Should parents of the bridal party be invited to the wedding?

#1 mclanm

Newbie

Group: Registered users
Posts: 2
Joined: 07-October 05

Posted 10 October 2025 - 12:39 PM

My son-in-law's sister is getting married. My daughter (age 32) and her two children (my grandsons, age 3 & 5) are in the wedding party, as well as my son-in-law. According to etiquette, would I and my ex-husband be invited to the wedding and reception, either due to the fact that "our daughter and grandchildren" are in the wedding, or simply due to the fact that we are "extended family" and brought together for various other family celebrations (i.e. the grandchildren's birthdays, etc.)

I believe my ex and his wife have been invited but my fiance and I have not.

This post has been edited by TWQadmin: 11 October 2025 - 07:16 AM

#2 Guest_expertplanner_*

Group: Guest users

Posted 11 October 2025 - 06:23 AM

Dear MClan:

The bride and groom generally invite their immediate families and friends. There are those guests who are always included, regardless of their relationship to the couple:

VIPS.

The officiant for the wedding and his/her spouse or partner;

The spouse, fiance/fiancee or partner of each invited guest;

The parents of children (small/minor) in the wedding party;

Everyone invited to the engagement party, showers and other prenuptial parties.

Other family and friends.

The couple may also choose to invite relatives who are not so close but are important to them, or are important to the bride's and groom's parents, though the couple may not know them at all.

As for you having children and grandchildren in the wedding, the etiquette regarding inviting children and their parents is referring to small/minor children and their parents. It's not applicable to parents with grown children in the wedding. Therefore, this rule doesn't apply here. Coming together for birthday parties and such is not the same as attending prenuptial (pre-wedding) parties.

As to whether you and your husband should be invited, if none of the other situations are applicable to you, and without having any other information for me to go on, your invitation (or absence of one) may depend largely on how close you and/or he is to the couple (bride or groom).

This post has been edited by TWQadmin: 11 October 2025 - 07:17 AM