My fiance and I know three to four hundred people between the two of us. We want everyone in our lives to attend the ceremony as we see it as a time to worship and honor God. However, we are very private people, and would like to have a very nice yet intimate reception for our families and closest friends (about 75 people total) . Is this proper or is it rude to invite people to the ceremony, but not the reception? If it's okay, then what is the appropriate way of sending invitations? Do we have two separate invitations?
Thanks, Heather
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Oct 26, 2005, 3:31 PM
Post #2 of 2
(855 views)
Re: [HulaBaby] rude to invite to ceremony, but not reception?
[In reply to]
Dear Heather,
It is considered impolite to invite guests to the wedding and not the party afterward, the reception. It is as if you are saying that these people are important enough to invite to the gift giving situation, but not important enough to feed.
The only exception is the open church wedding where the entire congregation is invited. A cake and beverage reception usually follows. The family may have a private dinner after. However, yours is not this type of situation. 75 people is not a small family dinner. This is more of a reception.
Please only invite those you can afford to host. Most of us have many friends. But, many of us cannot afford to invite all of them to our weddings. We then have to cut the list until the list and budget agrees.
rude to invite to ceremony, but not reception?
