Have you received a wedding invitation? Congratulations, you will be a witness to the touching creation of a new family. Perhaps this is your first invitation, and you may feel a little confused. Or vice versa, you are already a seasoned wedding guest and already know how it happens. In any case, we decided to tell you about wedding guest etiquette to feel confident at such a celebration.
How and When to GIve RSVP
The first and most important rule — don’t agree to the invention if there is a chance that you won’t be able to attend the wedding. If you are unsure or need more time, explain this to the couple. Otherwise, later it can become a headache for both you and the newlyweds.
One more thing: wedding invitations usually have an RSVP timeline. Try not to break it. But, be sure, and a couple needs to know the approximate number of guests as early as possible to start planning their wedding.
About Wedding Dress Code
According to the wedding etiquette rules, none of the guests can and should compete with the bride. The white is her monopoly this day. Remember this! The invited ladies can choose a two-tone outfit, where white will appear, but only as an additional, not the paramount, background quality.
It’s also not customary for ladies to wear black and red outfits for a wedding. Black evokes mourning associations that are not acceptable for the wedding. And red too attracts the attention, but you keep in mind that the bride is dominant at the wedding, right?
Note: if you have received an invitation to a thematic wedding, you should try to get dressed up in the theme indicated in the invitation.
Children at the Wedding
If your child’s name is not included in the invitation, then, by default, you are expected without one.
A wedding is a long and exhausting event, as a rule. Not every adult can withstand it, not to mention a child, especially if it’s small and still needs a day’s sleep, for example.
Providing the baby with the proper nutrition, sleep schedule, necessary care, and attention is complex at a wedding. After all, you want to relax, dance, and wait for the fireworks instead of leaving the ceremony in its midst, just because it’s time for the child to go to bed and it’s exhausted.
Wedding and Gifts
It is not customary to come to a wedding without a gift. Moreover, a wedding gift is not just a bouquet for the bride. And it is something significant, proportional to the event being held.
One of the most common wedding gifts is money. The amount in the envelope should, at a minimum, cover the expenses of the newlyweds for your wedding meal.
If a subject-matter gift is conceived, then before choosing it, it is advisable to find out the wishes of the young. For example, perhaps they need an iron, and they already have the tea set you are targeting.
Lists are an efficient and suitable solution for both newlyweds and guests. As a rule, the couple attaches to the invitation a list of items that they want to see as a wedding gift and the store’s address where these items can be purchased. Convenient for both guests and young people who are insured against duplicate gifts.
Wedding Mood Rule
A wedding is a joyful event, and it’s customary to have a corresponding facial expression. So, smile, have fun, share the joy of the moment with the young couple and remember, you are being filmed! So, don’t forget about these notes:
- Don’t abuse alcohol. You don’t have to be drunk to be cheerful.
- Broken glass and wine spilled on a neighbor’s dress are the problems you created, and they shouldn’t turn into newlyweds’ issues. Reimbursement and elimination of the consequences is your task.
- Prepare your congratulatory speech in advance. Choose your words that come from your sincere heart. And replace the wedding exclamation with a simple “Be happy!” — young people will only be grateful to you for such tact.
Wedding Etiquette Tips at the Banquet
So, you’re at a wedding banquet. Some of these nuances will help you feel confident and comfortable at any wedding celebration with feasts:
- Place the cloth on your lap. Before getting up from the table, put it to the left of the plate without folding it.
- It’s unnecessary to remember which appliance is intended for which dish — start using them sequentially from the edges to the center.
- When you have finished eating, place the cutlery on a plate parallel to each other with the handles to the right. If you plan to continue enjoying your meal after a short break, place the knife and fork on the plate crosswise with the bulge down.
- Did you drop your knife or fork? Don’t try to lift the device off the floor, but delicately ask for a replacement.
- It would help if you didn’t reach across the table for sauce, spices, or some dish — ask one of the guests to pass the desired object.
- It’s indecent to eat fruit by biting straight from it. It’s permissible to peel it in hand, but it is on a dessert plate with a knife and fork.
- Topics that should not be discussed at a standard table are family life, income, setbacks, religion, politics, illness. Don’t raise questions that concern only you and your interlocutor and are understandable only to you two.
It will be very polite of you to exchange a couple of phrases with each of your neighbors at the table. Listen carefully to the interlocutor and do not interrupt.
These rules will help you maintain good manners and feel comfortable at such an important event as a wedding, whether you are a guest or a hero of the occasion. The main thing to understand is that etiquette applies not only to traditional ceremonies!