Do you need to have guest RSVP if they will only be invited to reception dance?

This is SO RUDE. I can't understand how people think this is okay

This is a thing?!

@Amber

Are you in the UK? I had never heard of this practice until on another wedding board where a large group of people from the UK defended the practice as common there. They also were adamant that cash bars were the norm except for the very rich and that Americans were rude as fuck for not paying for the wedding party's dresses and tuxedos.

I personally find it terribly rude regardless if it is common where you live. However, if you are in America this will not fly at all. Why on earth would you want to do this or think it is at all ok?

What?!

So let me get this straight. People are only invited to dance so you can save money? No food or drink?

Yea, it's a no for me OP.

PPs already have it covered, but I have to agree with them. This is terribly rude and I hope you reconsider.

I have never even heard of this before. That's insane.

Like PP's have said, it's super rude. There have been weddings where I was only invited to the reception but we were still fed and it was an open bar. If you want a small ceremony but a big reception you still need to feed those people.

IMO, this is the most rude things you could EVER do at a wedding. This is rating your friends and family, saying that some are more important than others. That's gotta feel like shit. I know I would feel terrible if I was in the second group...

TL;DR: Please don't do this. Have 50 people at the wedding. It's all you can afford.

OP, I'm assuming that you're not in the UK where this is more common. There are about a million reasons everyone has already given why this is a really bad idea, but in case you need another: Read your venue contract. This is explicitly prohibited in ours because people in the past have tried to "sneak in" friends later in the evening for drinking and dancing without having to pay for them. You could be in breach of contract if you do this.

I have only heard about this on here. Someone mentioned that it is a cultural thing. This is not an invitation I would accept

Lol- I had to read this twice to make sure it was real. Please don't do this.

Hard pass to tiered receptions.

Wow, I was kind of hesitant to post this as I knew I would receive these negative comments. I have been to several weddings and been invited to only the "reception only". That meaning the dance-reception, which starts at about 8 PM. This would include drinks on our budget for all. We are on a tight budget and are getting married in a campground for that reason. Hoping to have under 200 people to our "ceremony" which will be staying for dinner and dance, this being said our only friends would be those standing in the wedding and their spouses and those who we are close with. The list of dance-reception includes friends we have not seen in years or coworkers but want them to celebrate with us. Some of those friends who did just invite us to their reception (no dinner included). This is very common where I am from, I'm not sure why no one has said they have been just invited to the reception.

Both coming from super close families who we can not-not invite makes this very difficult on a budget that you are paying on your own. My dad being one out of 13 siblings and my fiancé's family mom 1 out of 7, dad 1 out of 11. I am one out of 7 siblings my fiancé one out of 4. I don't know if you guys have big families like this or not but this is "HUGE". To even bring up cousins is another story. My list of reception-dance only is at 70 people total which would add an extra $2000 to out budget. I don't know about those that left rude comments but we are not made of money and our budget was hopefully to be under $5,000 which is far from that. I hope some can maybe understand this is not rude at all considering those on that list are many co-workers or friends like I said we have not seen since school years.

I was just looking for help on those how have did this say for their coworkers? or those who are invited just to reception.

There is an easy solution. Don't invite coworkers you don't see outside of work and don't invite 'friends' you haven't seen in years.

Don't invite family members you aren't that close to. As you said, You aren't made of money. They'll understand.

Everyone else here has planned or is planning a wedding. And has a budget, and has a family. And friends. It's not like everyone here is a millionaire who can afford to invite entire villages to dinner.

Again, Just to add it to those saying it is rude not to feed or provide drinks to your guests. I come from a family that does not believe in alcohol so another reason why we will be only having alcohol at the "dance". Those family members will leave after dinner and there will be a known time between dinner and the dance to respect those guests that do not want to be around alcohol and also respect those that do want to drink and have a fun time.

Very saddened by the comments I read. I clearly do not think I will be posting anymore on this forum for this reason. It was just to get other's opinions but negative feedback completely.

I don't get what the problem is? Why do you HAVE to invite people you haven't spoken to in years?

We didn't invite our coworkers either. No feelings hurt.

I feel you won't get anything but feedback saying "don't do it" because pretty much no one on here has done it because it's RUDE.

I dont understand why you would invite people you are not close to? both my FH and I come from very large families. MY Father is one of 6 and my FH's mother is one of 11 and his father is one of 15. We took a look at who we could afford to invite and who we were very close to. Bc FH's extended family is so big, there are aunts, uncles and cousins we are choosing not to invite because its simply not feasible for us. They will understand since we simply would not be able to accommodate everyone and invite friends who are more important to us then extended family FH sees once every couple of years at family reunions. You CAN cut the guest list, the world will not end, people may be miffed or saddened but they will move on.

It doesn't make sense to invite people you arent close to and dont care enough about to keep in regular contact with.

Sorry, no matter how you try to justify it what you are planning to do is rude. You wanted opinions and you have gotten them. I'm sorry they are not the rainbows and skittles you are hoping for but the majority of the members here are not going to tell you a rude idea is okay.