Invited to ceremony but not reception??

I’m doing this same thing, only because we know so many people ! But we can’t afford to have everyone at the reception. I just hope it works out

Uhh, no. The opposite is acceptable you can invite people to the reception but not the ceremony but I think it's rude to invite them to just the ceremony.

And if I were your parents no I wouldn't bring a gift.

If you can't afford to have people at the reception, you don't invite them to the ceremony. Trust me, inviting them to the ceremony and then telling them they didn't make the cut for the reception will not make them feel better.

Inviting someone to the ceremony and not the reception is only acceptable for "church family". This is because churches are open to their members 24/7 so they can't really be denied admission. In that case the fellow church members do not receive a printed invitation. Either the pastor makes an announcement or, the notice is published in a church newsletter. The couple serves light refreshments , cake and punch, to the church members while their other invited guests, move on o the cocktail hour.

The reception is a thank you to your guests for witnessing your marriage. Inviting to the ceremony only is beyond rude.

Cut your list to the amount of people you can comfortably afford to host.

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Good luck with that. Have you mailed invitations yet? If not, it's not too late to avert this.

View Quoted Comment That's what I was thinking.. It's rude and makes the guests feel like they weren't worthy enough to come to the reception.

View Quoted Comment Yeah, exactly what I thought. If it were my wedding I just wouldn't invite them at all.

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Our guest count would be over 70, if we invited all we wanted to. However I’d never invite some to the reception only, or vice verse. It’s so incredibly rude to do so. I wish I could invite everyone, but I’d rather invite those most important to me and host them well, than insult people by only inviting them to a portion of the event...Tiered weddings are rude. There’s no rule that you need to invite everyone you know, invite what you can afford.

View Quoted Comment Ditto.

If you can't afford to invite them to the reception, you don't invite them at all.

No, it’s not common at all because it’s incredibly rude. Honestly I don’t think your parents should even bother to go to that wedding at all since the bride and groom couldn’t bother to invite them to the reception.

View Quoted Comment I was hoping they wouldn't go since I found it pretty rude.. But my parents are too sweet aand will probably go. They probably feel socially obligated since they're very close friends to her father. I think they're even trying to justify her only inviting them to the ceremony as we heard she's being forced to have a second reception where her fiance is from..

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It won't work out. People will be offended and hurt that they aren't good enough to be treated to dinner and dancing. Don't invite people that you can't invite to the whole event unless you want to risk hurting a lot of feelings.

As a other PP have stated its rude to do that. The reception is a thank you for witnessing the ceremony. Its nice that you're parents are still considered going, they are better than me. However I would not get them a gift. That's just messed up for them fo be close with your parents and only invite them to the ceremony. I think that is a slap in the face. "Hey thanks for taking off of work, driving a few hours or whatever and watching us get married, now go home while the people I really like get to party, drink and eat amazing food with us" SMH.

It’s incredibly rude- unless it’s a “church family” situation. This is what we are doing. We can’t stop our church family coming to our wedding- but we did not send out an invitation to anyone. However, we are also having a “mini reception” to still say thank you to our guests that do come out and will be able to get some pictures of that as we are doing a first look so we can enjoy that time with them.

I wouldn’t go to a wedding that I was formally invited to but told “oh but I can’t let you go to the reception.” No need for me to waste my time.

I wouldn't attend the wedding if just invited to the ceremony and not the reception. I wouldn't get a gift either...... It's definitely not common - in fact I've never seen it. It seems like a sure way to ensure hard feelings.....

It's really rude to do that. You should never invite people to the ceremony but not the reception.

Very rude - your parents should decline.

View Quoted Comment Bad plan, you should rethink this.

I probably wouldn't attend if I wasn't invited to the ceremony & reception, and I wouldn't send a gift. I'd rather go to the reception than the ceremony. At the ceremony you are going but not getting dinner or cake, missing all the speeches and dances, and not getting to talk to the bride or groom or their family.