Weddings are supposed to be exciting. However, this isn’t always the case for many adults.
Think about it.
Watching two people talk about how much they love each other isn’t exactly thrilling.
For this reason, many people decide to skip this part and attend the reception. But is that okay?
So, Is It Rude to Go to The Reception If You Didn’t Attend The Wedding?
Well, it depends on your situation. If you have been invited to both the wedding and the reception, skipping one might be rude. However, if you’ve only been invited to the reception, you aren’t committing any offense.
For some reason, the trip to the reception might be easier than going to the wedding ceremony. But either way, if you are not going to make it to the ceremony, be courteous enough to tell the couple about your absence.
Six Reasons Why You May Skip the Wedding and Attend the Reception
In many weddings, skipping the wedding ceremony and only attending the reception is not good.
However, some valid reasons can make you come to this decision.
Some cultures consider it taboo to be extremely late to the wedding and show up at the reception.
But if you aren’t a cultural person, you are excused. All the same, we encourage you to attend both functions.
Here are some reasons for skipping the wedding but attending the reception.
1. The Location is Far
Traveling needs a commitment of time and money.
And this can be worse if you are going to two separate locations that aren’t close to you.
Imagine traveling several hours to get to the wedding and then another hour or two to the reception.
This might make no sense for many people, and some will skip the entire event altogether.
However, instead of missing both the ceremony and reception, we advise you to miss the wedding and attend the party.
But, if you make this decision, ensure you talk to the couple about your plan.
2. You Have Kids
Most weddings don’t invite children under 16 years old. And this is understandable since you know how kids are.
However, if you are a parent with small kids, you need to find a babysitter to watch over them for more than 10 hours.
Sometimes finding a babysitter for that long is challenging, and some parents may not be comfortable leaving their kids for that long. In that case, attending the reception only may be a wise choice.
But like we’ve said earlier, talk to the bride and groom about your situation. They probably will understand your decision to skip the wedding.
3. You Have Work
We should plan our schedule and set that day aside to celebrate our loved ones.
That’s the whole point as to why they send the invitations early.
But sometimes life happens, and you find that you have a job that you can’t get out during that day. So, it makes it hard to attend an early wedding ceremony.
If this is your situation, talk to the couple and see whether they mind you just going to the reception and not attending the ceremony.
4. You Have Two Wedding Invites in One Day
After many months without a wedding, you may be invited to two weddings on the same day.
Since you cannot divide yourself into two, it is best to attend the ceremony for one and the reception for the other.
This way, you will celebrate both your loved ones. However, talk to the couples about this and let them know that you are not missing their events on purpose.
5. You Are Not Close to The Couple
If you don’t know the couple that well, attending the reception only is not a bad idea.
After all, if their guest list is long, they probably will not notice your absence.
Additionally, you may want to skip the ceremony when one of the couples is your ex. Sure, you have an ancient history with that person.
However, celebrating their wedding with food and booze isn’t the same as watching them exchange vows with another person. Even if you are married, this will be a bit hard.
6. Religious Reasons
Sometimes, you may feel uncomfortable attending a wedding ceremony because of your religious beliefs.
In that case, missing is completely reasonable.
However, you have to be honest with the bride and groom.
But religion aside, you should also talk to the couple about your intentions of missing the ceremony if you aren’t comfortable with the location or their ceremony type.
Lastly, you may want to miss the ceremony and attend the reception only if your friends are doing a destination wedding.
Often, a couple can choose to be married far away and do a second party at home for those who didn’t attend.
In this case, you are one of the people that didn’t make it, regardless of your reason for not attending the wedding.
What About Not Showing Up After RVSPing Yes?
It is rude to RSVP yes and then fail to turn up.
Think about it. You have planned an event, and many of your invites have agreed to come.
This gets you excited to prepare everything to ensure your guests are comfortable.
But imagine, after putting in all the hard work, you notice only a few people have attended it.
You wouldn’t feel good since you thought every person that RSVPd would come.
Not showing up to something doesn’t seem like a big deal for many people. However, it is.
Remember that each RSVP has a price tag. For a wedding, this cost can be approximately $150 per person.
So think about it. You’ve invited 100 people to your event, and all stated they would come.
So you plan for 100 people and ensure they have enough refreshments.
But in the end, only 50 people showed up.
So that means you have wasted money that could’ve went elsewhere.
We know that sometimes you might want to go to a wedding, but something important comes up. In that case, you may be excused.
For instance, if your child gets sick, is getting sick or has been involved in an accident, you obviously would want to stay with them.
In that case, even if you RSVPd, it is understandable if you don’t show up.
Some other legit reasons why you may not show up to a wedding despite RSVPing include:
- You completely forget about the wedding- rare, but it can happen
- You need to attend to a matter urgently
- You’ve lost your loved one
- You can’t find a babysitter
While these excuses make sense, they come at a cost.
Remember that the couple will spend on food and drinks for their guests.
However, note that this goes beyond money matters alone.
It’s about being considerate and respectful to the couple who decided to invite you to their wedding in the first place.
What If You Can’t Attend the Ceremony?
Please talk to the couple if you can only attend the reception and not the wedding ceremony.
Ensure that they understand why you cannot make it.
You can send a thank you gift card stating your appreciation and write a note about your wishes to attend the reception only.
We encourage you to do this as soon as possible.
Final Thoughts
It is not rude to attend the wedding reception only, especially if this is what you were invited to.
But it is wrong to RSVP yes and not show.
But if you have a good explanation why you want to miss the ceremony, please talk to the couple about it.
Don’t just assume they will understand.
References
https://people.howstuffworks.com/is-it-rude-to-go-to-reception-didnt-go-to-wedding.htm