So here is my situation...
Our wedding is relatively soon.. May 16th, so in 3 weeks.
Our wedding venue REQUIRES that we have at least 100 adult guests attend the reception (i.e. we will be PAYING for 100 adults no matter how many attend).
I have been trying to get the replies as quickly as possible, but after some bad luck and out-of-town people who hadn't responded, am just getting some now.
Right now we are a little short, and will only end up with like 97 guests instead of 100.
It seems a shame to pay for empty spaces (considering they are $90 a pop!), so I am wondering if I can get away with inviting some last-minute guests.
Obviously I would give them a new reply card with a later respond-by date (however our cut-off is May 6th)..so it's cutting it close.
I know that it is super last-minute, but I am wondering if this is okay if the person we are adding on is NOT someone who is close to us at all.. They are an old friend of my father's, who he hasn't kept super close with over the years. They are someone who will not expect to be invited at all, and they don't talk to anyone else we invited so they won't know that we didn't send all the invitations late.
How should I handle the situation? Is there a way to tactfully invite them, or should I just forget it? I don't want to seem rude or offend anyone, but at the same time it seems a shame to waste 3 perfectly good spaces that we have to pay for anyway!