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L
Just Said Yes June 2023

Attend second lame wedding?

Lc, on January 31, 2025 at 5:19 AM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 5
I have a dear friend, who attended my wedding and has always been a light in my life. She is the kind of person who cooks you a birthday dinner when an injury in your family causes your birthday to fall by the wayside. She writes cards, gives gifts, and is generally wonderful.


However, she also makes hasty decisions sometimes and recently moved to another state to be with her online boyfriend. One minute she lived in my town, the next she was taking a U-Haul to Colorado. Because of her faith, she wasted no time on the wedding (belief that marriage opens the door to kissing, sex, etc.). My head was still spinning with her move, and yet 3 months later, I was in Colorado helping to host her wedding.
We are both evangelical Christians. I share some of her beliefs, but hers have a fundamentalist flavor. There is a sense that maybe she believes my religion is incomplete because I lack some of her more stringent beliefs.
So my conundrum here is that I’m being asked to a second wedding. The first wedding in Colorado involved a lot of work from the bridesmaids to the point that it was inappropriate. I stayed in a beautiful B&B with my husband and barely got to enjoy it.
The wedding was fun in a lot of ways, but it was sparse. It was held in an undecorated church with hastily put together dresses and suits. There was this sense that I should always be working on programs or centerpieces or something. Many of the girls stayed together in an apartment, and I almost felt like I got shade for staying elsewhere and not getting sucked into the wedding prep void.
Food was potluck, there was no dancing, no alcohol.
As we were packing up all the vases and ribbons, I heard someone say, “see you at the Texas reception.” I laughed and thought, well, we’ll see if that actually happens.
Well it is. I love this girl and like the guy pretty well too. But I 👏🏻 have 👏🏻 no 👏🏻 desire 👏🏻 to 👏🏻 do 👏🏻 this 👏🏻 again.
We are literally thinking of doing a sports tournament instead. Would that be callous? How do I explain it when I RSVP no?

5 Comments

Latest activity by Lorenzo, on November 28, 2025 at 3:59 AM
  • Michael
    Master October 2023
    Michael ·
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    Maybe say you were glad to celebrate this wedding with her but that the second wedding/reception event came unexpectedly and is best celebrated by those in Texas who did not enjoy the first event. You are needing vacation time preserved for you and your husband but wishing her and those in Texas the best celebration.

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  • C
    CM ·
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    Just say you're sorry but due to a previous commitment you won't be able to make it. You don't have to tell her that the previous commitment is something fun you'd prefer to do or criticize her for the way she put friends to work like unpaid vendors or is asking you to spend your money and time on two celebrations.

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  • V
    Champion July 2019
    Veronica ·
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    I would rsvp and if she asks why say you already have other plans. She doesn't need to know what those plans are or that you would rather do that can attend another reception. It sounds like your friend used you and other bridesmaids as free labor. It also sounds like she used her guests for free both. Both are tacky and wouldn't want to make me attend another event she has.
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  • LM
    Super December 2022
    LM ·
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    So the Bride still wants to have all the attention on her with a 2nd reception?? 😆 Hope she reads up on proper wedding etiquette or rings in her husband's help by then! Follow your instincts and pass. Say you "have plans" as you have your own family, too. You can still love your friend and maintain your personal and financial boundaries. Haha, she'll probably want a 1-year anniversary party, too, but just cross that bridge when y'all get to it.
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  • Lorenzo
    Lorenzo ·
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    Honestly, it sounds like you’ve already shown a huge amount of support at the first wedding, and it’s completely okay to set a boundary here. You can love your friend and still say no to doing the whole thing again.

    A simple, kind explanation works: just let her know you’re happy for them but you already have plans and won’t be able to make the second reception. You can still send a nice message or a small gift if you want.

    Saying no doesn’t mean you care any less — it just means you’re protecting your time and energy, and that’s totally reasonable.

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