Immediate family ceremony. Having bride brunch with some extended family and friends.

Is this brunch like a bridal shower??

People have mixed feelings on this sort of topic, and I've seen a lot of people say it's rude to invite people to a shower/wedding event, but not the wedding. Personally, considering how the pandemic is messing a lot of plans up, I don't see an issue with it!

If it helps, we've had a couple of friends get married last year, and we have a couple eloping this year. All of them have had showers/events with people that they couldn't invite to the wedding due to the pandemic. It was nice that they wanted to still include us, even though we couldn't attend the wedding! We were all happy we got to celebrate with them, even if it was just a shower!

If you want to avoid people getting upset about being invited to something that they would bring a gift to, you could always express that gifts aren't required! That way they don't feel like they're just invited to a 'gift grabbing' event (although I wouldn't view my invite as such, but some might).

View Quoted Comment We’re going to have brunch, some wine or champagne and play games. Nothing crazy. I didn’t think to mention not to bring gifts. I could have my SIL mention that by texting them/email since invitations are sent. I really wasn’t expecting gifts or money because we don’t need anything and we are not going on a honeymoon because of the pandemic. Just looking for a way to celebrate with the ladies before I get married.


I’m the same way! If one of my friends got married and I was invited to a shower I would be so happy for them and just want to celebrate in a way with them. I would respect their choice for a small ceremony. It’s very understandable. At the end of the day I want to please everyone and respect their input and make them happy. It’s just taking away from my fiancé’s and my day.

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You could have her do that if you want, but it's def. not necessary. If she didn't include any registry info on the invite, then I wouldn't worry too much about them thinking you're expecting them to bring a gift!

I think the brunch is a great idea, and a nice way to include everyone that you can't invite to the wedding. It's so hard to please everyone, so just remember that as long as you and your fiancé are comfortable, that's what matters!

The etiquette of inviting people to pre-wedding parties if they aren't actually invited to the wedding aside, I don't understand why it's safe to invite these people to this party if it's not safe to invite them to your wedding.