Your thoughts - last minute invite

Ew no

Wait what.. no. Nope.

I've gotten invited last minute before but it was for the whole wedding!

Rude beyond belief -- on three different fronts.

1. A week's notice? That's a clear sign that a guest is needed to eat food the couple paid for another guest to eat, but that guest just cancelled. The couple has given their final numbers to the venue/caterer, and they hate the idea of "wasted food", so they'll find someone to eat it. But, wow, you didn't even warrant that...

2. You're not invited to the ceremony. LOL, there was a day, when church weddings were popular, that anyone could attend the ceremony. To be told you can't come is horrible behavior on the part of the couple.

3. You're not invited to the reception. Once cocktail hour and dinner are over and the plates are cleared, you get to come in and...stand around or dance. Don't look for an escort card or seating chart because...well, you're not on it. Don't worry about who you'll be having dinner with, because you won't be having it at this wedding. All in all, this "tiered approach" is a great way for Mr. and Mrs. Rude to fill their party with warm bodies so it looks like the event of the season (and they're secretly hoping that at least some of the third tier guests will think they have to bring a wedding present -- which you don't).

It's pretty clear that some heavy negotiations went on between your friend and his mother. He didn't win much -- and if you accept this insult of an invitation, neither will you.

If you want to party with your best friends, why don't you all go out together and skip the faux wedding invitation?

Go party. No gift

I wouldn't be insulted by this. I don't even consider this to be a late invite to the wedding. It seems like your friend just wants you there to hang out with him on a Saturday night so he isn't bored with a bunch of people he doesn't know. Is mom didn't even invite you, he did.

I'd go to the after party only. No gift.

Can't you just ask your friends if they want to meet up after...since they're in town? That half-assed invite hardly seems worth dressing up for...

I would ask if it's open bar, show up, rack up their bar tab, and peace. No gift.

I have never heard of being invited to only part of the reception. Don't go. Sounds like you're on the C List. Send only part of a wedding gift. Make a statement. Outrageous.

I wouldn't go.

I wouldn't go. Awkward as heck. MAYBE go to the after party....

Idk - UO here but if i wasn't doing anything, had no place else I needed to be, wanted to dance and grab some drinks, and there is no expectation of a gift - i'd consider going

That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my life and I would send back a kind HECK no response

I would go if

You felt like dancing that night, but I wouldn't bring a gift.

Hell no. This is incredibly rude!

Personally I would not attend, and this doesn't really sounds like an invitation since you weren't on the original guest list and this verbal invite did not come from the hosts. To me this sounds like your friend wanted you to be able to come so tried the "what if they just come after dinner?" approach and his mom agreed. You can hang out with your friends on a different night!

Not eveything all the time is a devious plot to get presents. Probably your best friend just thought it would be fun to party with you and his mom didn't think too much about. Seriously, how often are your own actions motivated by gifts? Probably not often if at all. Second, if you had children, how highly would their non-SO friends rank on your guestlist? Again, probably not at all. Give your best friend (who as a young man probably has no clue about wedding etiquette at all) and his mom who probably just thought it was a nice thing for her son, the benefit of the doubt.

That would be a nope

Go. Have fun. Enjoy the time with your friend. Be glad you don't have to sit through the wedding of someone you don't like. Just enjoy the party!

That's tacky! I'd skip it.