How do I announce my wedding to family that I can't afford to invite?
Hello! My fiance and I are expecting a baby and thus are having a shot-gun wedding. We want it to be small and simple with immediate family and close friends. Also, we are on a tight budget making it more crucial that we keep our guest list small. However, I don't want my extended family whom I am on good terms with to be offended in any way. Is it better to send them an announcement after the fact and risk them being offended that they didn't even know about the wedding in the first place(a quite likely response for some of them), or tell them before and not invite them. Is there even a polite way of doing this?
I apologize for asking you to play Dr. Laura, but I feel like I'm in a predicament, and just want to do the lesser of two evils. Thanks in advance for your advice!
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Jul 10, 2008, 10:06 AM
Post #2 of 2
(1744 views)
Re: How do I announce my wedding to family that I can't afford to invite?
[In reply to]
Dear Feather,
I hope I'm nicer than Dr. Laura.
If you speak to your family often, there isn't anything wrong with verbally informing your family that you will marry soon. However, the biggest problem with this is that it could sound like, "I'm getting married with only those most important around me and you are not one of them." If you were to do this, you would have to add that this is due to financial restraints and not favoritism.
It may be better to send announcements, or even emails these days, announcing your marriage after the fact. Many times, we do this very informally in a letter where we can explain a bit further.
How do I announce my wedding to family that I can't afford to invite?
