Using a wedding as an excuse to have a reunion?

No, this isn’t bad at all! When people say that you shouldn’t use weddings as a family reunion, it is referring to external family members getting upset because certain members of the family weren’t invited. Basically, it is saying that couples should not get bullied into feeling as though they need to invite every single family member, and their weddings shouldn’t get hijacked into being a family reunion. However, if you want to use your wedding as an excuse to get everyone together, that’s perfectly fine!

This comment is usually directed more at brides that are stressed over their parents or extended family getting upset with them for not inviting certain family members. If your entire guest is everyone that you and your future spouse truly want at your wedding, then there’s no issue.

It's your wedding. You get to decide what you do with it. I hope all of your family are able to be with you on your day.

Yes yes, agree with everyone above! Generally when this statement is made it's because someone who is not the Bride or Groom starts trying to invite more people than the Bride/Groom are comfortable with or lots of people they don't know.

I actually viewed our wedding the same way you are and I'm super excited for ALL our extended family to get together and hang for the first time in years!

Bottom line is it's your wedding so you can do whatever makes your heart happy

Like everyone mentioned, the "family reunion" comment is usually geared towards situations where people other than the bride or groom try to invite people the bride or groom don't want to/ can't afford to invite under the guise of "bUt THeY'rE FaMILy!" I invited all of my family members because I wanted to have them there, we could afford to host them, and we genuinely enjoyed celebrating with them. That's not the case for everyone, though, and sometimes it makes sense for a couple not to invite all of their family members for whatever reason. Both are okay

My wedding will be a family reunion of sorts on my side of the family. If my 6 siblings attend it'll be the first time we've all been together in years. My family has had some devastating deaths in the last 3 years and we definitely need a joyous occasion.

Every family has a different dynamic from the next. So no two weddings will be alike. Some families prefer to use them as reunions because they don’t have an annual family reunion picnic at a separate date. Others will do everything to avoid a reunion. Neither is right or wrong but that’s something that you decide for yourself what you plan to do and don’t judge or worry what others decide for their own weddings.


In our families, weddings are for the whole family and they are a reunion. That doesn’t mean invite people you have no relationship with.
At the same time that there is a stigma against “weddings as family reunions”, an equal number of couples have no relationship with their immediate families (parents, siblings, grandparents) that they are told to invite first as a bare minimum and everyone beyond that is optional, even if they are much closer to extended family instead.