If wedding invitations are not flowing through your letter box on a regular basis, you may be wondering how to respond to them when one does land on your door mat (p.s. don’t worry if you haven’t received any yet, they tend to come in large doses all at once somehow).
Here is a list of tips on how to respond to wedding invitations in a correct and polite manner that’ll leave you feeling like you have a degree in the matter.
Save the date
Mark the event in your diary and decide if anything needs to be rearranged well in advance of the date. Depending on your relationship with the husband- and wife-to-be, you may decide that a clashing event is more important and you can’t make their special day. Though what could be more appealing that free alcohol and food.
RSVP by date given
Responding by the date given on wedding invitations is extremely important, for the bride and groom as much as for you.
Giving notice in good time is polite and will allow the headline couple to finalize plans and ensure all guests get the full hospitality on the day.
Your RSVP response could take many forms but even in today’s digital age, a text or email would be frowned upon. The more ancient method of paper and pen is more appropriate. There will either be space on the request to RSVP or you could reply via a separate card. Either way, make sure to say thank you and congratulate the couple on their engagement at the same time as detailing your availability, menu preference, and any other requested details.
Display wedding invitations
Put up any wedding invitations you receive. Chances are, the authors have put a great deal of thought into their design and you want to avoid the awkwardness of them coming round to your house and not seeing their piece of art in all its glory on the windowsill or notice board.
Sort out your outfit
The invitation, if designed well, should radiate the atmosphere the soon-to-be husband and wife want to create on their big day.
The design will either be loud and busy, subtle and minimal, or clean and simple. Whichever it is, it should give you an idea of the theme of the ceremony which you can treat as a guiding template when shopping for your outfit.
Don’t try on too many outfits, though, because this will harbor indeciveness and, quite frankly, you’re not the main attraction on the day so seek to avoid upstaging the bride and groom. This is a big no, no.
Prepare a speech
Along with your wedding invitations, perhaps you have been asked to be best man or a bride’s maid. If so, these important roles obviously require extra preparation, not to mention several re-writes of the keynote best man’s speech.
Otherwise, if you’re not being trusted with any of these responsibilities, you could still prepare a short speech to deliver on the day – I’m sure your wit and charm would be a welcomed presence amongst empty bottles of wine, joyous guests, and other cringe-worthy speeches.
Invite them to yours
I’m a long way from fooling someone to marry me; gosh, don’t make me think about married life; I have a few more years of freedom left yet I hope, you may be thinking.
It would be worthwhile, however, to make a mental note of all the weddings you’ve been invited to so that when it comes round to yours (do not give up hope yet, it could be right around the next corner) you can invite them back and avoid the awkwardness of forgetting to return the favor.
On the big day
You’re at the ceremony, so you’ve probably done all of the foregoing in the correct manner. Now, exploit the free hospitality, enjoy the euphoric atmosphere, and be sure to support every joke the bride and groom attempt – even if it really is the sort of joke you’d find down the back of a sofa.
