find all this wedding over the top nonsense ridiculous.

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u/thinkconverse 5d ago

We did the same. Courthouse with just the two of us. Burger, fries and a milkshake at a local spot we like, and then a drink at the cocktail bar we met at. No invites, no other people. It was awesome.

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u/Styxsee 5d ago

Sounds awesome ❤️

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u/Pink-Elephant-12 5d ago

I’ve never been invited to something like this myself nor have I heard of this happening to anyone I know. That’s so tacky!

I have been invited to wedding parties/celebrations that have taken place weeks or months after the couple has eloped or had an extremely small ceremony. I have no issue with this because they’re typically local and the couple provides an open bar, DJ, and food, much like an actual wedding.

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u/BatDance3121 5d ago

And most importantly, "Don't forget to bring a gift!"

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u/saturday_lunch 5d ago

Once, I flew to another city only to realize I was invited to JUST the dancing, arriving after dinner had been served.

I'm confused by this. Did they send an RSVP and then uninvited you day of?

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u/badposturebill 5d ago

Never heard of this happening to folks, but there is a common denominator here….

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u/Rem-Dogg 5d ago

omg wow, can't believe this is a thing. no and no gift.

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u/Suspicious-Peak-4455 4d ago

Only time I’ve seen this is in my small hometown where everyone knows everyone and no one can afford to have like 500 people at the actual wedding so they let extended friends know they are welcome to come to the dance after the dinner.

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u/R-enthusiast 4d ago

It wouldn’t bother me because I would be asleep.

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u/General_Being9917 4d ago

This happens? The only time I’ve even remotely heard of this was when I was in school with the brides sister, and we had become friends very close to the wedding date. A few of us planned (with collaboration from the bride obviously) to come to the dive bar afterwards wearing little DIY “wedding crashers” tshirts. It was cute and completely appropriate since we became friends after the wedding invites and tbh probably not close enough to make the full wedding cut.

I understand weddings where they do a private/small ceremony or elopement and then have a reception but invites to the third stop only? That’s rude and crazy.

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u/-Blue_Bird- 4d ago

Also yes. It feels shitty. Being emailed a few days before the wedding that if we want we can show up (late after most things have happened), buy our own food from a food truck next door and drink it over.

Like I’d rather just not be invited at all. I don’t understand. I guess they want to fill the dance floor?? Or?? We didn’t even acknowledge the ‘invite’ and didn’t go.

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u/Sea-Highlight4232 4d ago

Flew 3000 miles only to find out that I wasn’t invited to the actual ceremony., Just the reception. These people are immediate family. When I’m feeling generous,I’m thinking they thought that we wouldn’t actually RSVP as “will attend”. People are weird.

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u/steal-yur-face 3d ago

Never heard of this but I wouldn’t be interested. As you said, C list friend.

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u/Medek8d 2d ago

I’d feel like this invite was a way of getting more gifts from the people that weren’t “ceremony worthy”. And, they didn’t want to spend money providing a dinner for them.

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u/MoltenFurious 2d ago

With me and my partner, UK. We're not having a wedding just a party type thing after we go down to the courthouse so technically I'd only be inviting everyone to the party

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u/glassinhoney 2d ago

Someone bring Emily Post back from the dead. We’re cooked. 

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u/pattybliving 2d ago

I just have to know, what else are these tacky people like? That is SO cringy ! So please describe them without giving them away obvs.

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u/OwnOutlandishness632 14h ago

I think this is crazy tradition. In my country (Poland) we have ceremony starting around 4:30pm and then straight to a party with full of food and drinks that are paid already and usually party finish around 4am. Next day is bit more relaxed party to catch up with each other with food and more of a soft drink so people can resurrect and get back to their life. My wedding started with ceremony at 2:30pm and finished at 5am, the next day party started at 11am and ended around 4pm. My and my husband paid for everything and everyone was invited to everything.

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u/TheRealcebuckets 5d ago

Oooo tacky.

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u/Hoobi_Goobi 5d ago

Yeah, unless the wedding is an extremely intimate event where they are only having immediate family and a best friend or two, this is rude. Either invite someone to the entire event or not at all if it’s a run-of-the-mill wedding.

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u/witchy_crochet_queen 5d ago

INFO: Is the ceremony/reception planned for really early in the day?
I’ve not ever heard of a wedding that had an after party, at a bar, at 10:30pm! Seems so strange, like they’d be cutting their own wedding short just to go with assumedly a very limited number of people to a bar? 🤨
I certainly wouldn’t plan to go either!

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u/potpurriround 5d ago

I would be surprised if they’re expecting a gift for the after party. If they are, for sure shame.

From my perspective, I love including everyone and one of the hardest parts of wedding planning was making the list. There’s family obligations that they may have had to prioritize over other friends. But it does suck to just get the after party only invite the night of.

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u/Veflas510 5d ago

Who wants to go sit in a church, listen to all the waffle and then eat below average wedding food? The party is the only bit worth going to.

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u/No_Frost_Giants 5d ago

Nope this is far better.

Keep the ceremony small and inexpensive , including the reception.

Invite me only to the party later to celebrate the couple without all the trappings and ceremony

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u/Salty_Thing3144 5d ago

A Gift Grab by another name. Gimme Pigs will try ANYTHING as an excuse to gouge.

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u/Fun_Bite_4663 5d ago

After party seems a bit dumb. I would think that the newly married couple would be kinda exhausted after their big day. Aren't they heading off on their honeymoon instead of drinking more at an after party? Who wants to be hung over the day after their wedding?