Bridesmaid +1’s

A true plus one is anyone the guest wants to bring with them. I think you're overthinking it. I had a friend bring her sister as a plus one. If I am extending a plus one, it is not my prerogative to dictate who it is.

A plus one doesn’t have a name on the invite because it’s open to anyone. As long as you don’t have personal issues against this person there’s no reason it should only be for a “date”.

A +1 is anyone your guest would like to bring. I know most of us would prefer a significant other, considering the cost pp, but it's subjective and not up to us to judge if we're leaving it open.

If you give your guests an open +1, that is, you didn’t specifically addressed invitations to ‘[Name] and Guest’, then you need to accept that your guests will bring whoever they want to choose to your wedding. In theory, unless someone’s date is broaching the territory of becoming their significant partner, then any date any of your friends bring are just people they want to party with.

Had you specifically invited significant others only, this would have been a different story, but in this situation, it would not be reasonable for you to define ‘+1’ since you’ve given everyone a broad right to bring any person of their choosing.

A date is not a +1 and should be invited with their name written on the enveloppe. A +1 is a guest's friend or family member.

A plus one is for anyone the guests chooses to bring. It can be a random date, friend, or family member. And no you don't need to know the plus one. You are definitely over thinking.

View Quoted Comment Exactly 100% this^^^^^

Def. overthinking it. A plus one is whoever that guest wants to bring along with them, whether it's a date, friend, family member, roommate. It's their choice who they bring, and although it would be nice, you don't have to know who that plus one is for them to come.

If you don’t want people to bring random friends, then you don’t give plus ones to single people. A plus one is whoever that guest wants to bring with them to keep them company.

You're overthinking it. What would be the difference between a guest bringing a friend and a wedding party member bringing a friend? A plus one doesn't have to be someone they're romantically involved with.

Nope, a plus one is any guest of their choosing and you don’t get to dictate who that can or can’t be. Some people use it as the opportunity to bring a date, some people use it to just bring a friend so they know they won’t have to be alone, and some people opt not to bring anyone. Two people brought plus ones to our wedding and neither were actual dates, but rather just friends. It worked out great because our guests they had someone there to keep them company. Not just for the wedding but for the whole weekend. Them having guests definitely made them more comfortable and made them have a better time, so I was thrilled that my guests’ guests could be a part of our day.

If you gave them a plus one you don't get to police who they bring.

I totally get what you’re saying, but don’t worry your bridesmaids will be less present with you because they’re bringing a friend. My SIL has extreme anxiety, especially around people she doesn’t know. She brought her friend (without asking) to my bach and then (invited) to our wedding and honestly it helped her so much. She was nicer to me than she ever has been, and was able to true chill at the reception. And honestly, I didn’t care how hard my bridesmaids partied or who they partied with at my reception—I wanted them to let loose and have a great time after all the formalities of the ceremony, photos, etc.

So you'd rather them bring a romantic date, someone they need to attend to but aren't actually in a relationship with, to your wedding, rather than a chill friend they know well?

A date is a lot of work. You need to be a good host and you are supposed to be courting the person and getting to know them. There is an expectation that it goes a certain way. You can't bail out of a sucky date halfway through a wedding very easily. And they are your bridesmaids, which means YOU are supposed to be their priority and they will spend a decent chunk of your wedding away from whoever they bring and attending to you. You should be glad they are bringing friends who don't need to be babysat and won't be a distraction and who won't potentially ruin your wedding with some weird behavior your friends haven't yet discovered or by potentially being a sloppy drunk or by uncomfortably forcing your friends do every single slow dance when she's just not that into him/her. Weddings are long, and 6+ hours with someone you don't know well in a romantically charged lovey dovey environment has the potential to backfire big time.

You don't get to dictate who someone's plus one is, and who they choose only affects you if that person is disrespectful, rowdy, or otherwise endangers your wedding. Personally, I'd rather have a guest bring a friend as their date to my wedding instead of someone they were just getting to know.

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Yes, exactly. we had a guest bring her adult daughter (who we had never met) as a plus one. another friend brought his brand-new girlfriend (like, it was literally their second date), which we raised our eyebrows at a little bit, but to our surprise, they are still together almost 2 years later! especially for members of the bridal party, they should be able to bring whoever they want as their plus one.

You are overthinking it. Be glad they are not bringing their parents, nieces and nephews.