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Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception

Lauren&YvesonLauren&Yveson
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in Wedding Etiquette Forum
My fiance and I are trying to keep the guest list down for the reception. The room holds 100 and we are pretty much at capacity. There are people that I would like to have celebrate out marriage with us, but I cannot invite them to the reception. So my question is Can I invite someone to the ceremony at the church without inviting them to the reception?
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Re: Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception

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    misshart00misshart00 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    No, the reception is the thank you to the guests for attending the ceremony.
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    Winnertag1Winnertag1 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    No you cannot. Anyone invited to the ceremony needs to be invited to the reception. The reception is to thank the guests for coming out to celebrate your marriage. You either have to cut back on the number of people you want to invite or find a venue that holds more people. 

    The only circumstance it is okay in is if you make a public posting in your church of your marriage and members of your church want to come out for it. 

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    LuckyGirl1713LuckyGirl1713
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    If they are invited the ceremony then you must invite them to the reception. 

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    AdeleDazeemAdeleDazeem member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_inviting-to-the-ceremony-but-not-the-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a17ee004-f4cf-4568-abdb-8ddbcee2f07aPost:03d52870-962f-4d7e-9932-735abe64f5b3">Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]Can I invite someone to the ceremony at the church without inviting them to the reception?
    Posted by Lauren&Yveson[/QUOTE]

    Nope.  No, no, no.

    If you can't think of why, just imagine this conversation between guests at the ceremony:

    Guest A: Did you get directions to the reception?

    Guest B: I wasn't invited to the reception.

    Guest A: OH... this is awkward.

    A wedding is one event comprised of both ceremony and reception.  Everyone you are inviting (that is, sending an invitation) must be invited to both parts.  No exceptions.

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    Simply FatedSimply Fated member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_inviting-to-the-ceremony-but-not-the-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:a17ee004-f4cf-4568-abdb-8ddbcee2f07aPost:03d52870-962f-4d7e-9932-735abe64f5b3">Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]My fiance and I are trying to keep the guest list down for the reception. The room holds 100 and we are pretty much at capacity. There are people that I would like to have celebrate out marriage with us, but I cannot invite them to the reception. So my question is Can I invite someone to the ceremony at the church without inviting them to the reception?
    Posted by Lauren&Yveson[/QUOTE]


    You want people to celebrate your wedding with you... but not invite them to the celebration?
    image
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    lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    nope






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    No.  That would be very rude.
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    libby2483libby2483 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    Nope. Very rude.
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    ViczaesarViczaesar member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    No.



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    LoopysevenLoopyseven member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_inviting-to-the-ceremony-but-not-the-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a17ee004-f4cf-4568-abdb-8ddbcee2f07aPost:03d52870-962f-4d7e-9932-735abe64f5b3">Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]My fiance and I are trying to keep the guest list down for the reception. The room holds 100 and we are pretty much at capacity. There are people that I would like to have celebrate out marriage with us, but I cannot invite them to the reception. So my question is Can I invite someone to the ceremony at the church without inviting them to the reception?
    Posted by Lauren&Yveson[/QUOTE]

    <div>No.  Guests have to be invited to all parts of the wedding.  Ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, dancing.</div>
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    TheVirginiansTheVirginians member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Never do that.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Serious breech of etiquette...your reception is a thank you to the guests for attending the ceremony.  Scale back your recepion to include all the guests you want or invite those that fit in your budget.  It's impossible to have everyone you want attend your wedding.
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    SB1512SB1512 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment First Anniversary
    The only way you can do this is if some of your ceremony guests are fellow church goers and would be invited via public announcement.  Some churches will put an announcement out about upcoming wedding ceremonies.  Church members who show up to the ceremony usually know that they are not invited to the reception.  But generally, no, you cannot invited guests to just come to the ceremony and not the reeption.
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    cwaggoner07cwaggoner07 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its Combo Breaker
    Nope, not cool. Cut your guest list or find a bigger venue.
    It was a fairytale. Image and video hosting by TinyPic Anniversary
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    lovesclimbinglovesclimbing member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    I will agree with the PPs and say no.  Everything I have ever read on wedding ettiquete says that it's a major faux pas.  It is ok to invite them to just the reception but never just the ceremony.
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    auriannaaurianna member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_inviting-to-the-ceremony-but-not-the-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a17ee004-f4cf-4568-abdb-8ddbcee2f07aPost:c13aa0aa-91ab-4897-96d7-747c109bedff">Re: Inviting to the ceremony but not the reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]It's fine to invite some guests to the reception but not the ceremony,
    Posted by RetreadBride[/QUOTE]

    This is only true if the ceremony is private with just immediate family and their spouses (otherwise, yeah, you're offering to feed everyone... but you're telling some people they aren't important enough to actually see you get married? no).
    You should invite all guests to all parts of the wedding
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